Istanbul Carpet Week

History

At the crossroads of Europe and Asia, Istanbul is one of the world’s oldest centres for weaving and rug trading. The first edition of Istanbul Carpet Week ran from October 2016 in the Istanbul. The next edition The event ran in 2017, 2018 in Istanbul.
Istanbul Carpet Week is organized by the İstanbul Halı İhracatçıları Birliği (IHIB), that’s the ‘Istanbul Carpet Exporter’s Association’ in english, with Hali og Cover magazines as media partners. This event is designed to showcase the products, skills and knowledge of one of the world’s oldest traditional centres of weaving.
The week also includes the awards ceremony for IHIB’s National Carpet Design Contest, which promotes the work of young Turkish designers, showcases the talent of a new generation and provides an inspiring indicator of the future of carpet design.
The event includes Istanbul Rug Show, Istanbul International Carpet Conference, The National Carpet Design Contest and also a reception.

Istanbul Carpet Week 6-9 October 2016

The programme kicks off with the Istanbul International Carpet Conference, which will feature local and international speakers on a wide variety of topics. The week also includes the awards ceremony for IHIB’s 10th annual National Carpet Design Contest. There will also be an exhibition of the ten rarest antique Turkish weavings from the private collections of IHIB members.

Istanbul Carpet Conference Speakers 2016

Picture	Name	The Subject of Lectures
20PX	Carol Sebert	Contemporary Design in Rugs
20PX	Eerbil Tezcan	Designing Rugs
20PX	Hadi Maktabi	Azerbaijan Rugs
20PX	Rob Leahy	Conventional US rug dealers’ difficulties and new developments of the market: its effect in the world production
20PX	Stefano Ionescu	Double-niche ‘Transylvanian’ rugs, an Anatolian product meant for export; The relation with 18th and 19th century Turkish rugs.
20PX	UDO HIRSCH	Anatolian Kilims
20PX	Hamidi Ünal	Hereke Carpets

the 10th National Carpet Design Contest

Winners:

• Muhammed Türk
• Senem Kula
• Faruk Açıkgöz

Istanbul Carpet Week, 1-5 October 2017

the 11th National Carpet Design Contest

Winners:

• Zeynep Gürbüz
• Merve Bütüşaba
• Yasemin Songur

Istanbul Carpet Week, 25-29 October 2018

The week includes the 12th National Carpet Design Contest, Istanbul Rug Show and Istanbul International Carpet Conference.
This year also there will be a special installation in a newly restored section of the Istanbul Carpet Museum (Vakıkar Halı Müzesi), Istanbul. Featuring a selection of Anatolian kilims from the Vakıflar Kilim Museum, shown in a building that for many centuries acted as the treasury of Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofia).

Istanbul Carpet Conference SPEAKERS 2018

Picture	Name	The Subject of Lectures
20PX	Belkıs Balpınar	Divrigi Mosque Carpets
20PX	Suzan Bayraktaroğlu	Kilims of the Vakıflar Museum Collection
20PX	Lucy Upward	Future Thinking: Design and Interiors
20PX	Alberto Boralevi	Turkish Carpets in Italy
20PX	Ali Riza Tuna	Anatolian Carpets in the Western World : A Story of Mutual Influences over the Ages
20PX	Erika Kurtz	Keeping the Art of Design in the Digital Age

the 12th National Carpet Design Contest

Winners:

• Gülbahar GÜMÜŞTEN
• Büşra AKÇAY
• Fatma BÜYÜKSOFUOĞLU