Workshop participants with their handwoven kilims during the exhibit at Haigazian University

BEIRUT—On Wednesday, July 19, an exhibit was held in the Haigazian University (HU) Arthur Matossian Gallery featuring the handwoven kilims of 35 students from various Lebanese Armenian schools. The event was attended by the students, along with parents, teachers and principals.

The kilims were the product of a nine-day-long “Weave your own kilim” workshop held at HU and organized by the Student Life Office in collaboration with the Hovhannes Sharambeyan Folk Arts Museum in Armenia.

Between July 5 and 18, students from the Armenian Evangelical and United Armenian Colleges, Armenian Evangelical Shamlian-Tatigian,  Armenian Evangelical Central High, Armenian Catholic Holy Cross, AGBU and Vahan Tekeyan schools participated in the workshop. They learned the skills of weaving the kilim and actually wove the pieces which were featured in the exhibition.

During the nine three-hour sessions, the students eagerly connected with carpet weaving and wove more than one kilim. Some even started their third kilim. Others created their own designs and chose the colors of the Armenia-made wool, while some began to weave their own names. The weaving process also continued after the sessions, as the students excitedly took their unfinished works to their homes.

Some of the handwoven kilims created by the workshop participants

Alongside the student sessions in the morning, a five-session weaving workshop was organized in the afternoons where 13 adults participated. Some of their kilims were also displayed.

In all, 75 kilims by all age groups were exhibited as products of the workshops.