Couleurs désert – Carpet Art from Morocco

Museum Bellerive presents the exhibition “Couleurs désert – Carpet Art from Morocco“. In the Moroccan Sahara, Berber women of the Aït Khebbach weave carpets and pillows out of wool from repurposed knitwear and old fabrics cut into strips in a unique splendor of colors and patterns. The women produce all the textiles for their simple clay houses on looms that they build themselves.

Since the 1980s these talented weavers have opened up a unique world of forms and colours by creatively examining traditional handcraft and employing a highly individual style. The exhibition shows the creations of the women from the Aït Khebbach tribe for the first time outside the Moroccan desert. It is not only the aesthetics and colours of the pieces presented that are amazing, but also their contemporary quality. In addition, a Berber tent, the weaver’s stories, and photo portraits of them offer insights into handcraft and this traditional way of life.

This spectacular variety of shapes and colors will be a sendoff for the villa on Lake Zurich: “Couleurs désert” is the final exhibition at the Museum Bellerive as part of the Museum für Gestaltung. Beginning in May 2017, exhibition themes previously presented at the Museum Bellerive with a focus on the applied arts between the poles of art and design will be featured at the Museum für Gestaltung. The city of Zurich will offer further information on the future use of the Bellerive in late 2016.