Rug – A Space for Event
Rug weaving is an ancient art and craft of human civilization. It is often compared to the creation of the world, reflecting a people’s beliefs about the structure of the universe. In myths, traditions, and fairy tales, the rug is seen as a magical space—one that opens into another reality, serves as a portal, or even transforms reality itself.
If we summarize these stories and interpret them symbolically, we might say that a rug is a space where something significant—a turning point—occurs. While working on the rugs, the groups expressed the changes they experienced, both portraying and processing them through creation. In this way, the rug becomes a space for transformation, a place where meaningful Events unfolds.
Contain[ing] the Story of Rugs
Contain[ing], a project by Tegh, is a community-based crisis intervention program for adolescents, implemented in partnership with UNICEF Armenia. The work was group-based, combining psychological and artistic techniques. The goal of the program is to equip the community with tools to overcome the crisis. During the program, a psychologist and an artist work with groups of children, resulting in a collaborative creation that reflects their journey through the crisis and shared process of navigating it. Multimedia artist Silva Chobanyan collaborated with four groups in the program, working on rugs as the primary medium. The groups created their own rugs, which became spaces of self-discovery and healing on one hand, and reflections of their collective realities on the other.
The rugs were created by adolescent groups from Masis and Artashat, along with two groups from Vardenis. The psychologists working with the groups were Isabel Levonyan and Christine Arzoomanian.
Inspired by the rugs on display, the contain[ing] rug psychological game was developed. It has passed the pilot stage and will be released soon.
- Curator: Silvana Chobanyan
- Text by: Nare Grigoryan
- Poster design by Ivana Krcadinac
29 May – 22 June
NPAK, 2025
