From Workshop to Nomad: New Thinking about Rug Weaving Categories and Design Influences

8:15-9 am: Registration, coffee, and continental breakfast

9–9:10 am: Welcome remarks by Christoph Heinrich, Frederick and Jan Mayer Director, Denver Art Museum

9:10–9:25 am: Introduction by Jill D’Alessandro, Director and Curator, Avenir Institute of Textile Arts & Fashion

9:25–10:10 am: James Opie, What is "Tribal"? Variations and Art History in Persian Nomadic and Village Weavings

10:10–10:20 am: Break

10:20–11:05 am: Paul Ramsey, Not-so-Rugged: Some Alluring Aspects of Workshop Carpets in the Rugged Beauty Exhibition

11:05–11:15 am: Q&A

11:15 am–12:35 pm: Lunch break (grab and go) at South Sturm Pavilion (Martin Building, Level 2)

12:35–12:40 pm: Lectures resume with introductions by Courtney Pierce, Curatorial Assistant, Avenir Institute of Textile Arts & Fashion

12:40–1:25 pm: Sumru Krody, A Way of Looking: Perception and Meaning of Prayer Carpets

1:25–2:10 pm: Raoul (Mike) Tschebull, The Sources and Evolution of Field Designs in 19th Century Transcaucasian Village Pile - Woven Rugs

2:10–2:20 pm: Q&A

2:20–2:35 pm: Break

2:35–3:35 pm: Moderated panel discussion with select Q&A by Jill D’Alessandro

3:35–3:45 pm: Closing remarks and farewell by Courtney Pierce

James Opie
Independent Scholar

James Opie’s scholarships focuses primarily on rugs from nomadic and village-dwelling groups of southern Iran and Afghanistan. His publications include Tribal Rugs of Southern Persia (1981) and Tribal Rugs (1992), which includes art historical themes that encompass many centuries over a wide geographical expanse.

Paul Ramsey
Visiting Scholar, Rugged Beauty: Antique Carpets from Western Asia

Paul Ramsey has been an independent scholar of West Asian rugs since the 1970s and has presented at conferences such as the International Conference on Oriental Carpets and the American Conference on Oriental Rugs. He has written for publications such as the Oriental Rug Review and most recently, an article on the Rugged Beauty exhibition for Hali magazine.

Sumru Krody
Senior Curator, The Textile Museum Collection, The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum)

Sumru Belger Krody joined The Textile Museum in 1994, after receiving her undergraduate and graduate degrees in classical archaeology from Istanbul University and the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Her research focuses on the process of textile creation in Islamic lands from the late antique to early modern periods, and how it simultaneously reflects and informs the artistic, social, and economic power of textiles.

Raoul Tschebull
Independent Scholar

Raoul (Mike) Tschebull has an extensive record of writing in the field of Eurasian rugs and textiles, including Kazak: Carpets of the Caucasus (1971) and Qarajeh to Quba: Rugs and Flatweaves from East Azarbayjan and the Transcaucasus (2019). Tschebull has spoken on Eurasian weaving at diverse conferences and symposia, from San Francisco to Tehran.

Moderator: Jill D’Alessandro
Director and Curator, Avenir Institute of Textile Arts & Fashion, Denver Art Museum

Jill D'Alessandro is the newly appointed Director and Curator of the Avenir Foundation of Textile Arts and Fashion. Prior, she served as the Curator in Charge of Costume and Textile Arts at The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (2002-2022). As a curator overseeing global collections of both textiles and fashion, D’Alessandro is interested in the study of textile arts as a vehicle to draw connections across cultures.