Exhibition tours - The War Rugs of Afghanistan

Join curator Nigel Lendon at 12pm on Wednesday 21 July or 11 August for a tour of the exhibition.

Join exhibition curator and author of Two afternoons in Kabul Stadium Tim Bonyhady at 12pm on Thursday12 August or at 2pm on Saturday 14 August for an authors talk.

On the exhibition tour: I weave what I have seen: The War Rugs of Afghanistan is a testimony to the creativity and resilience of Afghan weavers who have faced the devastating effects of war for more than forty years.

From the very start of the conflict, Afghan weavers began developing a striking new form of war art involving a complex imagery of armaments, maps, monuments, texts and portraits which soon began to find an international audience.

Emerging out of a research project undertaken at the Australian National University by Tim Bonyhady and Nigel Lendon, this exhibition investigates the history, iconography, production and distribution of these extraordinary rugs.

The exhibition and its national tour are organised by the ANU Drill Hall Gallery in conjunction with Tim Bonyhady.

Wednesday sessions - Tour to be given by Nigel Lendon

Thursday session August 12 - Exhibition tour and authors talk to be given by Tim Bonyhady

On the authors talk:

Join Tim Bonyhady, author of Two Afternoons in the Kabul Stadium: A history of Afghanistan through Clothes, Carpets and Camera, and co-curator of I weave what I have seen: The War Rugs of Afghanistan for a discussion on his newly released book. 

2pm, Saturday 14 August

From the complete coverage of chadaris to mini-skirts, and back again. From ancient carpet designs to woven depictions of tanks and Kalashnikovs. From photographs of unveiled women to an image of horror—the execution of a kneeling woman known as Zarmeena, videoed covertly by one of the few watching women. This remarkable book provides a history of Afghanistan through the visual.

The Kabul Stadium looms large because it was there, one afternoon in August 1959, that women first appeared in western dress at a celebration of Afghanistan’s independence—a turning point, not only for women in Afghanistan’s cities but also for the country itself, symbolising its embrace of the modern. It was also there, one afternoon in November 1999, that the Taliban killed Zarmeena.

Two Afternoons in the Kabul Stadium offers both a new way of seeing Afghanistan and a new way of understanding it.

Tim Bonyhady’s books include the award-winning Good Living Street, The Colonial Earth and The Enchantment of the Long-haired Rat. He has curated two landmark exhibitions of Afghan war rugs, including I weave what I have seen: The War Rugs of Afghanistan

This is a COVID-safe event, please bring a mask.

https://www.textpublishing.com.au/books/two-afternoons-in-the-kabul-stadium-a-history-of-afghanistan-through-clothes-carpets-and-the-camera

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