This project examines the possibilities for a reinterpretation of the Iranian carpet in museum exhibitions, beyond its usual framing as a beautiful and historical object. Carpet museums primarily emphasize the material and visual aspects of carpets, leaving out many immaterial dimensions, including oral traditions, weaving songs, Pattern Singing (Naqsheh-Khani), workshop culture, personal memories, and lived experiences of weavers from museum discourses.
To fill this gap, the research constructs a narrative framework, with three interconnected dimensions: the Narrative of the Work, the Narrative of Making and the Narrative of Use and Activation. The research investigates the Iranian carpet museums and finds that the object-oriented exhibition strategies prevail while human-centered and process-based narratives are marginally represented.
Drawing on personal family histories, oral testimonies, ethnographic documentation, and the study of intangible weaving traditions, the research explores the carpet as a living archive of memory, sound, labor, and cultural identity. Based on these findings, the thesis proposes a new curatorial and spatial strategy for Tehran Carpet Museum under the concept of the Sound Carpet.
The design introduces oral narratives as a new interpretative layer within the museum, transforming the visitor experience from passive observation to active sensory engagement. The proposal aims to reconnect carpets with the people, stories, and cultural practices that produced them, through immersive environments, sound installations, Memory Chambers, and participatory encounters with the voices of weavers.
Abstract
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The thesis argues that the Iranian carpet should be understood not only as a finished object but also as a dynamic narrative medium capable of communicating collective memory, identity, and intangible cultural heritage. By integrating oral histories into exhibition design, the project proposes new possibilities for representing carpets as living cultural entities within contemporary museums.