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Friday 10am-6pm
Saturday 10am-6pm
Sunday 10am-6pm
ISHKAR celebrates 10 years by collaborating with 10 artists on a capsule collection of rugs handmade in Afghanistan
Celebrating its 10-year anniversary in 2026, ISHKAR has invited 10 world leading artists and designers to each create a unique rug design exploring the theme of “Togetherness”, in celebration of connection—across borders, cultures, and creative practices.
The collection is composed of 10 hand-knotted rugs, each one designed by contemporary artists and designers, including Louis Barthélemy, Hangama Amiri, David/Nicolas, Farshid Moussavi, ZHA, Cassi Namoda, Lulu Lytle (Soane Britain), StudioIlse, Meherunnisa Asad (Studio Lél) & ISHKAR. This collection of rugs is hand-knotted by master women weavers in northern Afghanistan, highlighting ISHKAR’s deep relationships with local master artisans.
10% of all sales will support the vital work of EMERGENCY hospitals in Afghanistan, providing free, high-quality care to people affected by conflict and poverty. The anniversary rugs will be on show on Friday 6 and Saturday 7 November accompanied by a programme of talks at Ladbroke Hall, 79 Barlby Road, London W10 6AZ.
The collection is composed of 10 hand-knotted rugs, each one designed by world leading artists and designers across various practices, and Handcrafted by master women weavers in Afghanistan.
1 – Louis Barthélemy – @louisbarthelemy
Louis Barthélemy is an illustrator, textile designer and artist who divides his time between Cairo, Paris and Marrakech . At the core of his creative process is a deep commitment to the preservation and revival of traditional craftsmanship. Louis collaborates with artisans around the world with the aim of ensuring the continuation of their expertise through future generations.
2 – Hangama Amiri – @hangamaamiri
Hangama Amiri is an Afghan-Canadian artist working predominantly in textiles to examine notions of home, as well as how gender, social norms, and larger geopolitical conflict impact the daily lives of women, both in Afghanistan and in the diaspora. Amiri holds an MFA from Yale University. Her work has recently been exhibited at Esker Foundation, Toronto Biennial 2024, T293 Gallery, Cooper Cole Gallery, Mönchehaus Museum Goslar, Aga Khan Museum, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, and Sharjah Biennial 15.
3 – David/Nicolas – @davidandnicolas
Founded in Beirut in 2011 by David Raffoul and Nicolas Moussallem, david/nicolas is an international studio specializing in interior, furniture, and product design. Their approach is rooted in craftsmanship, curiosity, and collaboration. Drawing inspiration from architecture, photography, music, and Italian design, they create pieces and spaces that feel familiar yet contemporary. This focus has earned david/nicolas international recognition, including Architectural Digest’s AD100 list, Monocle’s “Top 20 Makers in the Design World”, and Wallpaper* awards.
4 – Farshid Moussavi – @farshidmoussavi
Farshid Moussavi OBE RA is an internationally acclaimed architect and Professor at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Moussavi’s approach is characterised by an openness to change and a commitment to the intellectual and cultural life of architecture. Moussavi’s completed projects include the acclaimed Museum of Contemporary Art in Cleveland, USA; flagship stores for Victoria Beckham in London and Hong Kong, the Ismaili Center Houston, commissioned by His Highness the Aga Khan.
5 – ZHA – @zha.world
ZHA is a British architecture and design firm founded by renowned architect Zaha Hadid (1950–2016). The firm works at all scales and in all sectors, creating transformative, cultural, corporate, residential and other spaces that work in synchronicity with their surroundings. 950 projects, 44 countries, 400 staff, 55 nations. ZHA continue to design a brighter future through research and innovation.
6 – Cassi Namoda – @cas_amandaa
Cassi Namoda (b. 1988, Maputo, Mozambique) is known for her strong colour palette and narrative approach. Her hybrid narratives are at once wondrous and poignant, everyday and fantastical, archival and current. Namoda’s work transfigures the cultural mythologies and historical narratives of life in post-colonial Africa, particularly those of the artist’s familial home of Mozambique.
7 – Lulu Lytle
Lulu Lytle is an advocate for traditional craftsmanship, which she has championed for three decades through her company, Soane Britain. Through apprenticeships, skills education and long-term investment in makers, she has worked to preserve Britain’s craft heritage and secure a thriving future for endangered making skills. In 2024, Lulu was awarded an OBE in recognition of her services to British Manufacturing and Craftsmanship
8 – StudioIlse – @studioilse_
Ilse Crawford is a designer, teacher, creative director and founder of Studioilse. She also founded the department of Man and Wellbeing at the Design Academy Eindhoven, and was its head for two decades. By choosing to address true human needs, she has pioneered humanistic design in its real life application to environments, objects and experiences.
9 – Meherunnisa Asad – @studio_lel
Meherunnisa Asad is a multidisciplinary artist working primarily in stone. Using the logic of inlay- cutting, fitting and fracture- she works with artisans to explore how histories are held rather than repaired. Recent presentations include The Overview Effect at The Foundry, during Berlin Art Week; Homo Faber, Venice; Formed by Dialogue at the Egyptian Museum, Art D’Égypt, Cairo and a public art commission for Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture. She is Artistic Director of Studio Lél in Peshawar. The Wound and the Loom is her first work in fibre.
The anniversary rugs will be on show on Friday 6 and Saturday 7 November accompanied by a programme of talks at Ladbroke Hall, London.
Friday 6th November:
11:30am – 12:30pm: Collectible Craft: From Rug to Gallery Object
With ZHA, Carpenters Workshop Gallery, ISHKAR, moderated by Lucy Upward (Hali Magazine)
5pm – 6pm: The future of traditional crafts: teaching Craft forward
With Turquoise Mountain, Lulu Lytle, ISHKAR, moderated by TBC
Saturday 7th November:
11:30am – 12:30pm: Beauty as necessity
With Ilse Crawford, Meherunnisa Asad, ISHKAR, Emergency NGO, moderated by Sophie Grove (Konfekt)
3pm – 4pm: 10 years of ISHKAR
With ISHKAR in conversation with TBC
For this collection, ISHKAR will be donating 10% of the proceeds generated to EMERGENCY, an international humanitarian organisation providing free, high-quality medical care to people affected by war, poverty and lack of access to healthcare. EMERGENCY has worked in Afghanistan since 1999, treating millions of patients through surgical centres, maternity units, paediatric services and first-aid facilities, while training local medical staff and strengthening the country’s fragile healthcare system. Since 2020, ISHKAR’s photography print sales have raised more than £105,000 for EMERGENCY’s work in Afghanistan, helping sustain vital, free medical care amid a profound humanitarian crisis.
“We have witnessed ISHKAR’s commitment to the people of Afghanistan first-hand: in August 2021, with the eyes of the world on the country, the ISHKAR team turned attention into action and raised tens of thousands of pounds to support EMERGENCY’s free surgical hospitals and first aid clinics – facilities that remain a lifeline for Afghans after decades of violence. ISHKAR’s support is just one example of their multifaceted commitment to the Afghan people.”
Dejan Panic, EMERGENCY’s Country Director in Afghanistan
“ISHKAR has done so much to support EMERGENCY’s work in Afghanistan over the years, collaborating with renowned artists, photographers and designers to raise awareness and funds. This 10-year anniversary celebration will raise more vital funds to help people across the country access healthcare, amid the legacy of conflict and ongoing humanitarian need. We can’t thank ISHKAR enough and are so grateful to be part of this collection.”
David Lloyd Webber, Managing Director of EMERGENCY UK
Since 2016 ISHKAR has sought out artisans working with exceptional natural materials and an interest in pushing inherited knowledge forward. Founded in Kabul, we partner with master artisans in Afghanistan, producing luxurious rugs and textiles.
Every ISHKAR object bears the mark of its maker. Each one carries a story about the people and place from where it came.
For more information, see our work in the New York Times, Financial Times, Vogue or Dezeen.
Website: www.ishkar.com
Flagship Store: 94 Columbia Road, E2 7QB, London
Contact: [email protected]
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