Designing products from local fabrics to keep cultural heritage alive
Mehtap Harbacı, who lives in the Hendek district of Sakarya, is working to support the preservation of local fabrics she does not want to be forgotten by designing various products to ensure they remain in use.
12punto
Setting out with the goal of protecting intangible cultural heritage, 42-year-old Harbacı began creating various designs to ensure that local fabrics do not disappear from the cultural scene.
Harbacı, who utilizes local fabrics in products such as cushions and wall art while giving them a modern look without compromising their authenticity, also plans to open an exhibition featuring her designs that can be used in homes and cafes.
Harbacı continues her work, having prepared and submitted the "Project for Labeling and Promoting Intangible Values" to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism to determine which region the fabrics belong to and whether they are woven.
Speaking to an AA reporter, Harbacı said that she creates home textile items such as cushions and covers from woven fabrics without altering their original form, and that those who see her designs want to use her products in cafes.
"I have not sold any of my work"
Noting that there are no labels on woven fabrics to identify which region or country they belong to, Harbacı said, "I developed a project based on this and submitted my 'Project for Labeling and Promoting Intangible Values' to the Ministry. Later, they invited me. When I went, they told me they were interested in my project and liked the idea very much. Our project was accepted as an original idea. Hopefully, there will be more to come."
Explaining that a video featuring her work was broadcast on billboards in New York, USA, Harbacı stated that she received very positive feedback regarding this.
Drawing attention to the fact that cultural values are beginning to fade and that masters and apprentices are no longer being trained, Harbacı continued:
"Woven fabrics and rugs are created with great effort. I do not want this cultural value of ours to disappear. First, I want them to be labeled, and then I want the works created by me and the masters in Turkey to come to the fore again and gain popularity. I do not want them to remain as they were; I want to attract the attention of our youth. I want to adapt them to the present day without spoiling the original, and I want the masters to make sales and become financially stronger. I have not sold any of the work I have done. I donated my work to the Kocaeli Local Culture Museum. I delivered them to where they belong."
Mehtap Harbacı added that she also plans to open an exhibition featuring her new wall art pieces.