Loro Piana is honoured to partner with Tashkeel for the second part of a collaboration that began in 2018. The Loro Piana Residency at Tashkeel is part of The Tashkeel Residency Programme, and will run from September 2022 to January 2023, with participating Italian artist Paola Anziché.

Loro Piana previously collaborated with Tashkeel in December 2018 with “The Gift of Kings® and The Record Bale: The Noblest of Wools” under the patronage of Tashkeel Founder & Director Sheikha Lateefa bint Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The outside of the venue in Dubai Opera Garden was transformed by internationally acclaimed artist eL Seed (a former Tashkeel Artist-in-Residence) with a one-of-a-kind, custom-printed fabric adorned with his renowned calligraphic art, and words reimagined from a poem by Alfonso X, Ruler of 13th-century Spain. Loro Piana is now proud to present the 78th Tashkeel Artist-in-Residence as the second phase of this beautiful partnership in the UAE in 2022/23.

Since its launch in 2008, the Tashkeel Residency Programme aims to facilitate the exchange of experience, knowledge, and skills between different disciplines of contemporary art and design. It also supports the creative growth of emerging and established visual artists and designers and encourages experimentation with new concepts and materials. The Loro Piana Residency at Tashkeel aims to celebrate and pay homage to local culture and landscapes by collaborating with Turin-based textile artist Paola Anziché, who will be a Tashkeel Artist-in-Residence under this partnership for the remainder of the year.

Sheikha Lateefa bint Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Founder & Director of Tashkeel said:“Since our launch in 2008, Tashkeel has been committed to nurturing dialogue and discourse between countries and cultures through art and design. We are therefore delighted that we have been able to realise this inaugural partnership with Loro Piana. Tashkeel has welcomed Paola Anziché into its creative community. Our 78th artist-in-residence is applying her visual arts practice to interpret the UAE’s natural environment and rich archaeology, and we look forward to presenting a highly anticipated new body of work in December.”

Artist Paola Anziché is an expert in textiles and sustainability practices and will look to create abstract and sculptural forms using Loro Piana raw fibres; sustainably sourced off-cuts from the factories comprised of wool, cashmere, silk and lotus flower, interspersed with traditional local fabrics, closely linked to the heritage of the country. The artist’s oeuvre can be defined as “to see with the hands” utilising soft, tactile materials and yarns from extensive research to create one-off artworks through a personal process of reinvention.

Under The Loro Piana Residency at Tashkeel, Anziché will connect different disciplinary ambits, namely eco-sustainability, traditional crafts, and observation of the anthropological dimension of the UAE, to produce an interpretation of material culture specific to this geographical context. During the four-month residency at Taskheel, Anziché aims to undertake extensive research into the country’s traditional weaving and dyeing techniques, explore local textile practices, and pay tribute to the geology, archaeology, and traditions of the United Arab Emirates leading to the development of tactile sculptures. The final culmination of this much anticipated body of work will be exhibited at Tashkeel from December 6, 2022 to January 10, 2023, presented by Loro Piana and Tashkeel.

“Loro Piana is proud to partner with Tashkeel once again, to bring their 78th artist-in-residence, Paola Anziché to Dubai. An overseas residency offers artists the opportunity to find new means of engaging their craft, where the dialogue between their artistic style and vision, and the customs, culture, and heritage of a new environment, provides for an enriching experience and platform for creativity. We look forward to another exciting journey between Loro Piana and Tashkeel, and to see what Paola will create during her experience in the UAE,” says Nicole Louise Ward, General Manager of Loro Piana Middle East.

Once again Loro Piana respectfully delves into the customs, culture, and heritage of the UAE, supporting local art and reflecting a profound understanding and respect for the local landscape, drawing deeper meanings that resonate in each collaboration.