Honoring Aidai Asangulova
5.09.1978 – 25.01.2026
TATTER is honored to present this special workshop, as part of a larger celebration and ceremony organized by Craftspring to honor the life and work of Aidai Asangulova—her spirit, artistry, and deep commitment to preserving Kyrgyz traditional culture. Aidai was an extraordinary artist and designer and a national leader in the celebration and preservation of traditional Kyrgyz culture. She passed away too soon, with still so much left for her to share and steward.
Activity
Join two felt designers from Kyrgyzstan, Nurzhamal and Klara Asangulova to discover the art of melding felt and silk fibers to create your own airy, wearable felted scarf. Drawing on generations of Kyrgyz felt-making tradition, they will guide you through the process of transforming raw materials into a soft, wearable textile.
Rooted in the nomadic craft of Ala-Kiyiz (wet felting, pressing wool patterns together to make thick felt coverings and rugs), this workshop explores how wool can be layered, shaped, and fused without stitching. You’ll work with hand-loomed Uzbek silk and merino wool roving from Kyrgyzstan, using water, soap, and friction to interlock the fibers into a single textile.
Participants will learn how to lay out and “shingle” fine wool rovings, build pattern and texture with colored fibers, and control the felting process through rolling and agitation. As the materials compress and bond, the silk and wool transform into a delicate yet durable fabric.
Centered around the reverence for wool as a material, it is an exploration of the versatility of wool, its endurance and its flexibility to be shaped and combined with other fibers.
This is a fun, easy and very forgiving process – open to all levels. One that honors the craftsmanship & legacy of the Kyrgyz nomadic traditions, while also inviting the creativity of fusing wool with new fibers. No previous felting experience is required.
Dates & Times
Friday, April 24th, 5 – 8 pm ET
OR
Saturday, April 25th, 10-1 pm ET
Location
TATTER Textile Library
505 Carroll Street, 2B
Brooklyn, NY 11215
Materials
All materials will be provided.
Cost
$160
Nurzhamal and Klara Asangulova
A textile artist and felt craft practitioner, Nurzhamal heads Bukon Design Studio, and along with her third sister Aidai Asangulova is a co-founder of the Kiyiz Duino Public Foundation, a project aimed at the revival and preservation of traditional Kyrgyz costumes and traditions. She participated in the creation of the Kyrgyz ethnographic museum within the Supara Ethno-Complex in Bishkek, Krygyzstan. Nurzhamal has travelled around the world teaching felting and promoting Kyrgyz traditional craftsmanship, from Tajikistan, to Dubai, Oman, to the Santa Fe Folk Art market, to many countries across Europe including Sweden, France, the Netherlands and Austria.
Originally trained as a nurse, Klara Asangulova, is a felt artist with a long practice of making felt dolls and ornaments. She is the founder of the “from Generation to Generation” felt NGO and workshop, which has been training the next generation of young artisans in the ancient practice of felt making. Klara also worked on the research and revival of traditional headwear the Ak-Kalpak and the Elechek with the Kiyiz Duino Public Foundation – both traditions which were inscribed into UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage.