An event of a very different kind is taking place in the courtyard at Casal Balaguer in Palma.
Designer, Rosa Esteva created her Cortana brand 20 years ago, which includes a range of dresses and accessories, but since Tuesday she's been making a huge tapestry measuring 6 metres by 2.5 metres, with the help of passers-by, her family and the Balearic President.
“I want to propose a reflection on the future of the Mallorcan textile industry with this and encourage circular production, taking advantage of the richness of the Island in different animal and vegetable fibres.”
The Balearic President, Francina Armengol visited Rosa on Wednesday and was encouraged to weave part of the tapestry, which is made with natural and local fibres such as hemp, palm, wool and linen.
Rosa's tapestry project coincides with the Xtant 2021 Textile & Crafts Exhibition at Es Baluard.
“The Xtant 2021 international meeting of heritage textile handicrafts, which has been set up at Es Baluard is beautiful, it would be good if it had continuity,” she said.
Sustainability
Sustainability and artisanal production have always been at the core of the Cortana brand.
"This rug is a joint reflection, because we are doing it together and it could be the future of textiles in Mallorca,” says Rosa. “I would like to do some research on what could be done with fibres that were made when these fabrics were used before. I was asked to give a lecture at the XTANT 2021 Textile and Craft Exhibition, but I don't like to talk much, so I thought it would be more interesting to do a project that I can learn from and research. It’s super therapeutic and people really appreciate the value of the work in a rug like this.”