Danish furniture fabrics in international culture giant
- 03/03/14
Next year, when the international ballet and opera audience is allowed into the main concert hall of the newly constructed Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, they will enjoy the world-famous performances of the theater in seats upholstered with exclusive fabrics from Northern Denmark.
The creation of Russia’s future cultural beacon may enjoy international attention, but the supplier of upholstery to every single seat, chair and sofa in the new opera and ballet building is called Danish Art Weaving (DAW) and is based in Tylstrup north of Aalborg.
Tylstrup is also where the almost three kilometers of fabric for the theater will be woven. As the sole remaining business of its kind, DAW has chosen to keep its own specialist weaving mill, allowing the manufacturer to supply all kinds of custom-made and specially adapted textiles in a short period of time.
This was a decisive factor in landing the commission for The Mariinsky Theather in Tylstrup. Obviously, the seats of an international cultural giant must be upholstered in fabrics of particularly exclusive quality and execution. Only the utmost worsted wool would do and even the colours in the fabric are specially selected for the project. All together, the project includes three different designs of each three carefully chosen coloured yarns.
In other words: An assignment perfectly matched for DAW’s core competences.
“We are particularly good at this type of assignment. Through the years, we have accumulated a considerable specialist knowledge and at the same time, we are flexible and willing to try new ways. For us, this in an incredibly interesting project”, days DAW director, Kurt Johansen about the Mariinsky Theater commission.
DAW has previously supplied furniture fabrics for other similar projects. Among them, The Four Seasons Centre for Performing Arts in Toronto, Canada and The Burlington Performing Arts Center in Ontario, Canada.
The initial 400 meters of custom-made furniture fabric has already been shipped off to St. Petersburg. The remaining commission will follow in September or October.
The new Mariinsky Theater has been underway for more than 10 years. In 2001, maestro Valery Gergiev launched the first thoughts of supplementing the 200 years old Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg with a new and more up-to-date opera house. Since then three architectural contests have led first to a design that was abandoned because it was too controversial, and then another that was given up because it was too expensive.
In 2009, a third contest was won by Canadian Diamond Schmitt Architects with an austere building in limestone and glass. The construction of the new Mariinsky Theater with its six concert halls and room for 2.000 spectators is now progressing as planned and a grand opening is scheduled for next spring.
Read more about the new Mariinsky Theater here: [links]
For more information about the Mariinsky Theater commission, contact Kurt Johansen on phone +45 20 25 20 01.
The standard product catalogue of DAW can be seen on this website under ‘Collections’.
