Tag: Iran

Hamadan International Craft Fair – 21-25 August 2018

Lalejin potter with busts and photos of ancestor potters.

Here’s a wonderful chance to display your wares at one of the great craft cultures of the world.

Hamadan Holds 14th National Craft Fair and First International Craft Fair Coinciding Hamadan Recognition as the Tourism Capital City of Asia

Hamadanˊs Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism Organization is holding its annual National Craft Fair this year. Craftsmen from all around the country participate in the event every year. This year considering Hamadanˊs being recognized as the Tourism Capital City of Asia in 2018 and regarding high capacities and the potential of the province being the heartland of a number of crafts like the Global City of Lalejin in pottery, Tuyserkan and Malayer in wood carving, and Hamadan itself in leather works and regarding the tourism attractions of the city like Ganjnameh inscriptions (Archamenian period), Avicenna mausoleum, Alisadr cave (the longest water cave in the world), Alavid dome (Seljukian period), Babataher tomb, the ancient city of Hegmataneh, Hamadan is holding this year ̓s fair internationally.

Supporting Hamadan and Iran original and local crafts and introducing these artworks as well as the city itself to the invited countries and on the other side introducing the crafts and artworks of the invited countries to the Iranian craftsmen and the public are of other purposes of holding the fair.

We are pleased to announce and warmly welcome the participation of our international guests in our 14th annual craft fair. The craft fair will be held at Hamadan International Exhibition from Tuesday, August 21st to Saturday, August 25th from 03:30 to 09:00pm. Set up is on Monday, August 20th at 11:00 and the building closes at 05:00pm.

A booth space will be free of charge. Booth spaces are approximately 3ˊ to 4ˊ wide by 3ˊ deep. The International Fair shall supply the vendors a table and two chairs. Double booth spaces are also available under your former announcement.

Our international guests will reside in a three star hotel to the vicinity of the fair and there will be VIP buses for transportation. Visiting Hamadan tourism attractions like Alisadr cave (the worldˊs longest water cave), Avicenna mausoleum, Ganjnameh inscription (Achaemenian period) and its tourism resort complex, Babataher tomb are also included in the program. We also hope we can host the WCC members while the fair is held.

For participation and more clarification, please contact directly the Deputy of Crafts Ms.Alireza Qasemi at +9834238704 (call or text) or you can email them at mahdi.azimi31@gmail.com

World Crafts Council enters new era

Departing President from China, Mr Wang Shen, addresses the General Assembly under the dazzling ceiling of the Abbasi Hotel.
Departing President from China, Mr Wang Shen, addresses the General Assembly under the dazzling ceiling of the Abbasi Hotel.

The 18th General Assembly of the World Craft Council has just met in Isfahan, Iran. Every four years the members gather to celebrate craft, consider pressing issues and elect a new president. It was Europe’s turn this time and Rosy Greenlees, the Director of Crafts Council UK, stepped forward to take on the responsibility. WCC-Europe has been very active of late, extending its engagement across the continent. This Presidency promises to bring increased dialogue, for sure. However, we are unlikely to witness in this upcoming term the kind of generosity exercised by the Chinese in bringing the world of craft together, as they did in Dongyang, 2014. But there are many other ways of being effective than hosting grand global spectacles.

This year’s General Assembly was focused mainly around the World Cities of Craft program, where cities are recognised for their preeminence in a particular craft. India, China, Iran and Chile have been particularly active in nominating cities (Iran’s cities feature in the latest issue of our Garland magazine). The challenge now is to develop networks between cities so that they can build exchanges on top of their individual activities.

The four-day event occurred in the splendid surrounds of the Abbasi Hotel, in the majestic Isfahan. This seemed to encourage much ceremony and quite a few marathon speeches (with translations!). The highlight was no doubt the enthusiasm of the hosts. It was difficult to walk more than a few metres in any direction without being called upon for an interview, a selfie, or just a heartfelt smile. The pride in hosting this international craft event was palpable. It may well be the most important international event hosted by Iran since sanctions started being lifted with the recent nuclear deal. In Australia we don’t quite realise the importance of craft diplomacy in our region.

Australia is part of the WCC-Asia Pacific Region, which is by far the largest. Dr Ghada Hijjawi-Qaddumi was confirmed as President for her second term. Dr Ghada brings an inclusivity and rigour to the role, not to mention her generous support for the Online Encyclopedia of Crafts in the Asia Pacific Region, which promises to be an important legacy. The South Pacific sub-region is represented by myself and Lindy Joubert. It’s not always an easy fit. In some ways, our craft culture has more in common with the studio crafts in Europe and North America than the more traditional practices in Asia. But the dualism of tradition and modernity is a powerful dynamic of the WCC-APR.

It is a shame that more Australians didn’t travel to witness this gathering—there was a major contingent from Bangladesh. But it is expensive for us to fly from across the Indian Ocean and the information about hotel bookings was less than clear. It’s worth checking the Garland calendar for regional craft events that are closer to hand. It is wonderfully uplifting to feel part of such a diverse community. This becomes ever more precious in a time of growing isolationism and cultural phobias.

The WCC-APR board resolved to modernise the organisation through development of a communication strategy. This is aimed particularly at the next generation who access most of their information by smartphone. As we saw with the recent Sydney meeting, there is also potential for “crowd-sourcing” in enabling more active involvement in the organisation. The social media platform developed by our Iranian hosts provided a model for this.

So expect more action now from the World Crafts Council—from everyone, hopefully including you.

Thank you Iran for your commitment to the world of craft.

Kevin Murray, Secretary, World Crafts Council – Australia.