By Georgia Maxwell
Published September 4, 2019

Emirati Clay and Italian Murano Glass Vase, Lamp and Phone Charger by Fatima Al Zaabi and Matteo Silverio, Crafts Dialogue. Image by Moez Achour.In a matter of weeks, an art event that celebrates and empowers women through craft shall be presented to the world.

Launching at the London Design Fair, where Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council has been chosen to represent United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the Fair’s Guest Country Pavilion September 19 – 22, the Sharjah-based organisation shall unveil products and showcase a range of skills from glassblowing to safeefah and talli weaving techniques.

Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council will debut its landmark first product line; a wide-ranging collection of pieces intended to celebrate and empower women in United Arab Emirates through craft.

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Misbah Jewellery by Irthi and Léi, Design Lab. Photo by Moez AchourWhile Fatima Al Zaabi and Venice-based architect Matteo Silverio’s material exploration of the contrasts between inherently fragile Murano glass and sturdy, hard-wearing Emirati clay within a single object, Misbah jewellery by Irthi’s trainees and Pakistan-based, mother/daughter-led Lél, whose workforce consists of Afghani artisans displaced by conflict. The collection focuses on misbah prayer beads as both pieces of jewellery and sculptural designs for the home, using traditional talli weaving techniques.

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Irthi artisan practicing safeefah Leather Bag weaving. Pic by Moez Achour.Seating by Ghaya Bin Mesmar and Mermelada Estudio on the other hand, that is Inspired by the sight of a traditional areesh palm-frond house blown into a strangely majestic conical form by the wind, the chair adopts this form, allowing for both privacy and protection from the elements. It combines traditional
and modern safeefah weaving techniques and its vibrant colours are inspired by the rainbow of regional spices.

The pioneering initiative has the twin aims of celebrating traditional and modern crafts while elevating female artisans, socially and economically.

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Irthi artisans practicing safeefah with Ghaya Bin Mesmar and Mermeladae Studio. Image by Moez Achour.Spanning the Middle East, North Africa and South-East and Central Asia, Irthi’s activities centre on the preservation and promotion of indigenous craft heritage, the engagement of young generations and the development of new international market opportunities. As part of its mission to educate young practitioners on the cultural importance of Emirati heritage crafts, Irthi aims to nurture and nourish creative connections between renowned global designers and artisans with the next generation of female makers in the UAE.

Irthi operates a pioneering programme of creative, cultural and commercial initiatives designed to empower women through craft.

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