FIART 2012: Plural Craft Production

Cuba’s Fund of Cultural Assets is presently focused on the intensity entailed by holding one of the most significant events of its annual schedule: FIART 2012 26th Crafts International Fair that will be taking place at Pabexpo, Havana, through December 23.

Our first impression is that the Fair has tremendously grown, in terms of space and diversity of proposals, and bets on greater visibility for national furniture production, which in recent years has reached a higher level with the use of local materials, also following international trends.

The event attracts many people in Havana, since it represents a great opportunity to know, and eventually acquire, Russian, Indonesian or Peruvian craft products... International craftwork ranges between the preservation of traditions and the approach to a market that can make it sustainable, and this phenomenon can be verified in many representations from the eighteen countries attending the event.

Along with this exhibition (open to the public from 11:00 am to 7:00pm), a Theoretical Event was held at the fairground (from the 10th to the 14th, 10:00 am to 1:30 pm) titled “The development of craftwork when facing the challenges of global crisis”. This space, focused on the Latin American community, will “move” ideas in terms of different strategies and development projects in the sector, with a program that includes lectures, the launch of magazines and multimedia projects, and the introduction of a travel agency for cultural tourism.

Likewise, there are fashion parades taking place at Bertolt Brecht Theater, a total of seventeen, by 14 Cuban designers and 3 foreign participants. PABEXPO will be hosting on Friday December 21, at 8:00 pm, the awarding ceremony of FIART prizes in categories Stand, Furniture, General Craftwork and Fashion parades.

There is an intense fair program for 2013: 9th edition of Con Arte para Mama, April 26 – May 11; Arte en La Rampa 2013, June 28 – September 1; in August the second edition of Varadero Tradeshow; and Iberoarte 2013, October 18 – November 3. FIART 2013 (Dec 6 - 22) is dedicated to Pinar del Rio province and tobacco craftwork.