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The largest and most active segment of the global crafts entity, the World Crafts Council (WCC), has heaped praise on the Lankan crafts sector saying that it is proud to have influential members like Sri Lanka’s National Crafts Council with it.
President Maithripala Sirisena and Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen share an official souvenir moment at the launch event of Shilpa Abhimani 2017 joined by State Minister of Industry and Commerce Champika Premadasa (centre), Chairperson of National Crafts Council Heshani Bogollagama (second from right) and President of the World Crafts Council-Asia Pacific Region (WCC-AP) Ghada Hijjawi Qaddumi (far right) at the BMICH on 4 October
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s latest arts and crafts event Shilpa Abhimani had netted sales exceeding Rs. 6 million by yesterday, its closing day.
“We are proud to have an influential and effective member organisation like Sri Lanka’s National Crafts Council that embraces and promotes the mission of the World Crafts Council,” declared the President of the World Crafts Council-Asia Pacific Region (WCC-AP) Ghada Hijjawi Qaddumi on 4 October at the BMICH.
Qaddumi was addressing the launch of Shilpa Abhimani 2017, the international level arts and crafts festival and exhibition which included an International Crafts Festival, which was attended by President Maithripala Sirisena, Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen, State Minister of Industry and Commerce Champika Premadasa and National Crafts Council Chairperson Heshani Bogollagama.
WCC is the only global voice for craftspeople the world over and works closely with UNESCO. The Shilpa Abhimani 2017 had netted sales exceeding Rs. 6 million by yesterday, without counting the sales of its foreign participants. The total number of visitors to the event as of noon yesterday was at 13,000. 1,000 craftspeople displayed 1,200 items and another 100 exhibitor stalls, of which 20 are by foreign participants from Iran, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh and Kuwait, in this event by the National Crafts Council of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. The highlight of Shilpa Abhimani 2017’s launch was the presence of Qaddumi, who is also a reputed global scholar.
“This Shilpa Abhimani exhibition embodies the deep cultural heritage of Sri Lankan people and reflects the ancestral traditions of Lankan patrons who rewarded talented artisans. This practice is manifested till today by the President of the country. The strong government support to National Craft Council (NCC) is appreciated by the World Crafts Council,” said Qaddumi.
“Sri Lanka’s NCC promotes the diversified crafts of Sri Lanka by making these crafts visible across the world. Three Sri Lankan craftsmen won the NCC Award of Excellence for handicrafts in 2016. Also Sri Lankan artisans and designers, some of whom are affiliated to NCC, applied for the WCC awards 2017, the results of which will be announced in New Delhi on 15 October. WCC was established in 1964 in New York, USA. Its main mission is to preserve crafts and encourage crafts people to produce high-quality crafts. The WCC has five regions and each has a President.
“The seat of the presidency of Asia Pacific WCC is in the state of Kuwait this year. To encourage the continuity of crafts, the WCC has nominated 23 cities across the Asia Pacific region as ‘World Crafts Cities’ since 2014. Therefore from this podium I invite the Minister of Industry and Commerce and the NCC of Sri Lanka to nominate one Sri Lankan city or village specialised in a specific craft for 2018 (as a World Crafts City), and to send the application to the Asia Pacific region’s President in Kuwait. The ancient tradition of handicrafts making in Sri Lanka drew the tenth century Arab historian writer Al Masudi to state that no one can surpass the people of Sri Lanka ‘Sarandib’ in their delicate craftsmanship in weaving and other crafts.”
WCC-AP forms the largest and most active part of the WCC. WCC is the only global body to support the aspiration of the world’s craftspeople, whether in maintaining honourable inherited traditions or in extending frontiers by experiment and innovation.
WCC was established in New York City in June 1964 to maintain, strengthen and ensure the status of crafts as a vital part of cultural life and to promote the human values of the crafts and a sense of fellowship among craftspeople around the world. WCC is now recognised as an NGO affiliated with UNESCO in category A of non-governmental organisations.
The NCC, under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, facilitates and supports Sri Lanka’s arts, crafts and designs and has almost 25,000 Lankan artisans registered under it.
