The Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council is on a mission to empower women practicing craft skills in the Middle East and beyond.

The Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council is on a mission to empower women practicing craft skills across the Middle East, North Africa and South and Central Asia by building a female-driven artisan economy while preserving the area’s cultural heritage for future generations.

“Heritage crafts are usually performed by women in communal groups,” explains Irthi’s curator, Farah Nasri. “Championing the role of women in the crafts sector is vital in creating a new narrative and social standing for women within marginalized communities. Investment in specific areas, identified as centers of knowledge for crafts, in the form of the BIDWA Centers has a noticeable effect on those communities.”
Craftswomen benefit economically as well as receiving support to develop new opportunities and undertake vocational training. Irthi’s most recent efforts have led to Sharjah being recognized as a city of Crafts & Folk Art for the craft of Talli in 2019 by UNESCO?s Creative Cities Network.
Oud Oil Container ? Adi Toch
The Bidwa Social Development Programme, employs 40 artisans, provides them with vocational training and helps them to find new markets for their skills through commercial collaborations and regional artisan exchange programs.
Camel Bag by Jennifer Zurick
Irthi runs Design Labs ? along the same lines as ar...