8th Fajr Handicrafts Festival comes with “Farda” plaque/
Sarv and Toranj as usual every year
Tehran- IRNA- "Intergenerational Bonding, Safeguarding Identity in the world" is the slogan of the 8th Fajr International Handicrafts Festival, where for the first time, the "Farda" award and plaque will be awarded to a student and a university student artisan in the field of handicrafts, and the " Honar Dar Haram" statuette will be awarded to artisans who have created great artworks in the field of Razavi art.
Maryam Jalali Dehkordi, the Handicrafts and Traditional Arts Deputy minister of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, in an interview with IRNA Handicrafts Reporter, stated: Fajr Handicrafts and Traditional Arts Festival is an international event that provides an opportunity for a competition between the most outstanding and valuable artworks of handicrafts and traditional arts which is created by master artisans. This festival, which is designed and held on a global scale, exhibits the most outstanding creative artworks in terms of design, technique and quality of raw materials in the form of fine artworks and is a space for healthy competition and at the same time, a technical and approved infrastructure for modeling.
“Intergenerational Bonding, safeguarding Identity in the world”, 8th festival slogan
Jalali said: This year is the second edition of Fajr Handicrafts Festival, which is held internationally. Until 2021, this event was held at the national level in 6 editions. In the same year, at the closing ceremony, the Minister of Cultural Heritage (Syed Ezzatollah Zarghami) emphasized that from the next edition this festival should be held internationally; Last year, the first international edition was held, and this year, the second edition will be held internationally by planning and inviting handicrafts artisans from all over the world.
The Handicrafts and Traditional Arts Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, stating that the slogan of this festival is "Intergenerational Bonding, Safeguarding Identity in the World", added: "In this edition, 23 executive bodies are members of the Policy Making Council, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and Research, and the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adult ,as the first and most important chains of intergenerational bonding to preserve handicrafts, that played a significant role in this edition. Other institutions cooperated closely with the Ministry of Cultural Heritage for this event and there was held very good meetings in the last several months.
He clarified: In this edition, special attention has been paid to the identity and authenticity of works of art, the Seal of Excellence is followed in 9 regions of the country, this certificate is given to works that are functional and have the potential to be commercialized, not only in the form of an event but also the Seal of Excellence requires a special task.
Opening and exhibition at Azadi Tower, closing at Milad Tower
Jalali pointed to the international conditions and atmosphere and negative propaganda for Iranophobia and explained: Despite all the political pressures and propaganda for Iranophobia, handicrafts artisans from more than 15 countries of the world announced their participation in the 8th festival. In this edition, foreigners living in Iran, the international non-governmental cultural and artistic institutions residing in Iran are also actively participating and cooperating. The senior officials of the World crafts Council (WCC) have been invited to attend this event. Sa'ad al-Qaddumi, the president of WCC, will travel to Tehran to participate in this festival.
“The opening ceremony of the 8th edition of Fajr Handicrafts Festival will be held on Friday, February 16, in the cultural and artistic complex of Azadi Tower in Tehran. Festival and its side events such as workshop on education and promotion, workshop on development of handicrafts and traditional arts business, sell and exhibition booth of handicrafts and traditional arts, a photo exhibition and a memorial table, a tourism booth, an information booth and a Sarv-e Simin gallery will continue for 4 days – February 20 - and the closing ceremony and the announcement of the winners and awarding prizes and Sarv-e Simin will be held on Tuesday evening – February 20 -in Milad Tower, Tehran.”
Deadline for Registration and Submission of Artworks January 30
Jalali explained: The official website of Fajr Handicrafts Festival www.fajr.mcth.ir has been updated and the deadline to register and submit artworks on this site has been extended until January 30. So far, more than a thousand artisans from all over the country have registered, the artworks of these artisans have been evaluated at the provincial level in the first phase, and in the second and final phase, the jury of the festival will evaluate and announce the winners.
The Handicrafts Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage said: Last year, in the 7th edition of the festival, about 250 to 300 artworks were exhibited in the National Museum of Iran. This year there has been a good reception, selecting artworks has become more difficult, in total about 400 to 450 selected fine artworks will be displayed in an exhibition in Azadi Tower during the festival.
she invited the people, enthusiasts, artisans, academics and students to visit the Fajr Handicrafts Festival exhibition and added: These events are an opportunity for families along with their children to visit the peak of Iranian art, which is famous in the world. Let's all come to believe that handicrafts as the most important and beautiful cultural and civilizational identity of ours which can be present in our daily lives, need support, preservation and promotion. Handicrafts should reflect the living environment of all of us, because it makes us proud in the world and has an economic and commercial aspect for the family and the country.
Festival Awards; From Sarv-e Simin to Honar Dar Haram
Jalali regarding the awards of the 8th edition of Fajr Handicrafts Festival said: In this edition, 8 Sarv-e Simin statuette will be awarded to 5 National artisans and 3 International artisans respectively. Also, the same as each edition, Toranj-e Simin Statuette is awarded to a selected lady in the field of handicrafts, and Regrowth of Sarv Statuette is awarded to 2 artisans representing two generations or two families who have preserved the family art.
The Handicrafts and Traditional Arts Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage pointed out the importance of intergenerational bonding in the preservation of traditional arts and said: In this edition, a student artisan and a university student artisan will be awarded an award and a plaque with the title Farda, also in commemoration of the 8th Imam, Imam Reza PBUH, and the 8th edition of the festival, artisans who were active in the field of Razavi art and created great artworks are awarded a special prize and Honar Dar Haram Statuette. Moreover, 25 honorary diplomas will be awarded to the winners of the side events during the 5 days of the 8th festival.
The 8th Fajr International Handicrafts and Traditional Arts Festival will be held from 16 to 20 February, with Seyed Morteza Emadi as the executive secretary, at the Azadi Tower cultural complex in Tehran.