May 23, 2013

Global Artists Return to Dallas for International Folk Art Market Collection

Artists and artisan groups from 18 countries will showcase one-of-a-kind artworks reflective of their traditional cultures during the International Folk Art Market Collection (June 19-23, 2013), a featured part of the Dallas Temp Show. This is the third year the Collection has been presented during the summer Market and will be located on the World Trade Center, 1st floor.

The artists will travel to Dallas from Afghanistan, Chile, Ecuador, Namibia, Pakistan, Peru, Spain, Swaziland and other countries before heading to the annual International Folk Art Market – Santa Fe, the largest international folk art market in the world. The artisans will showcase traditional handmade work including embroidered textiles, basketry, ceramics, beaded jewelry, painted wood objects, tie-dye scarves, hand woven silks, clothing and more. Many of their traditions have been passed down from generation-to-generation and help sustain their families and communities.

“The Collection is one of our most celebrated market events,” said Cindy Morris, COO, Dallas Market Center. “Everyone looks forward to seeing the artists showing one-of-a-kind handmade products and hearing their heartwarming stories. It’s an intercultural exchange and unique shopping opportunity for our buyers.”

Artists include:

Habibou Coulibaly – Burkina Faso
Habibou Coulibaly creates textiles using a mud cloth, or bogolan, technique and vegetable-based dyes. In his native Burkina Faso, this craft is typically learned through apprenticeship or passed down from father to son. Ethnic groups in neighboring Mali, Guinea and the Ivory Coast share similar techniques for creating textiles. The textiles were traditionally used for camouflage while hunting and during important ceremonies such as marriages and circumcisions.

Chantha Nguon – Stung Treng Women’s Development Center – Mekong Blue, Cambodia
Chantha Nguon started the Stung Treng Women’s Development Centre in 2002 with a $3,000 grant from Partner in Progress. The project focuses on teaching and mentoring local women in the art of ikat silk weaving while developing life skills that assist in breaking the cycle of poverty and illiteracy. The Mekong Blue silk products are now regarded as one of the finest silk products in Cambodia.

Erkebu Djumagulova – Kyrgzstan
Erkebu Djumagulova is a textile artist from the capital city of Bishtek, Kyrgyzstan, who is a master at capturing the expressions and customs of the villagers of her native Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia through the intricately dressed dolls she makes from embroidered felt wool, silk and yarn. Drawn to the traditional Kyrgyz felt arts since childhood, Erkebu followed her dreams all the way to professional art college where she carefully researched and learned the intricate arts of felt making from local folk artists around the country.

Artisanat des Femmes de Khenifra – Morocco
Artisanat des Femmes de Khenifra is a cooperative of 100 women from low-income families. Each member learned the craft of djellaba button making from their mothers or grandmothers. Traditionally, these buttons were made to sell to tailors who make djellabas, the traditional hooded and buttoned caftan worn by Moroccan and Berber women. The women formed a cooperative to become more self-sustaining and find markets for their work.

Hamzeh Natsheh – Hebron Glass – Palestinian Territories
The Natsheh Handicrafts workshop is a family group that carries on this ancient tradition of mouth-blown, hand-decorated glass that is passed down from generation to generation. Now using recycled Coca-Cola bottles and a steel pipe or kammasha, the glasswork is blown at 1,000 degrees Celsius, then left for eight hours to cool. This tradition is threatened due to decrease in tourism, problems of export, and restrictions on movement of Palestinians.

Radjab Khayotov – Kharrot Group – Uzbekistan
Radjab Khayotov of Bukhara, Uzbekistan, is a woodworking master recognized for his wonderfully- carved and intricately-painted boxes, plates, trays, tables and chess sets. Today, Khayotov and the apprentices at
his “Kharrot” (Woodworker) crafts group
are engaged in creating lacquered wooden items. His works have received UNESCO’s Seal of Excellence for Handicraft Products in Central Asia.

About Dallas Market Center
Founded in 1957, Dallas Market Center is the world’s most complete wholesale marketplace. Within its marketplace of more than five million square feet, retailers from around the globe source products ranging from home furnishings, gifts, decorative accessories and lighting to textiles, fashion accessories and men’s, western, women’s and children’s apparel. With more than 50 markets each year attended by more than 200,000 retail buyers from all 50 states and 78 countries, Dallas Market Center offers hundreds of events and seminars geared toward helping retailers expand business and increase profits. As a result, more than $8 billion in estimated wholesale transactions are conducted annually within the Dallas Market Center complex. The Dallas Market Center website is available at http://www.dallasmarketcenter.com/.