TEHRAN –The winners of the 7th edition of the Fajr international handicrafts festival, one of Iran’s major crafts shows, were honored during the closing ceremony of the event on Thursday.

The ceremony was attended by Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Minister Ezzatollah Zarghami, and his deputy for handicrafts, Maryam Jalali, as well as a number of artisans, craftspeople, and cultural officials, CHTN reported on Friday.

Mohsen Kaveh in marquetry, Mohsen Aqamiri in illumination, Masoud Shakibai in ceramics, and Babak Saei in toreutics received Silver Cypress of the national section.

In the international section of the festival Bisima Jafar, in silver weaving from Oman, Emtiaz Abu Avad in needlework from Palestine, and Abdoljabbar Khatri in toreutics from India won Silver Cypress.

This edition of the festival was held internationally for the first time.

In addition to the selected artisans, a section of the festival was also dedicated to showcasing works by the veterans and leading masters in the handicrafts sector.

Earlier this month, Jalali said that cultural heritage and tourism can benefit from handicrafts and this festival because handicrafts are part of a nation’s roots and originality.

With 14 entries, Iran ranks first globally for the number of cities and villages registered by the World Crafts Council, as China with seven entries, Chile with four, and India with three ones come next. For instance, Shiraz is named a “world city of [diverse] handicrafts”, Malayer is a global hub for woodcarving and carved-wood furniture, while Zanjan has gained the title of a “world city of filigree.”

In addition, the ancient city of Shiraz has been chosen to host the 39th General Assembly of the World Crafts Council Asia-Pacific Region (WCC-APR) in May 2023. Shiraz has a remarkable amount of handicraft pioneers. With an average age of 70, some of these pioneers are still active in their workshops. The occupational records of about 100 pioneers are collected and are annually praised by the custodians of the WCC General Office.

ABU/AM