SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE 21st Nov (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Cabildo of Tenerife, alongside the CICOP Foundation (International Centre for the Conservation of Heritage), is exploring the establishment of an Ibero-American School of Crafts and Art Trades on the island.
This initiative aims to encourage the retrieval, preservation, and promotion of traditional crafts, while also enhancing cultural and artistic exchanges between Tenerife and Ibero-American nations.
The announcement was made in Gáldar during the XXIII edition of the ‘CICOP Symposium on Historical Centres and Cultural Heritage of the Canary Islands’ by CICOP president Francisco Aznar and the Minister of Employment and Education of the Cabildo, Efraín Medina.
The minister stated that “the primary goal of this school would be to educate new artisans and specialists in artistic trades, enabling the transmission of traditional knowledge and techniques that risk fading away.”
He further elaborated that this initiative “would act as a platform for innovation and development in the crafts sector, incorporating contemporary elements into creative processes.”
The potential curriculum at the school would encompass several craft disciplines, including traditional ceramics, textiles and weaving, carpentry and joinery, forging and blacksmithing, basketry, and artisan jewellery.
The project’s aims include training new artisans to pass on knowledge and skills to forthcoming generations, ensuring the survival of these trades, safeguarding cultural heritage, fostering innovation and development by integrating modern techniques into artisanal practices to meet current demands without compromising traditional integrity, stimulating economic growth by creating business opportunities, attracting cultural tourism interested in local crafts, and promoting specialised and traditional trades.
Isabel de Esteban, the insular director of Heritage for the Cabildo of Tenerife, assessed the proposal positively.
COLLABORATIVE STRATEGIES
“We will continue to collaborate and take initial steps to establish shared working strategies in order to cultivate specialised artisans capable of managing interventions in heritage, thereby helping to sustain these traditional crafts,” she emphasised.
This project aligns with prior initiatives of the Cabildo of Tenerife, such as the Crafts Training Plan 2024, which aims to preserve and promote the island’s crafts by training new artisans and updating existing ones, with a particular focus on traditional crafts.
Additionally, the Museum of Ibero-American Crafts of Tenerife (MAIT) has recently enhanced its educational offerings by introducing new workshops and resources for teachers, in a bid to engage the educational community with traditional crafts.
The establishment of this school would mark a significant advancement in positioning Tenerife as a leader in the education and conservation of crafts, bolstering its cultural identity and promoting the sustainable development of crafts in the region.
