World Crafts Council

Last updated
World Crafts Council
Formation1964
Founder Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay
Aileen Osborn Webb
Margaret Merwin Patch
Website wccinternational.org

The World Crafts Council AISBL (WCC-AISBL) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that was founded in 1964. [1] [2] The goal of the World Crafts Council is to encourage economic development of crafts through craft related activities, [3] strengthening the status of crafts and craftspeople culturally and economically. [4] The World Crafts Council was duly registered in Belgium as an international association without lucrative purpose (AISBL) as of November 8, 2012. [5] It was accredited by UNESCO as of 2020. [1]

Contents

The WCC is organised into five regions: Africa Region, [6] Asia Pacific Region (WCC-APR), [7] Europe, [8] Latin America, [9] and North America. [10] Within each region there can be individual member organizations such as the World Crafts Council Australia and the Canadian Crafts Council. [11] [12] [13]

At least 65 cities worldwide have received the WCC's designation of being a "World Crafts City", for preserving and continuing a rich heritage of traditional crafts and artistic work. [4] [14] World Crafts Cities include Meybod, [15] Isfahan and Tabriz [16] [6] ; Kuwait; [17] Birmingham and Stoke-on-Trent [18] [19] , the Western Isles [20] ; Bornholm; [21] Kuching; [22] Kokand, [23] and Trinidad de Cuba. [24]

The achievements of individual craftspeople can be recognized by presentation of the WCC Seal of Excellence. [25] As of 2024, the WCC was working to establish a Seal of Crafts Authenticity as a benchmark that could be used across diverse craft traditions to indicate their authenticity. [26]

Founding

As part of the 1964 New York World's Fair, Aileen Webb and others from the American Craftsmen’s Council organized the First World Congress of Craftsmen, an international conference which was held held at Columbia University. [27] This meeting served as the first World Crafts Council General Assembly. [28] The invitees were an international group including craftspeople, artists, collectors, scholars, and curators. [28] [29]

On 12 June, 1964, the group formed the World Crafts Council. [28] Founding leaders included Aileen Osborn Webb, Margaret Merwin Patch and Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay. [28] [30] Aileen Webb became the founding president, serving from 1964-1972. Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay became the founding vice-president. She later served as president of the Asia-Pacific Region of the World Crafts Council from 1976 to 1979. [31] [32]

“The purpose of the Congress was to bring together craftsmen from the world over—both the village artisan and the urbanised designer-craftsman—for a creative, technical, economic and social exchange. The Congress proved that when confronted with each other as artists people could meet in a friendly spirit and with deep understanding no matter what their race or politics. This is the first road toward bringing peace in the world.” Aileen O. Webb, 1964 [12]

Activities

The council promotes fellowship among craftspeople through exchange programs, workshops, conferences, seminars, and exhibitions. [4]

The World Crafts Council hosts a General Assembly every four years, [33] while the regional groups tend to meet yearly. [34] The Golden Jubilee Celebration Summit of the World Crafts Council was held from October 18-22, 2014, in Dongyang, China. [35] [36] The World Craft Council celebrated its Diamond Jubilee in New Delhi (November 22-24, 2024) and Srinagar (November 25-27, 2024), a recently-designated World Crafts City. [37] [38] [4] [39]

Presidents

Presidents of the World Crafts Council include:

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Non-Governmental Organizations accredited to provide advisory services to the Committee - UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage". UNESCO. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  2. ↑ "UNESCO - World Crafts Council AISBL". Unesco . Retrieved 2025-03-14.
  3. ↑ Sherifat, Lawal (2021-06-14). "NCAC celebrates World Handicraft Day". Vanguard News. Retrieved 2025-10-08.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Bhat, Raja Muzaffar (August 3, 2024). "Srinagar officially designated as World Craft City". Greater Kashmir. Retrieved 2025-10-08.
  5. ↑ "1 Approved General Assembly 04_12_2020 RULES & REGULATIONS of World Crafts Council -Asia Pacific Region (WCC- APR)" (PDF). APR General Assembly. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  6. 1 2 Sherifat, Lawal (14 June 2021). "NCAC celebrates World Handicraft Day". Vanguard News. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  7. ↑ "Overview". World Craft Council - Asia Pacific Region. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  8. ↑ "COMPANIES ACT, 2014 CONSTITUTION OF WORLD CRAFTS COUNCIL EUROPE" (PDF). The European Crafts Alliance. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  9. ↑ Goodrich, Beth (September 2023). "How the Craft World Came Together: Examining the Archives of the World Crafts Council 7th General Assembly, 1976". Art Documentation: Journal of the Art Libraries Society of North America. 42 (2): 195–212. doi:10.1086/730942. ISSN   0730-7187 . Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  10. ↑ Mignosa, Anna; Kotipalli, Priyatej (11 June 2019). A Cultural Economic Analysis of Craft. Springer. ISBN   978-3-030-02164-1.
  11. ↑ World Crafts Council - Australia. "Craft: What we make of where we are" (PDF). Australian Government. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  12. 1 2 Murray, Kevin (1 September 2024). "The craft confederacy: Differences in common". Garland Magazine. Retrieved 2025-10-08.
  13. ↑ "Canadian Crafts Council fonds [textual record, sound recording, graphic material] Archives / Collections and Fonds". Canada Library and Archives. Government of Canada. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  14. ↑ Surette, Susan; Paterson, Elaine Cheasley (21 October 2021). Craft and Heritage: Intersections in Critical Studies and Practice. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 7–8. ISBN   978-1-350-06760-8.
  15. ↑ "Iranian festival to highlight Zilou weaving art". Tehran Times. January 28, 2019. Retrieved 2025-10-08.
  16. ↑ "Two Iranian Cities Gain World Fame For Gems And Pottery". Iran Front Page. July 10, 2016. Retrieved 2025-10-08.
  17. ↑ "Sadu Society celebrates designation of Kuwait as 'World Crafts City' for Sadu". Arab Times. 2025-05-20. Retrieved 2025-10-08.
  18. ↑ "Birmingham joins global cities Kyoto and Jaipur as World Craft City status awarded". Birmingham City Council. 3 June 2025. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  19. ↑ Lawson, Eleanor (3 June 2025). "World Craft City status for Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter". BBC News. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  20. ↑ "Western Isles awarded World Craft City status". BBC Watch Live. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 2025-10-08.
  21. ↑ "Bornholm island - the danish capital of arts and crafts". SFD Furniture Design. 2020-01-12. Retrieved 2025-10-08.
  22. ↑ Bong, Karen (2019-03-15). "Kuching City proclaimed `International City for Crafts'". Dayak Daily. Retrieved 2025-10-08.
  23. ↑ "Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the Italian Republic". www.uzembassy.it. Retrieved 2025-10-08.
  24. ↑ "Trinidad de Cuba Awarded World Crafts City Recognition – Escambray". en.escambray.cu. 31 July 2018. Retrieved 2025-10-08.
  25. ↑ "Iranian crafter wins WCC Seal of Excellence". Tehran Times. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  26. ↑ "Seal of Crafts Authenticity: A Global Movement for Genuine Handcrafted Excellence". texfash.com. 12 December 2024. Retrieved 2025-10-08.
  27. ↑ Zaiden, Emily. "American Craft Council and Aileen Osborn Webb". Craft In America. PBS. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  28. 1 2 3 4 "Our Founders". WCC International. Archived from the original on 22 February 2025. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
  29. ↑ Alfoldy, Sandra (2005). Crafting Identity: The Development of Professional Fine Craft in Canada. McGill-Queen's Press. p. 28. ISBN   978-0-7735-7264-5.
  30. ↑ Slate, Nico (15 July 2024). The Art of Freedom: Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay and the Making of Modern India. University of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN   978-0-8229-9139-7.
  31. 1 2 "Our Founders". WCC International. Retrieved 2025-10-08.
  32. 1 2 Dhar, Bidisha (1 November 2024). "The World Crafts Council and Decolonisation: India and Australia, 1960s-1980s". The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History. 52 (6): 1063–1087. doi:10.1080/03086534.2024.2445003. ISSN   0308-6534 . Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  33. ↑ Ōhi, Toshio Chōzaemon XI; Esson, Merran (3 December 2018). "Remembering when the world came to Kyoto in 1978". Garland Magazine. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  34. ↑ "ABOUT | Discover Unique Australian Crafts". WORLD CRAFTS COUNCIL AUSTRALIA. Retrieved 2025-10-08.
  35. ↑ Murray, Kevin (9 January 2014). "What to make of 2014". Craft Unbound. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  36. ↑ Bokova, Irina. "Message from Ms Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee Celebration Summit of the World Crafts Council; Dongyang, Zhejiang province, 18-22 October 2014". UNESCO. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  37. ↑ "World Crafts Forum 2024: Celebrating 60 Years of the Global Crafts Movement". Bold Outline : India's leading Online Lifestyle, Fashion & Travel Magazine. 2024-11-22. Retrieved 2025-10-08.
  38. ↑ "J&K: World Craft Council to celebrate diamond jubilee in Srinagar". IANS News. 30 October 2024. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  39. ↑ "Shri Pabitra Margherita inaugurates diamond jubilee celebrations of World Crafts Forum". Government of India Press Information Bureau. 22 November 2024. Archived from the original on 2024-11-22. Retrieved 2025-10-08.
  40. ↑ Peach, Andrea (2017). "The making of modern Scottish craft: revival and invention in 1970s Scotland" (PDF). Robert Gordon University. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  41. ↑ "Marea Gazzard: Sculptor produced works of great power and presence". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 November 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  42. ↑ Hoffman, Marilyn (September 28, 1981). "Marea Gazzard's monolithic 'forms'". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  43. ↑ Barron, Catherine. "Mandorla". History Trust of South Australia. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  44. ↑ "The lady with the Midas Touch". Daily Mirror. 17 Feb 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  45. ↑ "Craft World". American Craft. 56 (6): 19. 1996–1997.
  46. ↑ "Chennai to host international craft summit in October". The Times of India. Sep 23, 2012. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  47. ↑ "WCC Europe April 2013 Newsletter - Bundesverband Kunsthandwerk". yumpu.com. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  48. ↑ Askarieh, Golrokh (3 May 2016). "Isfahan To Host General Assembly Of World Crafts Council - Iran Front Page". Iran Front Page. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  49. ↑ "The Future at Hand: Reports on the role of crafts in our world today". Garland Magazine. 1 May 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  50. ↑ "We Remember – Ghada Hijjawi Qaddumi". American University of Beirut. February 23, 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  51. ↑ Al-Qaddumi, Saad Hani (7 June 2021). "A tribute to my mother". Garland Magazine. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  52. ↑ "WCC president hails Isfahan as early World Handicrafts City". Tehran Times. 12 June 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
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