Last days to enjoy the island's handcrafted creativity at the Gran Canaria Craft Fair
The Gran Canaria Autumn South Craft Fair takes place this weekend near the Maspalomas Lighthouse, an ideal setting for 76 artisans from 17 municipalities across the island to showcase the products they have been working on throughout the year.
The event also offers an opportunity to showcase the 25 crafts that are painstakingly practiced, as many artisans not only display their work in the three tents set up for the exhibition, but also create their items live and explain the process to visitors. The Gran Canaria Craft Fair is, therefore, a unique opportunity to learn firsthand about the crafts that keep the Canarian identity alive, from the most traditional to the most modern and contemporary.
Among the featured artisans in this edition is Delia Ramírez, who transforms discarded CDs into colorful and lightweight jewelry, thus delaying the pollution caused by throwing them away: “I once learned about the pollution caused by CDs when we no longer use them, and how we don't even know where to dispose of them; they take many years to decompose, and it shocked me.” That's why now, since retiring, she turns these discs into earrings and necklaces, which she has been showcasing at craft fairs for over five years.
For Delia, the location next to the Maspalomas Lighthouse is a success, because visitors from outside "are an audience that buys and, since they are on vacation, they relax a little more and stop to have me explain how the pieces are made; they value the quality of the craftsmanship."
The Gran Canaria South Autumn Craft Fair also welcomes professionals who are excitedly making their debut at this type of event. This is the case for Julia Crespo, a ceramist and co-founder of the Cocoro Cerámica workshop, who is attending a fair like this for the first time. “Participating is an important step for us, to enter the world of Canarian crafts and connect with the public,” stated the designer, who thanked Fedac “for their support in making us visible.”
“It’s important to reach out to the public, to let them know what we do, and also to continue expressing ourselves through our hands, which for me is the most important thing as an artist and as a ceramist,” said this designer who started practicing crafts as a hobby in which she is increasingly delving deeper.
In another tent, you'll find Domingo Alemán, a blacksmith, forger, and locksmith, and one of the representatives of the six traditional trades present at the fair. With over twenty years of experience in the trade and at craft fairs, Domingo laments that blacksmithing and forging are doomed to disappear: “Before, it was common for people to bring me things to fix, a cauldron, a ladle… now it's very, very sporadic.”
That's why he doesn't hesitate to attend the craft fairs promoted by Fedac every year, to explain blacksmithing to future generations. “There's no one coming after me; so how can you tell a child that there used to be two or three blacksmiths in every town because it was a necessity? Now we're no longer needed and there aren't any blacksmiths left, but we're part of our history.”
These three artisans are just a sample of the large number of professionals and trades participating in this year's Craft Fair, which will remain open until Sunday, November 2nd, from 10:00 a.m. to 19:00 p.m.
The Fair also features musical performances that enhance the experience of visiting the craft exhibition. This afternoon, Daniel Moreno, Misael Jordán, and Juan Sebastián Ramírez will perform; and tomorrow, Saturday, November 1st, the Guardilama Duo will take the stage, both performances starting at 17:00 PM.
Promoted and financed by the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, through the Fund for Ethnography and the Development of Canarian Crafts (Fedac), an organization attached to the Department of Economic Development, Industry, Commerce and Crafts, the Autumn South Craft Fair is organized by Infecar, Feria de Gran Canaria, with the collaboration of the San Bartolomé de Tirajana City Council.
