The Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities launched the Craftsmen Apprenticeship Training Program at the Jasra Handicrafts Center, as part of the pavilion of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s events and programs at Expo 2021 Dubai. Ongoing until October 22, this program strives to provide a nurturing environment for handicrafts and traditional Bahraini products to link it with the private sector, both inside and outside Bahrain, through Expo 2021 Dubai.
The Craftsmen Apprenticeship Training Program aims to preserve these unique sets of skills, as well as provide the proper learning methods and opportunities to the rising generation of craftsmen. The program will play an important role in transferring the expertise of local craftsmen to the younger generation, held in cooperation with the Jasra Handicraft Center, Shaikh Ebrahim bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Center for Culture and Research, Capital Mall for Bahraini Handmade Products (Ministry of Labor and Social Development), Awal Women Society and the Bani Jamra Textile Factory.
With a focus on live weaving, the Craftsmen Apprenticeship Training Program will delve into the most important traditional crafts that have characterized the Kingdom of Bahrain such as textiles, naqda, kurar, palm frond weaving, basket weaving, rush mats and making gargoor fish traps. Four artists and designers will train with the thirty program participants over the course of three weeks. They will work closely with participants on their crafts, master its techniques, gain proficiency on the materials, tools and equipment used, as well as ways to improve the aesthetics of each product. The training program workshops will be divided in two shifts, morning and evening, and will be held between Jasra and Muharraq to ensure that each workshop hosts a maximum of five trainees.
The training program will cover a number of important axes such as the application of these skills to create products, the creative and development evolution in production, and an attempt to like the different types of crafts with one another. It’s a joint cooperation between craftsmen and designers to relate crafts with art and design.
Through its national pavilion and cultural program at Expo 2021 Dubai, the Kingdom of Bahrain has a unique opportunity to represent itself through cultural events, various performances, business forums and workshops. Bahrainis will have the opportunity to showcase their talents and innovations, opening the door for potential job opportunities at the local, regional and global levels.
It should be noted that the Craftsmen Apprenticeship Training Program follows the precautionary and preventive measures to limit the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) while taking the disinfection and sterilization measures approved by the Bahrain Ministry of Health.Â
It was stated that Expo 2021 Dubai will start on October 21, 2021 and will continue until March 31, 2022, expecting to attract about 25 million visitors, 70% of whom are from outside the United Arab Emirates. It will give Bahraini entrepreneurs, designers, artists and others a unique opportunity to strengthen their commercial and cultural relations with different peoples of the world.
Expo 2021 Dubai is an ideal opportunity to shed light on the successes and developments in the Arab world, in which Bahrain has played an important role in these achievements. Since the Expo’s overarching theme is “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future” with three sub-themes, namely Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability, the Bahrain Pavilion at the Expo will focus how the concept of density enables promising opportunities, and stimulates the diverse features of Bahrain’s natural and urban composition.
Through the national pavilion, it will be possible to examine density as an integral variable in local contexts, tracing the effects of density that Bahrain has experienced through time and space since the dawn of the ancient Dilmun civilization to the Kingdom’s modern day — density is a force that affects various aspects of life.
The Kingdom of Bahrain’s Pavilion at Expo 2021 Dubai is designed by Swiss architect Christian Kerez, a prominent figure in the world of architecture and research related to construction and installation, as Kerez views the pavilion as a pathway to explore the interrelationships between creativity, density and opportunity. The 2000 square-meter pavilion is designed as a cube with a height of 24 meters with a central and open exhibition space (30 meters in height and width), supported by 126 columns of 11 cm thickness. The pavilion is being developed in collaboration with WANDERS WERNER FALASI Consulting Architects based in the United Arab Emirates.