TEHRAN -- The 16th National Handicrafts Exhibition has opened in Ardabil, bringing artists from 30 Iranian provinces together to showcase the country’s diverse traditions of handmade art.
Held at the Ardabil International Exhibition Center beside Shorabil Lake to mark Government Week, the four-day exhibition features works from 50 handicraft fields across 140 booths.
Muhammad Afshar, deputy head of handicrafts at the Ardabil provincial department of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, said the exhibition runs through Friday, September 6, with visitors able to attend from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. each day.
The event combines displays and sales with cultural and educational programs. The Mostazafin Foundation is participating with cultural programs, while Basalam is holding workshops focused on marketing and presenting handicraft products through online platforms.
The exhibition’s principal aim, Afshar said, is to introduce and promote products made by handicraft artists while drawing greater public attention to the sector.
Ardabil is one of Iran’s established centers of handicraft production, with 62 craft fields practiced across the province. Among its best-known traditions are Ardabil leatherwork and filigree, Namin marquetry, Khalkhal stone mosaic and marquetry, Anbaran kilim weaving, as well as jajim, carpet, palaz and verni weaving.
Other local crafts include glass cutting, pottery, knife-making, metal engraving and mosaic tilework.
More than 30,000 officially registered artisans work in the province’s 62 handicraft fields, according to the report, with their achievements at national and international levels reflecting the breadth of local expertise.
The exhibition also highlights the wider cultural significance of handicrafts in Iran. With more than 350 handicraft fields practiced worldwide and around half represented in Iran, handmade arts remain an important expression of the country’s cultural and historical identity.