Exhibition of joint works by artisans and designers continues in Mexico City — Mexico News Daily

The National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City, Mexico, is hosting an exhibition of works created through collaborations between Mexican artisans and designers from Syria, Lebanon, Iran and India. The exhibition presents the results of the Crafting Design Futures residency, organized by Design Doha as part of a cultural exchange between Qatar and Mexico, Mexico News Daily reports.

During the residency, family craft workshops in the states of Michoacán and Jalisco and in Mexico City hosted designers from the Middle East and South Asia. Participants explored how inherited craft knowledge can influence contemporary design.

Ceramics and traditional engraving

In Guadalajara, Iranian designer Yasamin Shaikhi, who works in Qatar, created the ceramic vessel Shared Traces together with Estudio Guerrero. The work was inspired by Nasrid ceramics from Al-Andalus and features a crown of hand-forged metal petals that reflect light on the glazed surface.

In Xochimilco, Syrian designer Kenan Alkuwatli collaborated with artisan José Cruz, known for the pepita technique — an ornament made of dots. For MANUS0X, the authors digitally reinterpreted a millennia-old vegetal motif from the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, divided it into thousands of fragments and integrated them into the traditional Mexican pepita technique.

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Copper and nature motifs

In the city of Uruapan, Lebanese designer Shireen Sbaity created the sculpture Raíz de Vida together with ceramic artists Norberto and Rosi. The work combines the designer's figurative style with colorful depictions of animals, faces and natural elements characteristic of Mexican artisans' works.

Another project was created in Santa Clara del Cobre, known for its tradition of hand-forging copper. British-Indian designer Armaan Bansal and artisan Alan Pureco made the work Despierto a estas horas with small holes in the copper through which light passes. According to the authors, it refers to the development of Mexican architecture.

The exhibition will remain open in the museum's Media Luna space until November 1, with free admission. The projects are part of Qatar's Years of Culture initiative, dedicated to Mexico and Canada in 2026.