Isaura Daniel*
isaura.daniel@anba.com.br
São Paulo – Objects made by Arab artisans will be showcased in a fair in the city of Olinda, in the northeastern Brazilian state of Pernambuco. Perfume bottles manufactured by Tunisians, ceramics made in Morocco, and mattress covers sewn by Egyptians will be among the pieces showcased at the 8th National Fair of the Handicraft Business (Fenneart), to be held between July 06th and 15th at the Pernambuco Convention Centre. The objects will be showcased by Arab handicraft importers based in the state of Paraná.
Mastercomex, from Curitiba, is one of the importers that will showcase Arab pieces at the fair. The company will also bring the artisan Alper Sikita, from Turkey, which is not an Arab country, to the Fennart. He will showcase crystal cups. In addition to the pieces made by Sikita, the company will also show narghiles, mattresses, perfume bottles, ceramics, and Muslim bead necklaces at their stand. According to Nayla Teles Vieira, customs manager at Mastercomex, and Emerson Teles Vieira, commercial manager, the products are from Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and Syria.
The company has been importing Arab products for ten years. The products are made manually by artists in the Arab world, according to Nayla. The company usually exhibits the articles at handicraft fairs, but also distributes them directly on the retail market. The Lebanese Radwan Raad, from the southern Brazilian capital of Curitiba, who also imports and exports handicraft, will be another exhibitor at the Fennart. The other businessman who is going to show Arab art, from Egypt, is Sharon Lynn, whose company is also based in the southern Brazilian state of Paraná.
Fenneart is going to include 2,500 exhibitors and will include participants from 17 countries, among them India, Cuba, Thailand, Indonesia, Pakistan, Peru, Kenya, Italy and Chile, among others, as well as the Arabs. The fair, already traditional, is one of the national spaces to present the general public and the retail market the potential of global and Brazilian handicraft. The forecast of the organizers is for 200,000 visitors to go to the fair. The amount of business forecasted during the fair is 18 million Brazilian reais (approximately US$ 9 million). The theme of the fair, this year, is "Dolls from Brazil", in honour of the produce of this kind of toy, considered one of the most ancient and popular all over the world.
Fenneart this year will include various attractions, among them a space, in the central area of the fair, called Maloca (Indian Village), where the products made by six different Brazilian Indian tribes from the state of Pernambuco will be shown. They are: pankarau, pankará, kambiwá, fulni-ô, atikum and xucuru. There will also be a site turned to showing the work of artisans from Pernambuco and other Brazilian states selected by a popular art curator. Other news is the space for art made from recycled material. There will also be business roundtables and fashion shows, among other events.
Fenneart
From July 06th to 15th
Pernambuco Convention Centre – Olinda
From 02:00 pm to 10:00 pm (on July 13th, 14th and 15th, from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm)
*Translated by Mark Ament and Gabriel Pomerancblum
