Irthi’s contemporary ‘craft recipes’ highlight design as a powerful driver of awareness & change at Milan Design Week 2023

Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council (ICCC), chaired by Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, has unveiled an inspiring showcase of modern, cross-cultural interpretations of traditional Emirati crafts as well as two invaluable works of research at the world’s largest annual design event, the Milan Design Week 2023.

For a week until April 23, Irthi’s entire display, co-curated with brand consultancy, Mr. Lawrence Studio is being staged at the famous 5VIE Design District in 5VIE’s headquarters at Cesare Correnti 14. The exhibition is a revolutionary step forward in educating not just the global design community, but crafts specialists, curators, urbanists, conservationists, geologists, researchers and students about ways in which ICCC and their regional and global partners are taking the UAE’s rich biodiversity and indigenous practices, and integrating them with cutting-edge design thinking and latest technologies to pave the way for a sustainable future.

The 6 exquisite crafts collections and two in-depth research publications, which the council is exhibiting in Milan this year, are all inspired by the UAE’s natural environments, food preservation methods, and local crafts practices. The research and recipes that have guided the exhibitions have also defined the unique design language of Irthi’s complete showcase in Milan.

Returning to the vernacular to shape a locally-driven, sustainable future

Years of collaboration and in-depth research have given birth to Architecture of Culture, the product of a three-way research fellowship collaboration between Design Labs II, American University of Sharjah and ICCC, which highlights the importance of looking inwards and returning to the vernacular to find local solutions for vital sectors of food security, architecture and construction, local commerce, and economic growth.

Divided into four exhaustive subsections featuring over 100 contributors from across the globe, the publication maps the UAE’s major natural environments of palm oasis, desertscape, waterscape and mountainscape, to present the vernacular materials, architectural methods, crafts and recipes originating from each of these unique environments.

As part of the research, Irthi and its partners reimagined the future of these vernacular materials through design. The contemporary craft recipes in the book were shared with Irthi’s  artisans with the aim of transferring the knowledge back to artisans on a macro scale.

One of the exhibitions at the event, the Design Labs II Collection – This collection was inspired by the research findings and showcases a sequence of tables made with locally sourced materials found in the UAE. These materials include wooden plinths, palm sheath, frankincense, sand, oyster shells, and limestone-based bricks and tiles. The overall exhibition design was influenced by the use of these materials, which were creatively incorporated to create a unique and captivating display.

Craft recipes inspired by the UAE’s and the world’s rich gastronomic heritage 

Irthi has been highlighting the role of women in preserving and championing traditional crafts for years, and with this exhibition in Milan, they have taken this narrative a step further by zooming in on the vital role of women in preserving traditional recipes and writing the history of what we today call gastronomy from the domestic sphere.

Recipes for Future: A Cross-Cultural Alchemy, Vol. 1 – an outcome of creative connections between Sharjah and Milan, the publication is a co-curation of recipes rooted in the rich gastronomic and food preservation heritage of the UAE and the wider region with contributions from Irthi’s Bidwa artisans, leading designers from the UAE and the region, Mr Lawrence studio, Casalinghe di Tokyo and Studiopepe.

The publication features 9 recipes by Casalinghe Di Tokyo, and contemporary tableware and food preservation methods, presenting a map for exploring the nuances of the complex culture of the UAE.

From this publication, three collections exhibiting in Milan have emerged.

The first collection, entitled Sofra Collection Drop is an ICCC-Studiopepe collaboration, and experiments the use of black clay, shaped by hand and fired at high temperatures, wrapped with handwoven palm frond weaves by the skilled hands of craftswomen using the Safeefah (palm frond weaving), Al Sadu (wool textile weaving), and Al Zaffanah (handweaving of rope and palm fronds) techniques. The result is a collection of contemporary tableware items used for preserving and fermenting food.

Irthi and Emirati designer Eman Al Rahma have translated the gastronomy research into a collection of Emirati-inspired tableware items from Al Gargour craft, which was traditionally crafted by male artisans for fishing purposes in the Bahri Collection Drop. The collection tastefully repurposes these handmade baskets with a set of clay covers to be incorporated into the Emirati dining experience.

The third collection, Thaya Collection Drop, is led by Emirati multidisciplinary designer Reem Saif Almazrouei, who translates the gastronomy research into a collection of Emirati-inspired tableware inspired by the UAE’s crafts heritage of Safeefah and Al Sadu.

Ghaya Bin Mesmar’s Thaya Collection of chairs and mats set to redefine modern spaces

Two individual collections exhibiting at the Milan Design Week 2023 are a product of a long standing creative collaboration between Irthi and Ghaya Bin Memsar. The chairs in the collection are a continuation of Ghaya’s exploration of incorporating the Safeefah weaving techniques, dyes, and materials, and introduces new leather as well as the Al Zaffnah technique to display the endless possibilities for the Safeefah chair design. This is second iteration of Memsar’s chair collection. The first one was unveiled in 2019 along with the remaining Irthi-Crafts Dialogue furniture-based collections. 

A series of square mats inspired by Al Gaheef, the Emirati version of hopscotch, are also part of the Thaya Collection Drop, and aim to preserve the intangible heritage of the UAE.

A key highlight of the Council’s participation in Milan is the ‘Safeefah Majlis’ installation, which offers visitors a first-of-its-kind opportunity to witness a detailed mapping and interpretation of the UAE’s indigenous materials, crafts, cultures and resources. This majlis, exhibiting at the famous ALCOVA, Via Marco Aurelio 21, 20127, is the fruit of a year-long research collaboration between ICCC and Atelier LUMA – a programme of LUMA Arles. This is the first iteration of the installation, which has been designed as a travelling exhibition to be taken to other design platforms worldwide.

Irthi’s participation in the Milan Design Week 2023 saw a great success thanks to a host of contributors who include the Department of Government Relations, Sharjah (DGR), Al Dhaid Municipality, BEEAH Group, Sharjah Museums Authority (SMA), Air Arabia – logistics partner, Environment & Protected Areas Authority (EPAA), Mleiha Archaeological Centre, UAE National Library and Archives, and Transgulf Cement Products.