What happens when Mexican artisans meet Middle Eastern, South Asian design talent?

During the Crafting Design Futures residency program, Mexican master artisans collaborated with designers from Syria, Lebanon, Iran, and India. This cultural exchange, organized by Qatar and Mexico, aimed to explore how traditional craft knowledge shapes contemporary design.

In Guadalajara, Yasamin Shaikhi, a renowned Iranian designer, worked with Estudio Guerrero to create a ceramic vessel inspired by Nasrid pottery from Al-Andalus. The piece, named Shared Traces, features metallic petals that reflect light and showcase geometric patterns influenced by both countries.

Meanwhile, in Xochimilco, Kenan Alkuwatly, a Syrian designer, collaborated with renowned Mexican artist José Cruz. Their creation, MANUS_0X, reinterprets a 1,000-year-old floral motif from the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and incorporates traditional Mexican craft techniques.

In Uruapan, Lebanese designer Shirine Sbaiti collaborated with Mexican master ceramists Norberto and Rosi. Their sculpture, Raíz de Vida, blends Sbaiti's figurative style with the traditional Mexican depictions of animals and natural elements.

In Santa Clara del Cobre, British-Indian designer Armaan Bansal worked with Alan Pureco, whose family has been crafting hand-hammered copper objects for generations. Their piece, Despierto a estas horas, features intricate copperwork with small openings that let light shine through, symbolizing the evolution of Mexican architecture through copper.

These collaborations are part of the Years of Culture initiative, a Qatari effort to strengthen ties between participating countries through art, design, gastronomy and other disciplines. The exhibition at Mexico City's National Museum of Anthropology runs until November 1st.