EuroEast Culture, a contest for the best Heritage Crafts from the South Caucasus

A contest to select the best heritage crafts from the Southern Caucasus is being organised by an Eastern Partnership culture project dedicated to strengthening the creative industries in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

The project – ‘Strengthening Creative Industries in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia: Heritage Crafts – Common Platform for Development’ – this week announced the exhibition/contest for the ‘Best Heritage Crafts from South Caucasus’. The aim of the contest is to reveal market oriented heritage craft products with export potential, which at the same time maintain their links with tradition.

The exhibition/contest accepts nominations from heritage crafts producers from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Only handmade and/or hand finished heritage crafts products are eligible. Applicants may be individuals and/or organizations (SMEs, NGOs) working in the heritage crafts sector.

The first prize – a personal participation in the European Gift Fair – will be awarded to the producer with the highest total score. There will be one winner per country, three in total. The award ceremony will be held on September 28, 2013, in Tbilisi, Georgia.

The project is part of the Eastern Partnership Culture Programme, funded by the European Union. Its overall objective is to foster the sustainable development of the creative industries and to contribute to transnational cooperation among participant countries and the EU.

The €12 million Eastern Partnership Culture Programme aims at assisting the Partner Countries in their cultural policy reform at government level, as well as capacity building and improving professionalism of cultural operators in the region. It seeks to strengthen regional cultural links and dialogue within the Eastern Partnership region, and between the EU and ENP Eastern countries’ cultural networks and actors.