An initiative of the Spanish Ministry of Culture in support of artists and artisans

The Floornature portal has always had a special interest in arts and crafts, a world that is closely linked with ceramics. This vocation is particularly apparent in the Design&Trends section of the portal, which not only presents the work of artists and craftspeople all over the world, but takes a closer look through interviews and meetings to find out more about their thoughts and reflections.
This is why we were very pleased and curious to see the launch of the ESPAÑA ARTESANA platform by the Spanish Ministry of Culture and Sports, inspired by an idea of the Spanish Association for Contemporary Arts and Crafts. Founded in 2018 as an independent non-profit cultural association, it aims to preserve, update and promote traditional crafts, encouraging the transmission of traditional know-how to new generations and the education, promotion and international expansion of Spanish craftspeople. It is the only organisation in Spain to collaborate with the Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftmanship, a world leader in the promotion of contemporary handicrafts and organiser of HOMO FABER, a biennial event bringing together hundreds of master craftspeople and designers from all over the world in Venice.
The wonderful thing is that all the master craftspeople supported by the platform truly excel in their fields, and have been selected on the basis of the same criteria, based on the territorial identity, creativity, innovation and sustainability of their work, as well as on traditional aspects of their crafts.
The result is a platform designed to cast light on a cultural movement that embraces heritage and tradition as well as the avant-garde and innovation, in a space bringing together artisans, users, collectors and specialists in Spain and abroad. 
In a showcase skilfully blending innovative cutting-edge contemporary design with opportunities for national and international promotion, ESPAÑA ARTESANA now features about 250 crafts workshops and artists who all share a common denominator guaranteeing their intrinsic sustainability: they all produce artisan items that promote job creation in outlying areas such as rural zones, to „ encourage a more responsible consumption, more exquisite and durable,“ according to the press release.
As the site’s founders suggest, craftsmanship doesn’t simply mean made by hand. „True craftsmen have a great knowledge of the raw materials they use: they know how they react to cold and heat, they know where to find them and when to pick them, or choose them if they are living materials such as wood, they know how to dry and prepare them, they know how they will age and how to take care of them. They have the knowledge of the material.“
On the platform we therefore find artisans and artists who measure themselves against the most disparate materials, from glass to ceramics, wood and fabrics. They are master glassmakers, tailors, and designers, each with a unique form of expressiveness laden with tradition and ancient stories, rethought with a contemporary twist while maintaining their deep bonds with the context in which they practice their art.
The project is part of Next generation EU, a European tool providing investment to help European Union member states make up for their losses due to the pandemic, with a focus on macroeconomic stability to create work opportunities compatible with the ecological transition.

Christiane Bürklein

ESPAÑA ARTESANA
Images: see captions - courtesy of ESPAÑA ARTESANA