The blue fair

crafts

Every year the arts and crafts made by women of Multan are

exhibited in a fair. You! takes a look...

We all know that it is the art produced in a country that speaks volumes for its culture. One such city that is bursting with creativity is Multan; the oldest living cities of the world and is a hub of culture. The city of saints, Multan, lies in the heart of Pakistan and is the biggest city of South Punjab. It is famous for its handicrafts such as blue pottery, carpets, ceramics, Multani khussa, embroidery on dresses, hand-woven fabrics, furniture, wooden products, earthenware pottery etc. Multan has always strived to retain its cultural significance. Yes, Pakistan is a country that is rich in culture and the arts and crafts produced here are the finest. Mostly women are engaged in creating beautiful handicrafts, but the sad part is that our artisans don't get the fame and money that they deserve.

Recently, to promote the handicrafts of Multan, Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry Multan Division (WCCI-MD) and Trade Development Authority of Pakistan held the much awaited yearly event, South Punjab Women Entrepreneurs Handicrafts Festival and Seminar, The Blue Fair in Multan. The fair is not held just to sell arts and crafts items but focuses on empowering the women of Multan.

Since its establishment in 2008, WCCI-MD has aimed to uplift the economy through empowerment, upgrading, promoting and projecting the work of women of South Punjab so that they can be recognized in the society. The blue fair helps with this mission, as it highlights the uniqueness of indigenous crafts including blue pottery; also known as kashigari. Blue pottery is very famous for its uniqueness and beauty. The skill for creating this blue pottery was introduced centuries ago by local artisans, whose craft derived influences from Persia, Central Asia and the Mongols.

Speaking about the event, Filza Akbar, official spokesperson says, "We wanted to show the products of the artisans of South Punjab and the women who are working on Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) and micro level, but an exhibition of their work would not have interested the elite class hence we decided to include renowned designers."

Luckily, this strategy worked and many people came to check out the exhibit. The decked up space dotted by neatly lined stalls saw a mix of arts and crafts on display. There were myriad of stalls from hand embellished khussas, ralliwork, camel skin products, paper crafts, hand embroideries like shadow work chicken kaari, jewellery and others.

"We wanted to train these women about branding and show them the way forward. So we came up with this idea of holding yearly exhibition where they can showcase their beautiful creations," adds Filza.

A special seminar was also conducted on the third day of the fair that focused on increasing the knowledge of the artisans regarding how they could improve their products and develop better terms with the clients.

Regarding the initiative of organizing the fair, Alina Gillani, Marketing Officer, TDAP Multan shares, "Our major role is to promote exports, exploring markets abroad and participating in international exhibitions."

Former MNA, Abida Hussain was also present on the occasion. She was primarily there to support the artsians. Hussain, who has been associated with lok versa and National Crafts Council of Pakistan, says, "Through such fairs, we can now tap into export markets for our crafts and our hand skills as they are highly valued internationally."

This expo's slogan 'Empower a Woman- Empower a Nation' calls for a common effort of all women entrepreneurs to work towards their socio-economic empowerment and an opportunity to bring together women entrepreneurs from South Punjab and from the rest of Pakistan in a common platform to showcase their work.

Kudos to the entire team for organising such a successful event! We hope that more of such initiatives are held on a regular basis to highlight the skills and talent of our women artisans.