Despite the heat, work is continuing at pace to finalise the details of the stalls that will form part of a new edition of the ‘Viu l’artesania’ fair from this Thursday until 23 September, filling the port of Ibiza with craftsmanship. The market will feature a variety of artistic expressions, including painters, jewellers, sculptors and muralists.
This will be the sixth edition, with 19 stalls occupying a 126-square-metre space next to the port entrance. The market will be open daily from 7 p.m. to midnight.
A key new feature of this year’s edition is that the market will host three musical performances by Ibizan groups on three Thursdays throughout the fair’s 40-day run.
Maria Fajarnés, Minister of Economic Promotion, and Isabel Echávarri, President of the PIMEEF Artisans Association, presented this new fair.
Fajarnés explained that this market was created in the wake of the pandemic to support one of the sectors suffering the most serious consequences. It is an event that ‘has grown stronger year after year and has become a meeting point to showcase the products and talent we have on the island of Ibiza’, according to the councillor.
Echávarri also spoke positively about ‘the generational change taking place within the artisan sector’ and said that he had seen some ‘very creative and original things’ this year.
He described the market as ‘a great opportunity to bring together many artisans in one place, which helps us a lot commercially, for which we are very grateful’.
The craftman
Among the twenty artisans participating in this fair are artists such as Aïda Miró, who will be attending for the second consecutive year to showcase her original oil paintings and works created using mixed techniques with resin.
The artist explains that she will be bringing ‘peasant women, geishas and Tanit goddesses’ to continue the theme of femininity and women at the fair, which begins on 3 September. I will also be bringing reproductions of works on paper, as my paintings are usually quite large, but this time I am bringing some smaller ones to suit the size of the stand. Reproductions are therefore a good option for acquiring more affordable works, as the originals are large in size. I will also have bags with printed reproductions of some works, as well as others that have been painted by hand».
About the fair, she explains that ‘last year it was a great opportunity to be in a place like the port of Ibiza, right on the seafront, and to be able to exhibit my work. I hope this year will be the same.’
Carol Bonet, a craftswoman who works mainly with porcelain and silver jewellery, as well as decorative ceramic pieces, will also have a stall. She has been working professionally in crafts for two and a half years, although she started in the trade at the age of 17.
Bonet says that she thinks the fair is «a fantastic opportunity, with an unbeatable location, and I am very excited to be participating this year. I would love for more people from the island to come this summer and for tourists to discover our crafts, as I often feel that they are unaware of this side of Ibiza. I hope that many people will visit us in search of something truly unique and made on the island, beyond the typical souvenir.»