Montecristi

City of Crafts and Folk Art since 2023

City presentation

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Nakuru

City of Crafts and Folk Art since 2021

City presentation

Nakuru, located in the Rift Valley region of Kenya, is a city rich in cultural heritage, boasting a diverse array of cultural assets that foster creativity. The crafts and folk art sector features innovative artists working in sculpture, visual arts, beadwork, fabric design, metalwork, pottery, and storytelling, forming the backbone of Nakuru’s creative economy.

This economy encompasses thirteen creative sub-sectors that utilize culture as a strategic tool for economic growth. Recognizing the significance of creativity in development, Nakuru has launched hands-on programs to train professionals and build networks within the creative industries. Events like the Nakuru International Investment Conference and Nakuru Business Expo provide platforms for artists to showcase their work and attract investments. Moving forward, Nakuru plans to develop creative spaces such as cultural centers and art galleries, as well as establish a community festival to celebrate local heritage and promote inclusivity.

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Nan

City of Crafts and Folk Art since 2025

City presentation

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Ouagadougou

City of Crafts and Folk Art since 2017

City presentation

Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, is a political, administrative, and cultural hub with a population of 2 million, housing over 80% of the central region’s inhabitants. The city has a rich tradition of bronze-working, particularly in the Niongsin neighborhood, where it originated through the expertise of three major families specializing in lost wax casting. This craft has evolved to become a primary source of income for many families and significantly impacts the local economy, employing 13% of informal sector workers across 375 businesses. Various training centers, such as the National Centre for Arts and Crafts and the Craft Village, ensure the transmission of this artisanal knowledge.
The city also hosts two major cultural events, the Ouagadougou International Craft Fair and the Pan-African Cinema and Television Festival. The municipal government actively supports local cultural industries by improving working conditions and promoting the bronze craft through initiatives like the Bronze Display.

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Pasto

City of Crafts and Folk Art since 2021

City presentation

Pasto, located in southern Colombia, is rich in cultural assets that reflect its diverse ethnic and religious traditions. Known for its vibrant crafts and folk art, the city’s economy thrives on small industries and artisanal production, including wood carving, embossed leather, and fabrics. Pasto is Colombia’s largest handicraft production hub, accounting for 14.34% of the national market, making the artisanal sector crucial for regional development. The Carnival of Blacks and Whites is the city’s most significant cultural event, contributing 0.7% to local GDP and creating over 8,000 jobs between 2011 and 2016.

As a Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art, Pasto plans to strengthen creative industries to generate employment, promote cultural identity, and foster social inclusion. The city will also support cross-sector alliances, encourage cultural exchanges, and promote research on cultural heritage creation and distribution.

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Pekalongan

City of Crafts and Folk Art since 2014

City presentation

Pekalongan, known as the “Batik City,” is a multicultural city of 300,000 people where hand-drawn and hand-stamped batik is central to its economy and identity. Batik culture is deeply integrated into the city’s educational and creative economy development plans. The Batik Museum and nearby workshops form a key arts center, recognized for safeguarding this intangible heritage.

Pekalongan’s focus is on preserving and advancing Batik culture, which supports income generation, especially for women, improving their quality of life. The city also aims to strengthen social, cultural, and economic infrastructures, foster innovation, and promote Batik locally and globally while encouraging environmentally friendly practices.

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Perth

City of Crafts and Folk Art since 2021

City presentation

Perth, a vibrant city in central Scotland with a population of nearly 160,000, thrives on industries such as farming, tourism, and low-carbon energy. The city boasts a rich cultural scene with two major theatres and international-standard museums, many highlighting local craft production. Perth College supports the creative sector with 650 students in culture-related fields. The city’s creative industry has grown, employing over 3,000 people with an annual GVA of USD 55,517 per job. Perth is also part of the Tay Cities Deal, which aims to invest in culture and innovation.
Key upcoming projects include the Perth City Hall Museum, focusing on crafts and folk art. The city plans to enhance its cultural footprint by fostering international collaborations, creating accessible spaces for artisans, engaging the public through workshops, and promoting sustainable tourism through a crafts and folk art trail.

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Ponorogo

City of Crafts and Folk Art since 2025

City presentation

Tucked into an intermontane basin in eastern Java, Ponorogo is a city where traditional practices run deep, sustained by a dense network of villages that function as living cultural units. Mutual cooperation and creative expression are woven into daily life, giving the city a distinctive social character. Its most celebrated tradition is Reog Ponorogo, a dance drama rooted in the city’s founding history and performed without interruption since the fifteenth century. Far more than a performance, Reog sustains an entire craft ecosystem: giant masks, elaborate costumes, accessories and traditional musical instruments are produced by specialist artisans, with nearly every village maintaining its own studio for training and transmission across generations. Batik, pottery and bone-based crafts linked to the prehistoric Sampungian heritage round out a diverse artisanal landscape. The creative sector drives the local economy in tangible ways — over 42,000 small and medium enterprises were recorded in 2023, while the Reog ecosystem alone brings together 365 communities and more than 23,000 performers. Over 300 cultural facilities, open-air stages and community studios provide the infrastructure for production and exchange, with the National Reog Festival and the Creative Reog Art Festival serving as flagship platforms for innovation and professional dialogue.

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Porto-Novo

City of Crafts and Folk Art since 2017

City presentation

Porto-Novo, Benin’s capital with a population of 300,000, has a unique cultural identity shaped by its colonial past and diverse migratory influences. The city is known for its rich artisanal traditions, organized into 42 craft guilds, with families specializing in crafts like blacksmithing, pottery, and musical instrument making. Artists and artisans, particularly women, play a crucial role in shaping the city’s sustainable development.
Porto-Novo hosts cultural events like the International Festival of Arts and Culture and Urban Outbreak Festival-Workshops, which showcase contemporary art and urban renovation. The city aims to further strengthen the role of culture in urban planning, foster regional and international cooperation, and enhance youth training in crafts and folk art. Through these efforts, Porto-Novo seeks to position itself as a Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art, making culture a key driver for human and urban development.

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Safi

City of Crafts and Folk Art since 2025

City presentation

Perched on Morocco’s Atlantic coast, Safi grew into a strategic port where centuries of maritime trade, fishing and agricultural exchange left a lasting imprint on the city’s urban fabric and creative culture. A historic medina, coastal fortifications and dedicated craft quarters tell the story of a city shaped by multiple cultural influences. It is pottery, however, that most distinctly defines Safi’s identity — a tradition practiced for centuries on the city’s Potters Hill and in its Potters Village, where kilns, glazing techniques and the city’s signature blue and white motifs have been passed down within families and cooperatives alike. With over 200 workshops employing between 1,500 and 2,000 people and generating around USD 2.5 million in annual revenues, ceramics remain both a living craft and a pillar of the local economy. The National Museum of Ceramics and the Specialized Institute of Traditional Arts provide the institutional backbone for conservation, training and research, while craft fairs and ceramic symposia keep the city connected to the wider world of contemporary craftsmanship.

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San Cristóbal de las Casas

City of Crafts and Folk Art since 2015

City presentation

San Cristóbal de las Casas, located in Chiapas, Mexico, has a population of 186,000, with a strong presence of indigenous communities who contribute significantly to the city’s crafts and folk art sector. This sector is the main driver of the local economy, with traditional crafts like blacksmithing, pottery, woodcarving, amber jewellery, and embroidery showcased across ten neighbourhoods.

Deeply connected to ancestral traditions, crafts foster social cohesion and intercultural dialogue. The city’s long-standing Spring Fair and Peace, held every April, celebrates local art and empowers indigenous women. In 2012, San Cristóbal launched the Maya World Textile AC Centre, benefiting 800 artisans from 30 indigenous communities, becoming a national model for promoting and protecting crafts.

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Sarchí

City of Crafts and Folk Art since 2025

City presentation

Nestled in the western highlands of Costa Rica’s Central Valley, Sarchí has earned its place as the cradle of national craftsmanship through a tradition of woodworking and ornamental painting that is instantly recognisable. Born in the late nineteenth century as decoration for ox carts, Sarchí’s signature style — complex geometric patterns and swirling colourful motifs covering entire surfaces — has grown into a visual language that defines the city’s public spaces, furniture, architectural elements and everyday objects. In 2005, this tradition was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Around 30 independent painters, 87 furniture makers and 45 exhibition galleries form a lively network of family workshops and small enterprises, with a significant share of nationally certified ‘Sello Costa Rica Artesanal’ products originating from the city. The House of Culture, the Public Library and the historic Eloy Alfaro Ox Cart Factory anchor a cultural infrastructure dedicated to training, exhibition and community life, while regular fairs and festivals celebrating furniture, crafts and traditional painting keep the city’s creative traditions firmly in the public eye.

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Sharjah

City of Crafts and Folk Art since 2019

City presentation

Harjah, one of the seven emirates of the UAE, spans 235 square kilometers along the Arabian Gulf and Indian Ocean. The city celebrates its cultural heritage through traditional crafts like ‘Talli’ weaving, which plays a vital role in supporting female artisans. Though niche, this craft sector is growing and contributes to Sharjah’s cultural identity.

Sharjah actively promotes its heritage through festivals like Sharjah Heritage Days and workshops organized by the Sharjah Art Foundation, which preserve and transfer traditional skills to future generations. The Bidwa initiative further supports this sector, providing vocational training to over 60 artisans, empowering women, and opening new market opportunities.

With Emiri Decree No. 5 of 2017, Sharjah ensures long-term preservation of its cultural heritage in line with international standards. As a Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art, Sharjah plans to foster collaborations with UNESCO cities, create exhibition spaces, offer vocational training, and establish an awards scheme to recognize artisans’ contributions.

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Sheki

City of Crafts and Folk Art since 2017

City presentation

Sheki, one of the oldest cities in Azerbaijan with a population of 172,000, is renowned for its rich architectural heritage, sericulture, and traditional crafts. Historically significant as a stronghold on the Silk Roads, Sheki showcases well-preserved monuments and is known for its unique crafts, particularly shebeke (wooden-framed stained glass) and pottery. The city remains a major silk production center in the Caucasus, with crafts accounting for 14.4% of its income and employing 253 craftsmen, including 59 women.

To support the crafts sector, the Sheki Crafts Association was established in 2006 through the World Bank’s Azerbaijan Cultural Heritage Project. The association organizes craft fairs, conferences, and training sessions to enhance working conditions, develop entrepreneurial skills, and raise awareness of traditional crafts among youth. Recent initiatives by the municipality have promoted employment and social security for artisans, contributing to a 22.3% increase in craft sector employment from 2013 to 2014. Efforts to protect intellectual property rights have further empowered Sheki’s craftsmen by establishing a new legislative framework for their creative works.

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