Mini op-ed: What Qatar and Mexico can teach the region about craft

• Fahad Al-Obaalid is the director of Design Doha Biennial, which runs at Fareej Al-Asmakh from Nov. 5 to Dec. 31, 2026

Updated 3 min 16 sec ago

November 1, 2026

15:30

DOHA: Across the region, the argument for culture has shifted. It is no longer sufficient to claim heritage is relevant; practitioners are now asked to demonstrate its tangible impact. Saudi Arabia designated 2025 its Year of Handicrafts, and Qatar has leveraged its Years of Culture program since 2012 to forge enduring partnerships with neighboring nations. This year’s collaborator, Mexico, demonstrates that craft remains simultaneously as heritage and livelihood.

When chef Elena Reygadas, whose Rosetta restaurant in Mexico City holds a Michelin star, launches her culinary residency at MIHAD Gallery from Nov. 4 to 15, it represents the first rotating chef-in-residence initiative at a gallery. Reygadas operates as a creative collaborator rather than a vendor, with her team from Mexico City baking on site within a setting furnished by Mexican designer Perla Valtierra. The intent is deliberate: Culture executed well generates income for makers, drives footfall for neighborhoods, and secures repeat audiences for institutions. This approach treats cultural practice as an economy that demands intelligent design.

“Expanded Tradition: Contemporary Craft Practices in Mexico,” presented at M7 until Dec. 26, 2026, substantiates this perspective through a curatorial emphasis on authorship. Curator Ana Elena Mallet credits every object to a specific maker and a place. Taller Carmen Tapia in Taxco works with forged and cast silver; Taller Familiar Iztaccualli Rangel in Zapopan specializes in filigree; and the Netzahualcoyotl family workshop in Tlaxcala weaves wool dyed with cochineal, indigo, and pericon. The exhibition is made possible through the participation of the Government of Mexico, the Ministry of Culture, and the National Fund for the Development of Arts and Crafts.

Such exhibitions position makers as authors and stewards of their own histories, rejecting the generic “artisan” label. A distinct name serves as the foundation of a market, enabling collectors to commission, designers to collaborate, and young craft makers to envision professional futures. This model addresses contemporary challenges regarding authorship and global exposure, and how such awareness can positively fortify local economies.

Fernando Laposse offers one of the most effective models of this approach. His studio, whose work is held by the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, develops new materials from corn husk, sisal (agave plant fiber), and loofah. He then teaches these techniques to the farming community of Tonahuixtla in southern Mexico, transforming design into a source of employment that revitalizes traditional agriculture.

In Doha, visitors can encounter this model at “The Sower,” Laposse’s installation at Fareej Al-Asmakh, curated by Mario Ballesteros. The piece traces a trajectory from past to present and future. The past evokes pearls and cochineal—natural resources and ancestral knowledge that once linked Qatar and Mexico to global trade. The present features agave, corn, and avocado, crafted into a dining table of corn husk and cabinets of avocado skin and agave. The future introduces a seed library of 100 urns; visitors lift a sphere, scan it, and view a short documentary on the contained seed. It is a quiet reminder that today’s raw materials dictate the destiny of tomorrow’s design economy.

“The Sower” also reflects Doha’s broader connection to the region. The Design Doha Biennial has cultivated a system to safeguard the ancestral knowledge of the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia, treating traditional technologies as living design intelligence. Regional curators ground the work in research, selecting designers rooted in artisanal practice to document techniques and the conditions that shape them, from local materials to hand tools. Each process is recorded with the artisans so the knowledge remains an open resource long after the biennial closes.

For Qatar, these initiatives align with a national ambition for a credible and sustainable cultural sector. Creative districts are becoming the workhorses of the region’s art and design economy, connecting collectors, designers, hospitality, and emerging Qatari talent. The question for the region is whether investments in makers can move from the display case to the workshop and, ultimately, to a sustainable income.

Fahad Al-Obaalid is the director of Design Doha Biennial, which runs at Fareej Al-Asmakh from Nov. 5 to Dec. 31, 2026.

Source link