Officials from Cyprus Handicraft Service attend gathering of 150 international figures from craft, design and architecture worlds
Cyprus has taken part in the first Homo Faber Summit in Venice, as officials from the island’s Deputy Ministry of Culture and Cyprus Handicraft Service sought to build international ties for the country’s craft sector.
Giorgos G. Papageorgiou, director-general of the Deputy Ministry of Culture, and Maria Anaxagora, head of the Cyprus Handicraft Service, attended the summit, running from 16 to 18 September, at the invitation of the Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship. The gathering coincided with Homo Faber 2026: An Island of Light, the foundation’s flagship international exhibition, artistically directed by the internationally renowned artist and designer Es Devlin, which this year showcases contemporary craftsmanship and the work of artisans from around the world.
The summit brought together around 150 invited guests from the worlds of craft, design, architecture, culture, the creative economy and entrepreneurship, for discussions on the future of craftsmanship, the creative economy, investment in human skills amid growing automation, and new models of production, collaboration and international exposure.
Particular emphasis was placed on craft excellence, collaboration between makers, designers, architects and businesses, the experience economy, the creation of contemporary cultural identities, and ways local cultural heritage can serve as a foundation for new creative and economic opportunities.
Speakers at the summit included Eileen Akbaraly, founder and chief executive of Made for a Woman in Madagascar; Abdulaziz AlSunusi of Saudi Arabia’s Royal Institute of Traditional Arts; Riccardo Angeloni, curator of Italy’s Museo del Violino; Nuno Barra, vice-president of Portugal’s Vista Alegre; Zesty Meyers, co-founder of R & Company in the United States; Professor Stefano Micelli of Venice’s Ca’ Foscari University; and the internationally recognised designer Chahan Minassian.
Officials said Cyprus’s participation offered an important opportunity to exchange expertise, build international partnerships and strengthen the Cyprus Handicraft Service’s network with leading organisations, creators and institutions in the craft and design world, as part of a continuing effort to place Cypriot artisans and designers on a wider international stage and open up new markets.
