Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council has announced the launch of Irthi Museum, which will be based in Sharjah Creative Quarter and will build a permanent collection documenting contemporary craft in the UAE and wider region.
While an opening date has yet to be announced, an Irthi representative said during the debut UAE edition of design and architecture fair Nomad last November that the museum was scheduled to open in 2029.
Irthi describes it as the first museum in the region dedicated to contemporary craft.
Alongside exhibitions and collection development, the museum will focus on research, education and design. It will preserve, document and present the development of contemporary craft, while creating opportunities for artisans and supporting the transfer of craft knowledge to future generations.
“The Irthi Museum stands as a living bridge between heritage techniques and contemporary expressions,” said Reem BinKaram, director-general of Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council.
“It is a celebration of craft not as a preserved relic, but as a vibrant, evolving legacy.”
The museum follows 10 years of work reviving Emirati crafts, supporting artisans and increasing the role of traditional crafts within the cultural and creative industries.
The council was established in 2016 with a focus on traditional crafts practised by Emirati women. Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, founder and royal patron of Irthi, said at the time of Sharjah’s designation as a Unesco Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art in 2019 that the organisation was created to provide vocational training for craftswomen, help them earn a sustainable income and find markets for their work in the UAE and abroad.
Its Bidwa Social Development Programme in Dibba Al Hisn works with Emirati artisans practising skills passed down through generations, including safeefah, or palm-frond weaving, and talli embroidery. The programme has also trained younger women in the techniques.
Irthi has regularly paired those skills with contemporary design. Its first original product line included 78 pieces across 12 collections, ranging from furniture and jewellery to handbags and perfume bottles. The works were made by female Emirati artisans in collaboration with international designers and craft practitioners.
The projects have included safeefah woven with camel leather and pieces combining Emirati clay with Murano glass.
Irthi has also worked with fashion and luxury companies. Qasimi used safeefah and faroukha, a traditional handwoven tassel, in its spring/summer 2022 collection, with the pieces made by women artisans from the council.
Craftswomen working through Irthi have also received orders from Cartier and Bulgari, after the council connected artisans in Dibba Al Hisn with international designers.
More recent projects have continued to use Emirati craft in contemporary design. The Tilad Collection, developed with Mexican artist Ricardo Rendon and presented at Nomad Abu Dhabi, combined safeefah and talli with Mexican craft techniques and pine wood. Its woven elements were produced by women artisans.
Irthi Museum had already been named as part of Sharjah Creative Quarter when plans for the development were unveiled in January 2025. It was then described as an initiative dedicated to promoting and contemporising Emirati and regional crafts, and supporting traditional craftswomen.
Sharjah Creative Quarter is being designed by Taller de Arquitectura – Mauricio Rocha in collaboration with Daniel Rossello, and is planned near House of Wisdom, American University of Sharjah and Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park.
Other institutions planned for the quarter include Qasimi Archives, Sharjah Fashion Lab, Sharjah Design Centre, the Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi Collection and a Sharjah campus of L’Ecole, School of Jewellery Arts, supported by Van Cleef & Arpels.
