SEVILLA, 20 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Ministry of Economic Transformation, Industry, Knowledge and Universities has delivered to a total of 18 professionals belonging to the Sevillian Gremial Association of Sacred Art the distinctive ‘Crafts made in Andalusia’, a brand with which the Board intends to promote the promotion and commercialization of artisan production in the region. ‘Craftsmanship made in Andalusia’ certifies that the product that bears this mark has been made in a craftsman’s workshop registered in the Andalusian Artisans Registry and that it meets the requirements for its use established in the regulatory regulations.
The distinguished artisans belong to the guilds of goldsmiths, bolilleros, embroiderers, restorers, image makers, sculptors or gilders, professions that are sought to be recognized especially on this occasion due to the high impact that the pandemic has had on them.
The badges have been delivered by the general director of Commerce, Lorena Garrido; and by the territorial delegate for Employment, Training, Self-Employment and Economic Transformation, María del Mar Rull. Garrido explained that ‘Andalusia made in Andalusia’ seeks to “support the differentiation and guarantee the exclusivity of the artisan promotion made in the community, something that the professionals of Arte Sacro fully comply with”.
With this recognition, the Andalusian Administration intends to “promote its recognition and facilitate its positioning in the market”.
The General Director of Commerce recalled that the crafts made in Andalusia, especially Sacred Art, “constitute in many of its manifestations the formal and cultural expression of its own history and is a clear testimony of its customs and traditions”.
For this reason, the Board wanted to highlight “the need to recognize trades that, having their origin in tradition, instead project their future towards innovation in techniques and processes and the conquest of new markets”, he added.
THE TOURIST SLOPE
‘Andalusia made in Andalusia’ will help crafts to have greater exposure and level of knowledge in the tourist areas of the different Andalusian cities and municipalities. “The artisan activity is an indisputable part of the tourist offer that a destination has, whose attractiveness is also nourished by the creative capacity of its inhabitants,” he added.
For her part, the territorial delegate has valued the strategic role of the artisan sector in the Andalusian economy and society. “Crafts are the route that connects territories and people to improve society and the economy; no sector is so deeply rooted historically and culturally as the artisan”, he pointed out.
THE CRAFTSMANSHIP SECTOR
María del Mar Rull has recognized the efforts being made to overcome the effects of the economic crisis, with initiatives leading to the modernization of the sector and the opening of new markets, since “crafts stand out for their constant effort for innovation in techniques and processes, always taking into account the variety of trades and, therefore, existing artisan products “.
Rull has indicated that “Andalusia is one of the communities in which crafts have the greatest weight in GDP”, bringing together some 7,000 companies (equivalent to 18% nationally) and generating around 20,000 jobs (19% of the employment of the artisan sector in Spain, according to data from the Ministry of Industry). The Andalusian region thus has 2,500 artisan workshops and “one of the most extensive repertoires of trades: 159 cataloged”, he pointed out.
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