Azores Craft Lab created to boost training, experimentation and innovation activities in the craft sector - Communication

Secretaria Regional da Juventude, Habitação e Emprego

The Azores Craft Lab - Innovation, Arts and Crafts has been formally created. It is a new public service implemented and promoted by the Crafts and Design Centre of the Azores (CADA) to promote training, experimentation and innovation activities in crafts, Maria João Carreiro announced on Thursday.

The Azores Craft Lab is operating at the Azores Qualification Centre (CQA) in Ponta Delgada, albeit in a temporary space until the completion of the refurbishment project of that public infrastructure under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), which is expected by the end of this year.

"We want to open the Azores Craf Lab to artisans, creative minds and the community. It is a service geared towards craft know-how through training, experimentation and innovation, maximising synergies in terms of equipment and audiences with the CQA. Accordingly, we have decided to associate this new service with the capacity and mission of the CQA - training and qualifying young people and adults," she explained.

The Regional Secretary for Youth, Housing and Employment spoke at the delivery ceremony of diplomas for the graduates who completed the Textile Fibre Preparation - Wool Spinning course. She also welcomed the graduates of the Weaving Project(s) course, promoted under the RRP Qualifica.In measure.

"The opening of these two courses is the first example, to be repeated, of CADA and CQA coming together to respond to a desire expressed by many artisans and even those who are not artisans but are interested in learning, experimenting and working with the arts and crafts artisanal techniques," she said.

As Maria João Carreiro noted, "There was no better way to start bringing the Azores Craft Lab to life than by opening, for the first time in the Azores, two accredited and certified training courses in the area of handicrafts.

 The Regional Secretary also expressed her "confidence" in this new facility for the “qualitative leap” that is aimed at democratising access to handicrafts, raising awareness of this heritage among young people and other audiences, promoting knowledge, production and innovation, and marketing craft know-how.