Strengthening the Creative Industries for Development in ... - unctad

52 PART 4. SECTOR SPECIFIC OVERVIEW
Box 4. Mozambican Fashion Week 2009
The biggest winner of the Mozambique Fashion Week (MFW) 2008, fashion designer Taibo, was
the great representative of Mozambique in the annual fashion event of South Africa, the Audi
Joburg Fashion Week (AJFW) 2009, held from 21 to 24 January 2009 in the cosmopolitan city of
Johannesburg. The AJFW 2009, with the participation of designers from different African
countries including Egypt, Nigeria and Mozambique – represented by the MFW’s winner of the
category of Established Designer – has marked positively this event that has the participation of
some of the most prestigious designers such as Thule Sindhi and Fabiani. Taibo showed his class in
a parade marked by the glamour and innovation that is already registered as his trademark and
style, through the eyes of an excited audience composed of respected African designers and critics
uplifting the class and name of Mozambique.
4.4.3 ART CRAFTS
The art crafts sector in Mozambique is clearly flourishing and there seems to be good potential to be
enhanced. There is already a significant amount of external and internal support for the crafts sector in
the country. The local association CEDARTE is particularly present in this field. CEDARTE does not
provide funding, although in their strategic plan they would like to develop the link between producers
and microfinancing. The United States organization Aid to Artisans has been working for many years
with local crafts organizations, in particular with CEDARTE. The organization is trying to encourage
the sustainable management of resources, for example given the use of wood for many crafts and
cultural objects they are concerned with sustainability of forests. Their priorities are marketing, access
to markets, capacity-building on production and financing.
In the internal market, many tourists and upper income locals buy the crafts available locally. In terms
of export markets there seems to be a great potential based on previous experience and success at fairs
such as the New York Art Fair. According to stakeholders, there are about 50 associations in the
sector, but the internal market is too small to support all the production and some craft producers do
not deliver on time. Among the 50 associations there are only few exporters. Stakeholders noted the
possibilities to expand the export of art crafts to global markets. 116
It was noted that there are many sculptors that have had to start working as craftsmen because they
were unable to make a living from their own sculptures. They started making copies for the market
because of financial necessity. If an artist makes one object a month, the duplication work earns the
116 Stakeholders’ meeting, Maputo, 2 September 2008.
Source: www.mfw.co.mz