DAN FANI Exhibition, New York 2007

37920021

SOS - SAVE OUR SKILLS

WHAT? A NEW INITIATIVE WHY? TO SAVE OUR MANUAL SKILLS FROM EXTINCTION WHERE? EVERYWHERE BY WHOM? EVERYONE FOR WHOM? ALL OF US HOW? BY SUPPORTING SOS–SAVE OUR SKILLS
SOS - Save our skills
It is imperative that we reverse the continuing degradation of the manual skills employed to make cheap 'tourist' souvenirs, designed by people ignorant of either the history or cultural identity of the makers, with no specific purpose or use in mind and with no possible function for the local community.

It is imperative that we not only research and document these skills but also return to them the superior environmental, intellectual and economic value that they deserve.

That we start treating the practitioners not as impoverished members of underdeveloped societies but as representatives of man's most precious assets - his own abilities and his creative independence. And, as a result, that we pay prices appropriate to their skills to ensure their economic and cultural survival.

TEXTILES

made only from natural fibres without any chemical treatment

BASKETRY

made only from natural sustainable materials

CARPENTRY

only small-scale functional furniture and household objects from natural sustainable materials

POTTERY

sun-dried pottery made only from locally available materials

LEATHER

made only from non-endangered species
SAVE OUR MANUAL SKILLS
SAVE OUR CREATIVE INDEPENDENCE
SAVE OUR CULTURAL IDENTITY
SAVE OUR ENERGY RESOURCES  
SAVE OUR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT