The 5th edition of the Festival of Traditional Textile “Atlas Bayrami” (“Celebrating Atlas”) was held in Margilan, Ferghana valley, Uzbekistan from October 20 to October 22, 2022.
Delegations from more than 20 countries of the world participated in the Festival, which was reportedly organized by the Governor’s Office of the Ferghana Province and the Municipality of the City of Margilan in close cooperation with the National Commission of Uzbekistan for UNESCO, the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Heritage Culture of Uzbekistan, the “Khunarmand” Crafts Association and others.
Tajikistan was represented at the festival by 19 craftspeople and designers, including weavers of adras and atlas, chitgars (craftsmen-chitgars used to make dastarkhon (table-cloths), drapery, bed-sheets, horsecloths and many other things), needlewoman, representatives of the cocoon industry as well as atlas and adras clothing designers.
Tajik craftsman-chitgar Miramin Saidov received a special diplomat and an award for revival of the traditions of Tajik handicrafts “chitgari” (printed chintz).
The main goal of the Festival “Atlas Bayrami” is to safeguard and promote the rich intangible cultural heritage and its transmission to the next generations, as well as support the development of traditional crafts in Central Asia’s nations. The festival contributes to the improving of the traditional crafts quality and design as well as attracting travelers to discover the region. Besides, the festival is organized to help young people and women acquire new knowledge and skills in traditional crafts, thus giving an opportunity to improve the economic and social well-being of the population.
Moreover, the festival ensures the bringing people closer together, thus providing platform for international cooperation and assistance, development of sustainable tourism in the region and builds greater awareness, especially among young generations, of importance of intangible cultural heritage and its safeguarding.
Safeguarding, promotion, and development of traditional crafts are important both for Asia and Europe. In this regard, the Festival has a wider geographical range: representatives of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Malaysia, India, Turkiye, Thailand, Bangladesh, Indonesia, the United States Latvia, Mongolia, Italy and some other countries joined in the festival. The participation of craftspeople, artists, designers and experts from these countries further enriches the Festival, provides a profounder experience for the ones involved as well as contributes to the general cooperation through culture. It offers a great possibility to explore a wide variety of traditions, styles, patterns, technics and ideas of the region while providing an opportunity for experts to share their knowledge with the concerned audience.
