Oorvi Sharma: Craft as a Methodology for Resilient Futures
In a guest essay featured in designboom's Crafting the Future chapter, Canadian architect Oorvi Sharma emphasizes the need to shift the perception of craft from merely preserving heritage to a strategy for building resilient futures. She references the International Labour Organization's estimate that over 300 million craft workers, predominantly women, play a vital role in the global GDP without adequate protections. Sharma critiques the sidelining of artisanal expertise and points to efforts by luxury brands such as Chanel's le19M and LVMH's Métiers d'Art. She discusses examples like LVMH's 9th Résidence Artistique 2025 in Paris and the Miqnaş pavilion at ADIHEX 2025 in Abu Dhabi. Sharma calls for a structural integration of craft knowledge to ensure the irreplaceability of artisanal contributions, invoking Michael J. Sandel's Limits of Markets framework.
Key facts
- Over 300 million people work in craft-based handwork globally, mostly women, contributing hundreds of billions to GDP without social protections.
- Chanel's le19M and LVMH's Métiers d'Art consolidate artisanal savoir-faire but remain programmatic rather than structural.
- The LVMH Métiers d'Art 9th Résidence Artistique 2025 at La Main featured artist Shu Yonezawa with denim artisans in Okayama, Japan.
- Collaborators included HOWA (stone-wash technique), Miki Embroidery, and KUROKI.
- The Miqnaş pavilion in Abu Dhabi for ADIHEX 2025 used woven khoos palm leaves by a community network of craftswomen.
- The project was enabled by the Department of Economic Development and the Abu Dhabi Register of Artisans.
- The number of Indian artisans declined by 30% over three decades, per Dasra's Crafting a Livelihood report.
- Sharjah's Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council trains women artisans to build a valued artisan economy.
Entities
Artists
- Oorvi Sharma
- Shu Yonezawa
Institutions
- designboom
- International Labour Organization
- Chanel
- le19M
- LVMH Métiers d'Art
- La Main
- HOWA
- Miki Embroidery
- KUROKI
- Department of Economic Development (Abu Dhabi)
- Abu Dhabi Register of Artisans
- Dasra
- Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council
- Zayed University
- Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi
- Harvard Graduate School of Design
Locations
- Paris
- France
- Okayama
- Japan
- Abu Dhabi
- United Arab Emirates
- Sharjah
- India