Art and Crafts Fair in Palma opens today

Staff reporter THE BaleArt 2003 trade fair exhibiting the Islands' arts and crafts, opens its doors in Palma today. Francesc Tutzó, commercial director and president of the Balearic Fairs and Congress organisation, gave an advance presentation of the event yesterday. The fair will have 118 exhibitors and a budget of 189'000 euros. The Balearic government provides 89'000 euros of this amount. BaleArt 2003 can be visited at Palma's trade fair ground in the Polígono de Levante, near the GESA building. It will be open until 14th December and will display art and crafts from all over the region. Tutzó, who was accompanied on the occasion by Eva Candela, the Fair's organiser, confirmed that this year the exhibition will be presenting even more “homespun family crafts”, as well as those who have exhibited in previous years. Family businesses on display will feature skilled work from the potter's wheel; crafts wrought in iron and wood; clothing and shoeware; plastic arts, food and drink; glass, ornaments and luxury items; stonework and leatherwork; special features made out of paper and cardboard; and woven fabrics. Contributions will be at their most numerous in the food section which includes the only exhibits from the Peninsula. This year, the exhibitors decided voluntarily to give live displays of how they go about their work. The organiser explained that the fair will last longer than normal on this occasion as the exhibition schedule straddles two weekends. The reason, she added, is that the craftsmen and women have to work particularly hard to exhibit at the fair and one way of compensating them is to let them profit from selling their wares. Tutzó indicated that “it's not a strictly professional trade fair” as it has “quite a commercial” slant to it, an aspect that is highlighted by the amount of sales made to visitors.