Sharjah to Open Region’s First Museum Dedicated to Contemporary Crafts
By Thasmiya
Sharjah is strengthening its position as one of the UAE’s leading cultural destinations with plans for a dedicated **Irthi Museum**, a new institution focused on preserving, researching and reimagining Emirati and regional craftsmanship.
The museum will form part of the ambitious **Sharjah Creative Quarter**, bringing traditional craft knowledge into a contemporary museum setting while creating new opportunities for artisans, designers, researchers and students. Plans for a crafts museum have been developed by the Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council as part of its wider work to safeguard craft heritage and connect it with modern design.
## **What is the new Irthi Museum?**
The Irthi Museum is an initiative of the **Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council**, the Sharjah-based organisation dedicated to preserving traditional craftsmanship while supporting its evolution through contemporary design.
Rather than presenting craft only as something from the past, the museum is intended to explore how traditional techniques can continue to evolve through new materials, design collaborations, research and experimentation.
Irthi’s broader work has already connected Emirati crafts with designers and artists from around the world, creating contemporary collections rooted in traditional techniques.
## **Where will the museum be located?**
The Irthi Museum is planned for the **Sharjah Creative Quarter**, a major new cultural and creative district being developed in the emirate.
The Creative Quarter is envisioned as a destination bringing several cultural and design institutions together in one location, creating an environment where artists, designers, craftspeople, researchers and the public can interact.
The wider district is set to include the Irthi Museum alongside the Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi Collection, Qasimi Archives, Sharjah Fashion Lab, Sharjah Design Centre and other creative facilities.
## **What will visitors find inside?**
Detailed visitor galleries and the final permanent collection have yet to be fully announced, but the museum’s wider mission points towards a strong focus on traditional and contemporary craftsmanship.
That could include areas covering:
- Emirati craft traditions - Regional craftsmanship - Palm weaving and textile practices - Jewellery and decorative arts - Contemporary craft and product design - Artisan knowledge and techniques - Materials and sustainable production - Research and documentation - Designer-artisan collaborations
Irthi has previously worked extensively with traditional Emirati crafts, particularly techniques practised by women artisans, while introducing them into contemporary furniture, objects and collectible design.
## **More than a traditional museum**
An important element of the project is the idea of treating craft as **living knowledge**.
Traditional crafts can disappear when skills are no longer transferred from one generation to another. Documentation alone can preserve information, but keeping artisans actively practising, teaching and adapting those techniques gives the traditions a better chance of surviving.
Irthi has spent more than a decade developing this approach by supporting women artisans, collaborating with international designers and introducing traditional Emirati craftsmanship to global audiences.
## **Research will play an important role**
The museum project has also been linked to long-term research.
Sharjah’s UNESCO Creative Cities monitoring report says Irthi has conducted research visits and workshops with **Atelier Luma in Arles, France**, since 2020 to map crafts and artisans in the region and develop knowledge around materials and craft practices.
This research-led approach could make the institution valuable not only to tourists but also to designers, academics, students and craftspeople.
## **Why Irthi is behind the project**
Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council was established in **2015** under the patronage and directives of **H.H. Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi**.
Its work centres on empowering women artisans, preserving traditional crafts and finding contemporary applications for heritage techniques.
Over the past decade, Irthi has evolved from a local craft-preservation initiative into an organisation working with international designers, institutions and creative communities.
The council also unveiled a new visual identity in 2026 as it entered another stage of institutional development, expanding its focus across the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and Central Asia.
## **Supporting women artisans**
Women artisans are central to Irthi’s work.
Traditional skills including weaving and other forms of handcraft have historically been passed between generations of women across the UAE and wider region.
Irthi has developed programmes intended not only to preserve these skills but also to create economic opportunities for the women who practise them.
This means craftsmanship is approached simultaneously as cultural heritage, creative expression and a potential source of sustainable income.
## **Sharjah’s UNESCO craft recognition**
Sharjah is already recognised internationally for its craft heritage.
The emirate is part of the **UNESCO Creative Cities Network** as a City of Crafts and Folk Art, and Irthi has played a role in strengthening this position through research, exhibitions, artisan programmes and international collaborations.
A dedicated craft museum would give this work a permanent institutional home and potentially make Sharjah an even more significant destination for researchers and visitors interested in design and craftsmanship.
## **Part of a much bigger creative district**
The museum becomes particularly interesting when viewed alongside the other institutions planned for Sharjah Creative Quarter.
The district is expected to bring together craft, jewellery, fashion, design, archives and cultural collections.
The **Sharjah Design Centre**, for example, is planned to include facilities supporting woodwork, ceramics, metalwork, textiles and jewellery design, allowing experimentation and prototyping alongside the cultural institutions within the district.
This could create a creative ecosystem where historic knowledge is preserved in one space while designers and makers develop new work nearby.
## **When will the museum open?**
A confirmed public opening date for the Irthi Museum has **not yet been announced** in the official and project information currently available.
The Sharjah Creative Quarter remains a developing cultural project, so visitors should wait for an official announcement before making plans around a specific opening date.
This distinction is important: the museum has been announced and is being developed, but it should not yet be treated as an attraction that is currently open to visitors.
## **Why this matters**
The Irthi Museum represents something bigger than another addition to Sharjah’s museum landscape.
Traditional crafts can easily become disconnected from everyday life as manufacturing methods, lifestyles and consumer preferences change. Sharjah’s approach attempts to preserve the knowledge behind those crafts while allowing designers and artisans to reinterpret them for a new generation.
Bringing research, education, artisan knowledge and contemporary design together could help turn craft preservation into an active creative economy rather than simply documenting traditions after they disappear.
For Sharjah, it also adds another layer to an already substantial cultural ecosystem encompassing museums, heritage sites, contemporary art, books, architecture and design.
## **FAQs**
### **What is the Irthi Museum in Sharjah?**
The Irthi Museum is a planned institution by Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council dedicated to promoting, preserving and contemporising Emirati and regional crafts.
### **Where will the museum be located?**
It is planned as part of the Sharjah Creative Quarter.
### **Is the museum already open?**
No confirmed public opening date has been announced in the available official project information.
### **What will the museum focus on?**
Its focus will centre on craftsmanship, artisan knowledge, heritage, contemporary design, research and the continued development of Emirati and regional craft traditions.
### **Who is behind the museum?**
The project is an initiative of Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council, which has worked since 2015 to preserve traditional craftsmanship and empower women artisans.
### **Why is Sharjah important for crafts?**
Sharjah is recognised within UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network as a City of Crafts and Folk Art and has developed programmes supporting traditional craftsmanship, artisans and contemporary design.
### **What else will be at Sharjah Creative Quarter?**
Plans include the Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi Collection, Qasimi Archives, Sharjah Fashion Lab, Sharjah Design Centre and other cultural and creative institutions alongside the Irthi Museum.
## **Source Credits**
Information source and resource owners: Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council, Sharjah Creative Quarter, UNESCO Creative Cities Network, Government of Sharjah and Emirates News Agency (WAM).
## **Image Credits**
Image sources are combined from AI-generated visuals and other platforms. If any owner wants to be mentioned or any content needs to be changed, please email us at **concerns@whatmatters.ae**.