The Government of Mexico—through the Ministry of Culture, the National Fund for the Promotion of Handicrafts (Fonart), and the National Institute of Copyright (INDAUTOR), in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism—and BBVA Mexico, via BBVA Mexico Cultural Development, with the support of the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples (INPI), is launching the National Handicraft Creation Contest: “Mexico in a Piece,” aimed at collectives, workshops, and groups of Mexican artisans to create pieces that can serve as tourist souvenirs.
“We invite the country’s artisans to participate in the National Handicraft Creation Contest, ‘Mexico in a Piece,’ with firm recognition of their resilience, their legacy, and their contribution to Mexico’s cultural richness. Today we are witnessing a historic vindication of the presence of Indigenous peoples and Indigenous women in public life; their works project art, identity, and collective memory,” stated the Secretary of Culture of the Government of Mexico, Claudia Curiel de Icaza.
The competition—held as part of the 2026 Social World Cup—aims to strengthen the promotion of Mexican culture through folk art, while guaranteeing the protection of participants’ rights and fostering the creation of handcrafted pieces that represent national identity, incorporating cultural elements specific to each region of the country.
“This call for entries is not just for artisans, it’s a call to everyone to value our identity, because with every craft a tourist buys, they take a piece of Mexico with them; each craft is an expression that invites more people to discover our country and all its cultural richness,” said the Secretary of Tourism, Josefina Rodríguez Zamora.
Collectives, workshops, and groups whose members are Mexican artisans over 18 years of age, dedicated to creating handcrafted works using traditional techniques, materials, and designs, works that revive antique pieces, as well as new design proposals that preserve elements, techniques, and materials of the ethnolinguistic groups that produce them, are eligible to participate.
Participating works may be created in any of the 14 craft categories, such as textiles, lead-free pottery and ceramics, papier-mâché and paper crafts, metalwork, stonework and lapidary, glass, among others. They must be entirely handmade, original, created between 2025 and 2026, and be the sole work and property of the entrants, free of any third-party liability. The works must be capable of being replicated by hand and reproduced on a smaller scale (up to 10 cm per side).
The jury, specializing in folk art, design, and culture, will evaluate, among other characteristics: originality and cultural authenticity, technical and aesthetic quality, feasibility of artisanal production, and potential as a representative tourist souvenir of Mexico.
A single prize of one hundred and fifty thousand pesos will be awarded to the best entry, and an additional prize of one hundred and fifty thousand pesos will be awarded to benefit the community, to be distributed as agreed upon by the community. Likewise, replicas will be purchased for up to eight hundred and fifty thousand pesos, which will be acquired on one occasion or in stages, respecting the artisanal production time.
Source: diariomarca
