Speak! Salon at Vault Virginia
From Hand to Market: Working with Artisans in Africa
Join our Guest Speaker Elaine Bellezza, international artisan development expert and founder of The BGC Group, for a visual journey through 25 years of working with artisans and creative entrepreneurs from Africa and beyond.
Through stories, photographs, and examples from her work with traditional artisans, Elaine will show you how crafts can create vital economic opportunities for artisans, their families, and their communities while also showcasing their culture and identity in the global market. She'll take you behind the scenes into remote communities where the beautiful crafts are made and you will meet the people who make them. And she will walk you through the process of getting crafts to global markets.
Come travel across Africa through the objects people make, the traditions they preserve, and the ingenuity that turns creativity into opportunity.
Elaine working with artisans.
About Elaine Bellezza:
Elaine is a leader in the global handicrafts movement and a champion for rural artisans. She has over 25 years of experience empowering artisans, building entrepreneurship, linking artisans with international markets, creating employment, and fostering leadership across creative communities.
She has orchestrated artisan pavilions at over 30 global trade shows, designed more than 300 product collections, developed and led more than 100 artisan training workshops, and authored three Handicraft Export Guides, leading to millions of dollars in increased income for rural artisans.
About Elaine Bellezza:
Elaine is a leader in the global handicrafts movement and a champion for rural artisans. She has over 25 years of experience empowering artisans, building entrepreneurship, linking artisans with international markets, creating employment, and fostering leadership across creative communities.
She has orchestrated artisan pavilions at over 30 global trade shows, designed more than 300 product collections, developed and led more than 100 artisan training workshops, and authored three Handicraft Export Guides, leading to millions of dollars in increased income for rural artisans.