Rokodelstvo v kontekstu / Contextualizing Handicrafts – Traditiones 56 (3), 2027

The recent rise of European and national projects supporting the development of crafts – often framed as a lever for regional and local development, the revitalization of rural or remote areas, and the strengthening of small-scale economies – has once again brought handicraft practices to the fore. In ethnology, these practices were long treated primarily as part of traditional culture and documented in terms of work processes, tools, knowledge, and “folk” art. Today, they are entering new political, economic, symbolic, and analytical regimes: they have become the subject of calls for proposals, development strategies, heritage programs, tourist experiences, platform economies, and environmental expectations.

The thematic issue Contextualizing Handicrafts invites authors to submit empirical, theoretical, or methodological contributions that approach handicrafts as work, skill, and/or social practice – whether in the workshop, within institutions, on the market, or in public, local, and digital settings. We welcome papers on the historical contexts of studying handicrafts in ethnology and cultural anthropology (folk art, work processes, and tools); contemporary classifications (handicrafts as heritage, creative industry, art, entrepreneurship); development potentials (cultural, economic, environmental, welfare, and gender policies—circular economy, women’s work, social inclusion; tourism; the development of remote areas); valuation regimes (quality, authorship, “authenticity”, branding, and certification); and institutional frameworks (museums, schools, registers, calls for proposals, UNESCO).

The deadline for submissions is 15 September 2026.

Please send proposals including a title and short abstract to sasa.poljak@zrc-sazu.si and luka.kropivnik@zrc-sazu.si.