Crafts and cultural identity: a question of history, ideology and choice

Abstract

Crafts are a way of life for many Ecuadorians. The artisanal production, in addition, constitutes a window towards many different worlds. The significance of such an artisanal network includes emblems of identity, which are found within autochthonous contexts, in popular forms, and an elite art; all of which create a "meta-dialogue" between industrial and non-industrial countries. The diversity of expressive forms, including crafts, represents a spectrum of human plurality and each comes from its own historical trajectory.