Erkebu Djumagulova 3D Art

Women’s Empowerment

With nearly a million residents, Bishkek is the largest city in Kyrgyzstan and is home to textile artist Erkebu Djumagulova. Her creative talents produce some of the most tender and heartfelt types of folk art imaginable: beautifully and traditionally costumed dolls, often protectively cuddling babies in their arms.

Fariza Sheisheeva and Svetlana Sheisheeva SAIMA

Textiles for Home

Innovation and Cultural Preservation - Evolving

Sisters Svetlana and Fariza Sheisheeva started the Kyrgyzstanbased textile collective Saima to reflect ancient traditions and a distinctive style of weaving. Growing up in a village at the foot of the

Tian Shan mountains, surrounded by high pasturelands, the sisters were always aware of the many uses of sheep’s wool. Using an ancient, many-stepped felting process, they and their team of artisans produce ultra-soft textiles for a range of uses.

Seven Sisters Apparel

Women’s Empowerment

Seven Sisters is a family group created more than a decade ago to preserve cultural traditions around felted textiles. Since ancient times, nomadic Kyrgyz people have relied on felted goods to stay warm. Seven Sisters, well versed in the ancient technique of wet felting, produces textiles with a light and delicate structure, whose airy quality makes them ethereal, almost weightless.

Seven Sisters Jewelry

Women’s Empowerment

For years, Zhanyl Sharshembieva has produced a range of silver items in traditional Kyrgyz style — broad, gleaming cuff bracelets; rings set with jasper, turquoise and coral; and delicately configured, intricately designed pendants. Though her methods have ancient regional precedents, her accessories have a timeless sophistication and universal appeal.