Omani crafts as an expression of culture and heritage : an investigation of Omani craft and pottery challenges

Al Mamari, BM

Abstract

The doctoral project has for main purpose to investigate the challenges facing the
traditional craft enterprises in Oman and to develop a framework for understanding and
managing the cultural, artistic, marketing and consumption influences that affect craft
enterprises in general and pottery in particular. It is the first attempt on record to
address this important aspect of the cultural industry of Oman, and it concludes by
formulating recommendations that may help Omani crafts and craftsmen face the
problems of establishing a thriving presence in a competitive modernity, and develop
and basis for an Omani cultural heritage industry.
The project had no precedence to rely upon, and needed therefore to develop a
suitable research methodology and qualitative approach based on the relevant scholarly
output in cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary studies dealing with craft, cultural,
artistic and marketing factors. It collected data from a substantial programme of field
work and interviews of employees and officials from the Public Authority for Crafts
Industries (PACI) in Oman that it corroborated with updated PACI source publications,
statistics, official documents, and visual documentation. The integrated data was
then utilized to construct an in-depth analysis of the state of craft in Oman, comparing
and cross-referencing with comparable research and analysis undertaken in African and
Asiatic countries. The emergent framework for managing this key aspect of local
culture in Oman offers a major contribution to existing knowledge on the subject and
the practical basis for the development of Omani local cultural industries.

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Jul 27, 2021
• Award Date: Oct 1, 2012