What is Artex?
Artex, Centro per l’Artigianato Artistico e Tradizionale della Toscana, founded in 1987 on the initiative of Confartigianato and CNA, works with a specific objective: to protect, develop, innovate and promote artistic and traditional productions in Italy and in the main foreign markets.
In Tuscany there are more than 20,000 companies, with a total of 107,000 employees and 13 different production sectors; among these, 13,000 are micro-enterprises with a maximum of 3 employees; 5,900 companies employ from 4 to 15 employees, the remaining 1,300 have more than 15 employees operating within them.
These are figures that tell of a rich and varied universe, a heritage of diverse companies, in terms of size, production capacity, stylistic sensitivity, market orientation, with a need of concrete and diversified tools.
Over the years Artex has developed unique competences and expertise, thanks to its internal staff and its network of external collaborators, which translate to many initiatives, at a local, regional, national and international level, aimed at both groups and individual companies: territorial promotion projects, organization of events and participation in trade fairs in Italy and abroad, business consulting activities for designing, assisting, bookkeeping and participating to calls for tenders and financing measures.
Artex is one of the founders of the International Charter of Crafts, created to define the strategic lines of action to protect, enhance and promote the artistic and traditional craft sector; today the Charter boasts about 60 promoters and supporters including Administrative Bodies, Institutions and Associations at the national and international level.
Artex is also a member of the World Craft Council Europe, the non-profit organization recognised by UNESCO, which works to protect and promote crafts as a vital part of the culture and economy of each country.
The headquarters of Artex are in Florence, in Via Giano della Bella 20, in the Conventino fuori le Mura”, a suggestive building of 3,500 square meters, in the “Oltrarno”, a district full of artistic and craft activities. With the Officina Creativa project Artex has turned the Conventino fuori le Mura into a center for creativity, training, innovation, promotion and internationalisation; a place where artisans, designers and students meet, work and learn together, creating a community.