GUATEMALA DISEÑA CON LAS MANOS AT MILAN DESIGN WEEK 2026 — A PREVIEW OF HERITAGE AND CONTEMPORARY CRAFT

Images courtesy of Guatemalan Tourism Institute (INGUAT)

Where Tradition, Identity, and Design Converge

Conceived as a cultural initiative that bridges artisanal heritage with contemporary design, Guatemala diseña con las manos offers a lens into the country’s evolving creative identity.

Presented during Milan Design Week 2026, the travelling exhibition brings together a layered narrative of craft, innovation, and sustainability—positioning Guatemala as a dynamic voice within the global design landscape.

Developed through a national open call, the exhibition gathers 17 Guatemalan design studios, reflecting a generation of makers who navigate tradition and experimentation with equal sensitivity. From textiles and ceramics to objects and furniture, each piece becomes part of a broader story—one rooted in territory, memory, and cultural continuity.

Presented by Magran Living

At the centre of the exhibition stands a collaborative installation inspired by the Temple of the Great Jaguar in Tikal. Reimagined as a lightweight, textile-driven structure, the pyramid becomes a symbolic space where past and present intersect. Its dual-layered skin reveals a dialogue between craft and technology: an exterior composed of intricate glass beadwork developed with artisans from Lake Atitlán, and an interior formed by a collective textile created by women from 21 Mayan weaving communities across Guatemala.

Inside, the experience unfolds as an immersive environment—where sound, visuals, and material textures evoke the rhythms of everyday life, from landscapes and markets to language and ritual. It is a sensory journey that positions design not as object, but as a living expression of identity.

Beyond the installation, the exhibition extends into a curated selection of works that reinterpret ancestral techniques through contemporary forms. Together, they present Guatemala as a creative destination—where ideas emerge from cultural roots and project forward into new design narratives.