We begin with the making.
We end with what it means to be human.
About the Project
When a craft disappears, we do not simply lose an object or a technique. We lose a language, a memory, an identity, a livelihood, and knowledge that has taken generations to build. Traditional crafts are quietly at risk around the world. The people who carry generations of knowledge are becoming fewer, even as artisans and communities work to keep these practices alive. Each craft represents far more than a skill. It carries cultural memory, a connection to place, and ways of seeing and understanding the world that have been passed from one generation to the next. Endangered Crafts is a documentary series about these living traditions and the people who keep them alive. Hosted by Tal Danai, the series travels across countries and communities to meet the artisans behind crafts at risk of disappearing. Each episode explores a different practice, the knowledge and techniques it carries, the people dedicated to preserving it, and the cultural significance it continues to hold in a rapidly changing world. We live in an era in which more of our experience is mediated through screens, technology and external narratives, while our awareness of the importance of wellbeing and meaningful connection continues to grow. Craft offers another way of engaging with the world: slower, tactile and deeply human. It connects hand to material, person to place, and one generation to the next. Endangered Crafts documents these traditions at a critical moment, asking a question is bigger than craft itself: What happens when knowledge disappears?
Our Mission
To document and share endangered craft traditions and the people who keep them alive,
creating a record of knowledge, techniques and stories that might otherwise disappear.
Our Vision
We believe craft is more than a way of making. It is cultural memory, identity, connection to
place and knowledge passed between generations. We want to help ensure these living
traditions are recognised, valued and remembered.
Our Approach
We research each craft, travel to the communities where it is practised, and spend time with the artisans who carry its knowledge. Through on-location filming, we document not only how each craft is made, but the people, stories and cultural context behind it.
The Team Behind the Series
For years, the idea of Endangered Crafts lived as a shared dream among our team. We wanted to travel, listen, learn, and document the people and traditions carrying generations of knowledge forward. Eventually, we decided it was time to make it happen. We built the project from the ground up, bringing research, production, and fundraising in-house, and setting out to meet the makers whose stories deserve to be heard.
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Tal Danai
Host
Tal Danai is the Founder and Creative Director of ArtLink, a global art consultancy he established in 1996. Over three decades, he has built a career around the belief that art can do more than decorate a space. It can tell stories, create connections and offer a deeper understanding of people and places. His early work included ArtLink@Sotheby’s Young Art, an internationally recognised initiative that helped open the market to young and emerging artists. Since then, ArtLink has grown into a global practice working across hospitality, government and cultural sectors, bringing together artists, curators, designers and local communities to create meaningful cultural experiences. Endangered Crafts grew from this same curiosity about the stories behind what we make. Through his work, Tal has encountered artists and craftspeople around the world whose knowledge is deeply connected to place, identity and generations of practice. He became increasingly interested in what happens when these skills are no longer passed on, and what can be done while there is still time to listen and learn. As host of Endangered Crafts, Tal steps away from the role of consultant to become a curious traveller and listener. He meets the people keeping these traditions alive, enters their workshops and communities, and explores not only how these crafts are made, but why they matter and what their future might look like.
Marcia Machado
Director / Producer
Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Marcia Machado is an independent director and producer whose documentaries explore social, cultural and human stories around the world. Her first film, Txai Macedo (1992), co-produced with Tal Danai, follows the struggle of Indigenous peoples and rubber tappers to protect the Amazon rainforest. It aired on PBS and is part of the Smithsonian Media Collection. Based in the United States, she directed more than fifty segments for Globo TV's Globo Ciência, filming along the East Coast. She later worked on productions in Israel and Australia. Dreaming On: The Story of the Quandamooka People (2014) tells of an Aboriginal people's determination to preserve their land, culture and identity. Code Blue: Redefining the Practice of Medicine (2019), a look at lifestyle medicine and chronic disease, was widely distributed in the United States, including on Amazon. With ArtLink, the international hospitality art consultancy, she directed and produced The Katara Towers Art Collection(2023) in Qatar. The film follows the collection from initial vision to installation. Since 2002, she has worked for CBS in New York as a technical operations supervisor and associate director.
Rodrigo Rezende
Cinematographer
Rodrigo Rezende is a cinematographer, director of photography, and editor with two decades of experience in audiovisual storytelling, focused on documentary filmmaking and exploring themes of people, heritage, culture, and traditional craftsmanship. He is the co-founder of Miragem Films and Director of Photography of Artlink’s Endandreg Crafts, having completed its first season of six films and currently working on the second.
Gian Lana
Editor
Working in the audiovisual industry since 2011, Gian Lana built his career as a video editor and director of photography, Â working across documentaries, branded content, and a wide range of audiovisual projects for major brands and production teams. His experience has allowed him to develop a versatile approach to storytelling, adapting to different subjects, formats, visual languages, and production environments.
The Organization Behind the Series
Founded in 1996 by Tal Danai, ArtLink is a global art consultancy that has spent three decades creating cultural experiences that connect people with place, identity and artistic expression. With more than 400 projects across 40 countries, ArtLink has collaborated with thousands of artists and artisans and placed more than half a million artworks worldwide.​ This international experience gives Endangered Crafts a strong foundation for the work it sets out to do: deep cultural networks, long-standing relationships with artists, makers and institutions, and experience translating cultural knowledge into compelling stories. It also provides a platform through which conversations around cultural sustainability can reach audiences far beyond the communities where these traditions began.