By Muluken Yewondwossen
The Ethiopian art industry particularly the paintings and sculptures sector has been affected by recent political instability and public unrest.
On a panel discussion titled ‘Art and its Economic Benefit for Artists, Other Actors and the Country’ organized by Crown Publishing PLC, publisher of Capital newspaper, representatives of the art industry stated that the art industry and galleries has been affected with the recent instability in the country.
On the discussions that attracts the media, artists and promoters, Seyoum Ayalew, the outgoing president of the Ethiopian Painters and Sculptors Association said that the instability affected the tourism flow in the country.
“Our major clients are tourists and foreigners and the art market slowed in the past couple of years,” he said.
Experts said that several art galleries including Asni Gallery, which is one of the prominent galleries for tourists in the town closed its doors.
“They have tried to survive by subsidizing it, but they couldn’t continue anymore,” Seyoum said.
Several other studios including the famous Five Arts Studio established by artists was also closed due to financial reasons, according to the president of the association.
Besides that he argued that the sector does not have clear and knowledge based support and acknowledgement from the government.
“We are struggling to survive, while at the same time looking different kind of support to make the art industry one of the economic and social welfare contributor for the country,” Seyoum said.
Besides the workshop Seyoum told Capital that the art industry is one of the sources of tourist attraction for the country. “In 2014 Addis Ababa has been placed as one of the best tourist destination city in the world by New York Times. In its article the New York Times stated that Addis Ababa is a centre for hosting art exhibition every week and galleries in the town are performing very well. This is a good indication how the art industry contributed for the tourism and economy,” he added.
The New York Times ‘52 Places to Go in 2014’ stated “thanks to the city’s diverse art institutions and galleries, including the artist-in-residence village Zoma Contemporary Art Center and the Asni Gallery (really more of an art collective than a gallery), there is an art opening at least once a week. Even the local Sheraton puts on “Art of Ethiopia,” an annual show of new talent.”
In the panel discussion held on May 1, 2018, at Yucca House in the sidelines of the Tesfahun Kibru’s Art Exhibition, the art industry actors insisted that media houses and journalists should give proper attention for the sector.
It was also mentioned that journalists have to have proper knowledge to provide ample coverage for the art industry in general.
It has been claimed that even though the music and now the cinema sub sectors contribute for the economy it is stated that they are also very limited.
It was stated that in the emperor era the sector has been supported by the financial sector and secured loan. “Like the trend of other countries paints are considered as collateral like other assets,” Seyoum, one of the panelists on the discussion said.
He argued that exchange market like Ethiopian Commodity Exchange has to be formed to boost the sector and make more beneficiaries for the artists and related actors.
The art sector heavily suffers by the recent unrest
Trade week attracts 50 companies from China
China Trade Week, a Chinese business-to-business (B2B) trade show has attracted about 50 exhibiting companies from China.
The 3-day event has drawn Chinese companies engaging in construction materials and machinery; electronics; food and beverage; furniture; packaging and plastics; print; daily necessities and animal healthcare among others.
Organized by MIE Events DMCC in partnership with a local firm Prana Events, the trade show mainly focuses on business-to-business matching for potential partners to discuss future trade relations.
The event is said to be a platform that brings members of the Ethiopian business community and Chinese companies together to discuss and develop the foundations of trading and business relationships. The Sino-Ethiopia trade volume reached 5.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2016.
The trade week features seminars that help provide visitors background information about China and how to effectively trade with China.
China Trade Week event has been taking place in different countries since the first event took place in the UAE, in 2013, followed by the launch of China Trade Week Kenya in 2015 and Iran in 2016.
In 2017, China Trade Week was added in Morocco, Ethiopia, South Africa and Ghana, and this year, China Trade Week will add Oman in its portfolio and Saudi Arabia and Egypt in 2019, according to the organizers.
What did we do when we take coffee X
Once Honore de Balzac remarked ‘As soon as coffee is in your stomach, there is a general commotion, ideas begin to move, smiles arise, the paper is covered. Coffee is your ally and writing ceases to be a struggle.’ The excerpt of Balzac is so catchy of what results to the train of thoughts when someone sips a cup of coffee. The chemistry between coffee addictions to the habit of reading is not new for us. It is not uncommon to see coffee houses. In fact the discussing the issue of stimulants for the virtuous act of reading is infamous. This piece is not to narrate the legend of coffee discovery and popularization through uncovering the story Kaldis’s goat helped the sudden break of coffee as edible and stimulant. Perhaps, that is an issue of Ethno-botanists as they scientifically identifies. Underscoring the coffee as home drink, I will just dwell on how often we use coffee for reading.
Naturally, human being is endowed with a unique faculty for reading as far as no one doubts the gift of thought. Technically, speaking there is no different chemistry behind reading other than shaping haphazard avenues of thinking into a productive train of thought. Reading steers thought life. As one remarked that the human brain browse and chartered for unending vagabond if his train of thought can’t helped with conscious efforts of reorienting towards productive focus on ideas. Here, it is the stimulant, which helps us for a better focus when we steer the wheel of the brain.
As one researcher revealed the history of Dublin city, the city was indeed a monumental and ideal city known globally to showcase reading culture. Notwithstanding an effort to exhaust all of the monumental efforts of Dublin’s reading hub, one can single out the prestigious IMPAC Dublin Library award. Once it was known to be dubbed as ‘the world biggest literary award, whose sustainability was sowed for the past 21 years of the award’s life. Interestingly, Coffee houses of those 18th centuries in Dublin city, later propagated throughout all over Europe, remarkably known for stocking NEWSpaper. The customer does not go to those coffee houses for sipping flavored coffee. Perhaps, the customer utility includes picking the fresh NEWSpaper and be updated of the contents of those papers.
Glimpsing at the trends within Ethiopia, It is not astounding that we Ethiopians are consumer of coffee. Almost all Ethiopians consume coffee irrespective of their cultural diversity. Many cultural communities do have coffee ceremonies. It is mesmerizing that when somebody found that there is some immaculate trade-off between coffee and reading culture. Indeed, some one may argue that the pervasive of coffee consumption doesn’t work in alignment with the habit of reading.
To our relief there are coffee houses in Addis Ababa which are serving as.
Even in our days reading clubs are named after ‘coffee’ as one is named as ‘coffee break reading club’, reminiscent of the mysterious relation between the caffeine stimulants found in coffee with the habit of reading.
And again let’s put the personal query like ‘what do we do even while we took out stimulants?’
In contrary, Sadly enough, now a days we have multiple coffee houses who neither bring NEWSpaper shelves for customers nor embrace a ‘reader customer’. To add a salt on the wounded injury, there are lousy houses who posts plate notice ‘customer at coffee service are not allowed reading due to shortage of seating space. It is worrisome to be witnessed so many coffee houses even the cosmopolitan Addis Ababa move in such socially irresponsible way.
Now we have a moral sprinting ground to question Addis Ababa coffee houses as why they don’t shelve reading materials for their coffee customers. Are the renowned Kaldis, Starbuks or any other flamboyant coffee servers are embroidered with branded kaleidoscopic colors while they are neglecting to host the best place of igniting the virtuous reading culture. I bet that once again coffee houses ought to be freed from hijack to reclaim their status as a reading hub just line in nineteenth century. Like it or not, we have take the reading genie into the bottle of coffee houses.
Full entertainment week ahead
The Makossa Fest, an annual pan African music festival led by Afro Century events which aims to promote both music and cultural exchange, is set to be held from Thursday May 3 to Saturday at Alliance Ethio Française. This year, the three-day event will shed light on great artists from East Africa.
Thursday: SSEWA SSEWA (Uganda)
Ssewa Ssewa is a Ugandan born world and folk music artist, multi-instrumentalist, music writer, story teller and co-founder of Janzi band, one of Uganda’s top Bands. His music is a cross-cultural marriage between Uganda and the World, which seeks to reassert Ugandan traditions while modernizing and interweaving them with jazz, folk, soul and other international genres to renew the spirit within his indigenous culture.
Ssewa’s performances feature an array of instruments, including the JANZI, a harp-like string instrument he designed, as well as African traditional instruments like Endongo (Bow Lyre), Adungu (Ugandan Harp), Endigidi (Tube Fiddle), Akogo (Thumbpiano), Amadinda (Xylophones), and Engoma (Ugandan traditional drums).
Ssewa has performed in Uganda and abroad. He has worked with artists such as Quela Band, Navio, A Pass, Isaiah Katumwa and Suzan Kerunen.
Friday: SITI & THE BAND (Tanzania/Zanzibar)
Coming from a cultural heritage and having mastered traditional instruments, Siti & The Band use their creativity, talent and education to fuse their roots of Taarab music with their personal influence they are exposed to on the Zanzibar island.
Siti fuses their roots with African, Western and Indian Oceans influences, as well as performing traditional folk songs from East Africa with a touch of traditional Taarab.
Taarab, originally brought to Zanzibar 200 years ago by migrants and traders who sailed the ocean with wooden Dhow sailing boats, became a unique touch to Zanzibar through the African rhythms and tonalities it has been exposed to throughout time.
With unique instrumentation – including Violin, Qanun & Oud – Siti & the Band is carrying the torch of classic Zanzibari music by giving new life to these old sounds.
Saturday
On Saturday, the above two artists (Ssewa Ssewa and Siti & The Band) will get back up on stage along with Kenyan musician IDD AZIZ.
Idd Aziz is a Kenyan artist who has been exploring the healing aspects of music and uses them as a tool in many different ways. His passionate cultural music has influenced great diversity in his vocal style which combines world sounds with deep African roots. Idd Aziz also has a lot of experience playing the guitar, flute and a variety of African percussions.
As a singer and songwriter Aziz has worked with some well known artists such as Heing Siumaro and Trondheim orchestra.
