Ethiopia

Many has been said about the Ethiopian artworks and artists. But little has about the background of the country. Here is a brief summary of its history and culture.

Ethiopia is one of the oldest nations in the world and the second most populous nation is Africa. IT has yielded some of the oldest traces of humanity, making it an important area in the process of human evolution. The Ge'ez name ʾĪtyōṗṗyā, and its English cognate Ethiopia, is thought by some to be derived from the Greek word Αἰθιοπία Aithiopia, from Αἰθίοψ Aithiops ‘an Ethiopian’, which means "of burnt (αιθ-) visage (ὄψ)". However, this etymology is disputed, since the Book of Aksum, a Ge'ez chronicle first composed in the 15th century, states that the name is derived from "Ityopp'is", a son (unmentioned in the Bible) of Cush, son of Ham who according to legend founded the city of Axum. It is not certain how old the name Ethiopia is, but its earliest attested use in the region was as a Christianized name for the Kingdom of Aksum in the 4th century, in stone inscriptions of King Ezana.In English, Ethiopia was also historically known as Abyssinia, derived from the Arabic form of the Ethiosemitic name "ḤBŚT," modern Habesha.

The territory of Ethiopia is one of the oldest centers of human habitations. Some believe that Ethiopia is the land of genesis. Landlocked in the horn of Africa, Ethiopia covers a land twice the size of France, Kenya or Texas & four and half times the size of Great Britain and Italy. It shares frontiers with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Kenya to the south, and The Sudan to the west and northwest.

Ethiopian’s history and culture are rich, unique and diverse, and is the most ancient empire in the world, which goes back thousands of years, came to an end on the 12th of September 1974. The country's rich history is woven with legends of King Solomon and Queen of Sheba; the Ark of the Covenant that is said to rest in Axum ; the great Axumite kingdom and the birth of Christianity; the rise of Islam; and the story of King Lalibela.

With over 80 different peoples, the cultures of its communities are prominent in Ethiopia's lifestyle. With traditions going back to the days of Axum, and a strong religious setting, celebrations and festivals play an important part in their daily lives. The greatest festival is Timket (Epiphany), where tourists are welcome to celebrate with the locals. But other festivals such as Enkutatash (the Ethiopian New Year, in September after the rains), Maskal, Gena (Christmas), Id and Easter are all glorious celebrations. In every region you will discover local festivals and ceremonies where you will be welcomed as an honored guest. Remember, when checking any dates, that Ethiopia still retains the Julian calendar, having thirteen months. The traditional calendar remains almost eight years behind the Gregorian Calendar of the West.

Source: Wikipedia

The English Course for the Ethiopian Artists

By Fanny Awaliana

When Lidwina Dox was delivering the Design Workshop in Addis Ababa in Summer 2006, she saw the unmet need of facilitating an English course for some of the artists from Axum and Gondar. The idea was immediately supported by Ami Zarchi, the sponsor of the workshop. Since May 2007, a tailored English course has been organized in Axum, and since June 2006, one has been organized in Gondar. Each course will last for six months. The following are some feedbacks we've received by email from the Ethiopian artists participating in the course.

From MIKIAS (painter, Axum city):

Dearest Abessinia Management, the age of learning is never end. So those altogether are progressing very drastically. I am dead sure that will see real change from us. All of us have been entertaining/funning with English language. It is relax and life it self. Knowledge is power and also English is power. It’s clear this planet is too dark with out English. So we have to know one international language... Let me tell you our weekly program. We have question and answer, telling history, debating class, vocabulary, Conversation, English grammar, music and video class.

From AYESHESHEM (painter, Gondar city):

Dear Abessinia Management, I am very happy to hear sponsorship for the language study. Everybody is delighted too. You are trying to support us in every possible way & that indeed is a quality of those who are kind to help others. I really say once again thank you for that.... When I was preparing to begin the English language course, I have had different opportunities of governmental & NGO’s jobs. But I have decided to continue my course on the English language because I have realized the importance of the course to improve my future life. Although we need more time to lead our daily life, we are struggling to be a good speaker of the language. So we are trying our best. But it not a task as easy as you thought.

Product Development Process After the Design Workshop

By Lidwina Dox

In Fall 2006, after a long flight I arrived in Bangkok and headed directly to our office (Tel-Dan Ltd.) in Samutprakarn district. Everyone there was eager to see the artworks I brought from Ethiopia. When we were going through them it was clear that everyone loved it. But a big question mark came immediately into our mind, "How to translate many hand-drawn artworks into textile design and products? And which artworks to start with"? We all knew that those artworks were no common textile designs in any sense. The translation work was going to be a massive challenge.

Still in the same Fall, Ami Zarchi (Tel-Dan's owner and managing director) asked me to join a business trip to the US to see some of his costumers. The trip was a good opportunity to find out how the whole concept of this work and the aesthetics would be appreciated by the big buyers. So off we went. We started in New York City, continued to Texas …and finally ended up in San Francisco. It turned out that the feedback from most buyers was highly positive. It was immediately clear which designs were best appreciated. With this information in hand, we returned to Bangkok with much optimism and delight to start working on the artworks.

Back in the office, our highly talented Thai designer, Bank, and I started to translate the selected artworks with some computer softwares. For us it was clear that our goal was to maintain the "deep" look of the hand-drawn, and not to make them look flat like some sort of typical computer textile designs. The "deepness" of the artworks makes a different aesthetics, which is their biggest strength. At the same time, we were aware that we had limited technical resources to translate the artworks. For this we had to do an awful lot of experiments in order to achieve the result we wanted. Step by step we improved our skills, and today we are confident that we can translate all the hand-drawn artworks onto fabrics and make them look artistic.

In the same time when we started to translate the artworks, we also began to work with a gifted Thai pattern maker named Eks. We developed 3D objects out of the artworks, such as stuffed animals, kids bags and different dolls. The challenge was as big. There are many things that have to be taken into account: the shapes surely have to match the textile design, the sizes have to be unconventional, etc., which require a thinking process on it own. Today, these products have turned out nice. In the whole process of product development, a couple of Tel-Dan's designers and a staff member specialized in inkjet textile printing also contributed to the success.

Now after a year of experimentation, we feel more confident and ready to take off. - And this feels good!

Abessinia Design Workshop in Addis Ababa, Summer 2006

By Lidwina Dox

After Ami Zarchi and I had decided that we really wanted to give our dream a serious try and start that collaboration, I flew back to Ethiopia to organize the design workshop at the Productivity Improvement Center in Addis Ababa. This training center – which is surrounded by wild gardens, high trees and friendly people – was just the right place to get creative work done. All the selected designers, manuscript writers, traditional icon painter and artist from various parts of the country had come to meet at that magnificent place and work together for 12 days. Some of the artists had brought drums, guitars and we also organized a volleyball and music – to make our days enjoyable in every sense.

We arranged all we needed: brushes, huge pots of various types of colors, all kind of papers etc. as well as all interesting tools that were requested by each individual participant. Immediately our studio was filled with all sorts of artistic ingredients before we had started. We had fun from the very first moment. Since most of them had never done textile design in their life before we started the whole session with some introductions on the most important information on textile design – and then off we took. While Bob Dylan or one of the boys drum session would make us swing while we worked the most incredible artworks developed. Not designs in the common way were the result, no - influenced by the background of each individual “designer” all sorts of unexpected compositions appeared on the paper. So it naturally happened that designers admired the artwork of the icon painters, artists the one of the manuscript writers etc. and that all sorts of interesting discussions about arts, design work, philosophy would develop…

In those 12 days, we took off only one afternoon. "The Gang" - that's how I like to call them now - brought me to a traditional honey wine place – and it was indeed time for a break – and it was a very enjoyable break. – And still days went by much too fast for me and I had the feeling that it was very hard for most of us to get back to “normal” life after that enjoyable productive time. At the plane on my way back to Thailand, I knew already that our wonderful but still unconventional designs would be challenging us in the next weeks and months in Bangkok…..

Verena, a friend of mine came to join us in Addis Abeba and she shot a documentary about those 12 days. (Check it out here at the blog, or click here to watch it at Google Video)

How The Abessinia Project Begins...

By Fanny Awaliana

The Abessinia Project was initiated by Lidwina Dox and Ami Zarchi. Lidwina, an Austrian designer, previously worked on several Design and Product Development projects, focusing on design and traditional crafts, in Ethiopia that were sponsored by the World Bank and the United Nations. Because of the strong potentials for artistic skills in the country, the questions were raised on how to bring them further into creating a network of artists, and link the network with national and international projects, as well as companies and educational institutions. Ami, who runs a home-textile manufacturer in Thailand called Tel-Dan Ltd. since over two decades ago, jumped on board to answer the questions. Always looking for designs, creativity and talented individuals, he is very much in favour embracing fresh ideas, new angles and new sources of creativity from Ethiopia.

Their collaboration started in Summer 2006 with a first initiative where a group of Ethiopian artists, traditional painters and manuscript writers and icon painters were gathered for a two-week design workshop to create hand-drawn artworks. The artworks created a strong language that Ethiopia has developed in terms of artistic expression and design throughout the last decade, influenced by the rich cultural heritage. A multicultural project management was set up in Bangkok, Thailand, which consist of a project coordinator, a team of textile designer and a product development team. The project transforms the hand-drawn artworks into textile designs, and develop them further into home decor products. The project's name is "ABESSINIA", which represents its inspiration and the mission. The project does not only producing the artworks and producing home decor. It as well promotes the artistic potentials Ethiopia has, which are represented by the artists.

The Abessinia Website is Under Construction

The management of Abessinia announces that it is developing the Abessinia website. The aim of having the website is to promote details about what the Abessinia project is, its products, and the people involved in it. It is a tool to communicate with old and potential customers of the Abessinia products. It is also a means to promote Ethiopia, the Ethiopian artists and the Ethiopian artworks. We will keep you updated on the progress of this website.

Warm regards,

Fanny Awaliana
Abessinia Project Coordinator

Design Networking Across Coventions: Market-Oriented Capacity-Building

An article in Beyond Tunis: Flightplan 1.5, published by Global Knowledge Partnership

The Airport (the context of ideas and the grounding of though

LIDWINA: Throughout the past year I worked on two different Design and Product Development projects (with a focus on traditional craft) in Ethiopia carried out by the United nations and the World Bank. Very soon I realized the strong potentials for artistic skills in the country. The designers, artists, traditional painters as well as manuscript writers I worked with were very talented people and had the strong ability to go through various creativity processes easily (with a nice outcome), after they were discussed. Because of the potential the question permanently raised on how to carry further this ambition punch of the people in terms of education, design, building up a network within the designer, artists, manuscript writers and traditional painters, and then link them with national and international projects, companies, school/universities.

On an ordinary workday, Ami Suddenly called me in Ethiopia after I haven't heard from him for years...

AMI: Running a home textile decorative factory I started in Thailand over twenty years ago, I always looked for designs, creativity and talented individuals. The conventional wisdom has always been that production, founded on good craftsmanship and cheap labour takes place in the "East" and the intellectual side takes place in the "West". I hated those distinctions; I hated a geographical "Maslowian" division of labours. And so I loved it when I saw increasing opportunities for design and creativity in Thailand, but I loved it more, when I discovered, with Lidwina, a new "West". I worked with her on a few design projects in the past, she was a 16th century discoverer, an 18th century missionary, a 20th/21st century development worker, and a futuristic, 23rd century designer, all wrapped in on. When I traced her through her Viennese Mom to Addis Ababa, she told me about the leather-craft World Bank project she was involved with. What could we do, we both wondered, and then we realized that if my company needs "Western" designers to sell to "Western", and, increasingly, "Eastern" clientèle (yes, we sell in S.E. Asia, we sell even in China, and, further East, much further East, we sell in the US, even all the way to the "East Coast" LOL!!!), then what's more West than Ethiopia. Some people ask me where's the next place for cheaper labour (China is getting expensive, they say), but I say, what's the next place for fresh ideas, designs, new angles, new sources of inspiration, creativity. Go West, Young Man...and I did....Lidwina was waiting, with a big bowl of Ingera.

The Runway Light (the intellectual, technological or practical guide)

LIDWINA: There are no guidelines as such. We are not aware of any projects that have tried something like that idea before. Or are we?
But each country has its own history, tradition and present life - which are great resources for creativity. Ethiopia has clearly developed a strong language in terms of artistic expression/design. It is a strong basis on which can be built especially if some further investment is done in therms of education (language, design, use of computer and internet) and network building.

AMI: We are creating the model as we go. We use the things we have and try to make them work in harmony. We can then welcome new elements that we consider as beneficial. What do we have: there is a Thai factory, well established with lots of global design team there headed by Efi, who's so closely attuned to fashion and lifestyle trends, having designed and created in Paris, California, Tunis (he went "Beyond Tunis" already 15 years ago), Laos (setting a UN sponsored women's fashion products cooperative) and for the past 9 years, Bangkok. As he is adopting Thai values, his team of Thai designers are craving Western values; what a mess! So, why not to complicate an already complicated life by digging and tapping a new fountain of creative youth.

Lidwina knew her way in Ethiopia so well, she was so well tuned in to a large network of painters, artists, manuscript writers, tribal chiefs, shamans, you name it. She could write the biography of each of them. Nobody I knew was interested in Africa!!! But I thought, let's throw the convention straight out of the window. So, I went to Ethiopia expecting the worst. What did I find? I found the worst!!! But then I also found the very best. I was stunned by the amount of cultural and artistic debris collecting rust and dust. A mind-boggling network of King Solomon Mines of the soul, treasure dug deep into the spirit.

Lidwina was teaching me that "capacity" is not just for factory managers. It's about people... It's hard for selfish "biznessmen" like me to get, with with her enthusiasm, she got me on board. On my side, I was trying to hint to her that the "Private Sector", rather than being the source of all evil in the Universe, could actually build "human capacities" fast and effectively. I think I got her on board. I discovered the existence of a civil sector, she rediscovered the existence of the private sector. I'd love to tap into a promising new kind of networking that breaks conventions on sectoral and geographical divides. West or East, Private, Civil or Public, who cares? All are welcome. One condition though: IT'S GOT TO WORK.

LIDWINA: But one of the most important issues for me was and still is, that this idea has to work for all; the factory, Tel-Dan in Bangkok, as well as for the designers in Ethiopia. Both need to benefit!! All have to develop in the process and gain. So how to get there?

Before we started with our first design-session last summer, I selected the best manuscript writers, traditional painters, designers and students I had worked with in the past year. The background of these people were very different. Some were priests, others students, some had hardly any education, all came from different place from all over Ethiopia. With this very selected bunch of talented people we developed wonderful textile designs. The themes we worked on were requests from Tel-Dan in Thailand, which collected them globally. It was a try, no one in this particular group has ever done textile design before. The two weeks were divided into an educational part - to introduce basic textile design issues - and the other time was used for pure design sessions. Throughout all the time intense and fruitful discussions were going on in between the designers and myself. It was wonderful, manuscript writers learned from artists, designers from traditional painters.

The Flightplan (wherever the ideas are heading)

AMI and LIDWINA: Where are we heading, what's the "flight plan"? We went through a workshop in Addis, but it will need additional input, and it will need critical mass to take off. Could we create a community of artists in Ethiopia, link them on line with the latest retail trends in the consumer destinations, bring them over to Thailand to work with our team, go there, organize additional workshops, offer them scholarships, take them to the consumer destination centers, give them a face, give them a voice, right there, on center stage.

The internet, modern transportation, will allow it to happen much easier, and perhaps will allow it to happen fast and may be spread. But let there be no mistakes. These are tools, not substance. You can't do it only online, you need to meet, discuss, inspire face to face, and you don't just fly in and out, you need to stay for periods, in both directions.

It can and should be done in other places, for other products. Maybe there will be more destinations for us too (AMI: Lidwina worked in many countries, and we have the capacity to move around the globe). But we guess that it is also a question of focus. This is not a gimmick. This is about people. This is about... "CAPACITY BUILDING". You need to connect with these people, work with them them, you can go to other places too, but you don't just jump around like crazy. This is about the most important business there is: EDUCATION. But it's also very much about a very educational activity: BUSINESS. In that order of priority, (AMI: OK!!!)

THIS IS OUR FLIGHT PLAN

DESERT ORCHID

This article is written by Charlotte Cowell, the Editor of Greetings Today, the fastest growing magazine in the greetings card industry and that has the highest circulation in the business. It's published in edition February 07 Issue 5 Volume 8.

Charlote Cowell looks at how Thai manufacturer, Tel-Dan, and freelance designer, Lidwina Dox, have come up with a sustainable grass-root-level design proect that taps into the rich cultural heritage of Ethiopia.

I first became acquainted with Tel-Dan's owner, Ami Zarchi, at the launch party for Candlelight's new singing cards and cushions last year. It was then that I became intrigued by a new project he told me about, which has enabled traditional Ethiopian craftsmen to see their unique artistic creations translated into fine art prints and textiles. (Tel-Dan itself is an exporter of home textiles and other decorative products, supplying to a global customer network that includes Ikea, Habitat, Candlelight, Target and Tesco).

Austrian-born Lidwina Dox, who came up with the concept for Tel-Dan said: "I'm a freelance designer and I'd done work previously in Ethiopia, with craftsmen and artists of all kinds, throughout the country. When Ami called me up to say he wanted to work with me again, I suggested that we don something in Ethiopia. He loved the idea, so I chose the best people I'd worked with out there and we really got the project underway in Summer 2006."

"Conventional Wisdom," says Ami, "has always been that production, founded on good craftsmanship and cheap labour, takes place in the "East" and the intellectual side happens in the "West". I hated those distinctions and loved it when I discovered, with Lidwina, a new "West". People ask me where the next place for cheap labour will be (China is getting expensive, they say), but I want to know the next place for fresh ideas, new sources of inspiration and creativity."

Picking up the story, Lidwina continues. "We spent 12 days in the workshop and the group came up with around 200 designs, loosely based around the themes of Art Nouveau, Lines & Structure and also free-hand design. It was an exciting thing for us all to work on and none of the artists had done anything like this before or worked on textile previously. When the artwork was done I took it over to Bangkok to show Ami and together with feedback from customers we chose around 15 designs on which to base the new collections. The collections included things like pillows, curtains, bed-covers and so on."

Speaking of the project's unique nature and appeal, Ami told me: "There is so much cultural heritage in that part of Africa and it's all being neglected. Everyone over there seems to be relying on charity projects and although there are countless NGO's it's hard to see what they're achieving at an sustainable, grass roots level. I really want this to be a long-term project that I can keep coming back to."

Explaining the economic situation in this impoverished part of Africa Ami explains that: "The private sector in Ethiopia is overwhelmingly concentrated in controlling the natural resources, people generally don't do design projects over there. Any that do take shape are dependent on organizations such as the World Bank, there's very little private initiatives."

"We're still deciding exactly how best to make use of the artwork. Much of the art is suitable for conversion into commercial prints, so that's one thing we're looking into. I would like to sell the work as a collection and include information about the artists with that. The artists we use are already being well paid but we also want to give them some benefit when their work is sold."

"As the project is still in a developmental phase," Lidwina adds, "we're currently seeing hot it's going to go, but we have hight hopes. African art is so popular now but as design source Ethiopia is pretty much untapped."