According to many observers in the field, art conservation in Ethiopia is a recent phenomenon although the country is endowed with rich and diverse and ancient artistic legacies. According to a Belgian woman art conservator, “ Not only does Ethiopia has an unparalleled wealth of historical sites that are part of humanity’s anthropological history, but the overwhelming amount of on-going art and cultural experiences is impossible to map. Ethiopian art is inextricably linked to daily and ceremonial life. From childhood one comes into contact with centuries-old traditions which carry liturgical and philosophical meanings. The traditions are recorded in everything, from art objects to utensils and in educational and decorative depictions.”
Before we dip into a broader discussion of art conservation, it would be relevant to make the definition or objective of art conservation clear to the reader.
The simplest definition of art conservation is that it consists of the preservation of cultural heritage, such as art architecture and museum collections for future generations. “The term art conservation denotes the maintenance, and preservation of works of art and their protection from future damage and deterioration.” Art conservation has at least three features and known as preventive conservation, remedial conservation and restoration, depending on their objectives and function. At this point, we may ask why it is important to conserve works of art. What is the primary role of art conservation? Available information indicates that “art conservation aims at managing, preserving, treating and document works of art, artifacts and specimens.
The answer to the above question was given by a Belgian art conservator who was part of a group of Belgian art conservation workers that visited Ethiopia back in 2022 and visited many cultural and artistic sites that needed urgent preservation work. This art conservator said that, “ The beauty of art conservation for many conservators is that we strive to play a neutral, yet irreplaceable and universal, role in the world. Preserving the past is a pleasure because it often brings to light knowledge about the history and the creative soul of our ancestors.” A more functional or utilitarian approach to art conservation would be the conception of art conservation as objects of legacy or pride by future generation or as objects of touristic attractions by the present generation.
Although Ethiopia has a very rich and ancient cultural or artistic legacy, the need for their conservation or preservation has hardly attracted serious attention. One reason may be the tendency to use ancient artistic and cultural products as objectives of tourism, primarily for consumption by foreign tourists. We often tend to think that the older a given art product is, the more attention it attracts. Art preservation is also the preservation of cultural identity or legacy. “Using our preserved heritage to look back can provide a new interpretation of both cultural issues and traceable evidence of our society’s identity. It is precisely this search for identity that forms the founding principles of the Ethiopian Art Conservation Program.
Hence, the tendency to neglect the work of conserving and renovating works of arts or watch them crumble and deteriorate under the impacts of irresponsible human activities. Ancient works of arts are likely to deteriorate under the influence of adverse climatic or weather conditions, particularly of those works are preserved or protected in old and crumbling or derelict houses or conditions. A good example is the condition of the ancient residences of dignitaries in Addis Ababa that should be conserved or renovated as art works or architectural wonders.
They were left to deteriorate as they were used to houses homeless families in the vicinities of Gulele, a district north-west of the capital Addis Ababa. Some of them, including the residence of Hakim Werkeneh, an old nobleman and medical doctor under Emperor Menelik, were bulldozed during the current reconstruction work undertaken around the old district of Piazza.
What makes art conservation work a very arduous one is the fact that it requires patience, a lot of financial resource, technology and knowhow. Art preservation or restoration is not something that can be done in a short time because the work usually passes through various stages. The stage of studying the conditions of the art works is in itself very time consuming, arduous and requires a lot of patience and perseverance. One of the reason is that the art works to be preserved are found in remote or isolated areas and art restorers are required to reach the sites under difficult conditions. There is also the need to transport the materials and technical tools used in restoration work right to the sites under constraining logistical conditions.
According to experts, modern art restoration requires a great deal of technological inputs in the form of advanced materials and tools. These materials are not easy to transport to the sites where the renovation works are taking place. Even if it is possible, the logistic costs are tremendous. The case of the Axum obelisks is a good example. I it is to be recalled that the obelisks were dismantled and transported from the town of Axum to Italy by air because the necessary technology was not available here in Ethiopia. Even in Italy, the cost of renovating the steles was very high. Usually art renovation in developing countries like Ethiopia is done through foreign assistance or collaboration from institutions engaged in art renovation simply because the financial resources are not available here at home.
Art renovation is not only cultural or heritage preservation. It is also an asset in preserving old artistic sites for tourism consumption. Art renovation is closely linked with the promotion of cultural tourism which is also a largely neglected activity in Ethiopia. “According to the United Nations World Tourism organization, cultural tourism is, “movements of persons of persons for essentially cultural motivations such as study tours, performing arts, and cultural tours travels to festivals and other cultural events, visits to sites and monuments. , travel to study nature, folklore or art.”
It was recently disclosed that the Ethiopian capital has a great potential for the development of conference tourism. The capital has also untouched potential for the development of cultural tourism. According to a recent observer of the tourism sector in Ethiopia in general and Addis Ababa in particular, “Currently Ethiopia should focus on other tourism asset such as urban destination, business conference, spa etc specifically for Addis Ababa. It is a pity that he failed to mention cultural tourism or art tourism as another area that has not so far been explored.
Arts and cultural tourism heritage is a type of tourism where people travel to experience a destination’s art, culture and heritage. It can include visiting museums and galleries, attending art festivals or participating in hands-on activities. As indicated above, art renovation is an expensive undertaking and is usually funded by international organizations or donor institutions working in the areas of art and culture.
“Moreover, Addis Ababa is a home of tremendous tourist attractions that have various cultural, historical, architectural, aesthetic, economic, spiritual, political and symbolic values. They have a considerable importance to inform us about the true remarkable past of Ethiopia in general and Addis Ababa in particular. They have also greater potentials for tourism industry if they are well promoted and appropriately utilised.
Not only does Ethiopia have an unparalleled wealth of historical sites that are part of humanity’s anthropological history, but the overwhelming amount of on-going art and cultural experiences is impossible to map. Ethiopian art is inextricably linked to daily and ceremonial life. From childhood one comes into contact with centuries-old traditions which carry liturgical and philosophical meanings. The traditions are recorded in everything, from art objects to utensils and in educational and decorative depictions.
Capacity building in Ethiopian art preservation or renovation is another challenge. Local capacity in technical and educational areas has not so far attracted the necessary attention to promote long-term conservation programs. The Belgian art conservator who is quoted above said the following about this problem. “Initially, the lack of an Ethiopian educational program for national conservators became immediately apparent. But in addition, the absence of a structured cultural sector is a long-term problem that makes Ethiopians completely dependent on inter-national intervention in the management of conservation for their patrimony. These two major obstacles create the parameters on how to work together with the Ethiopian and international communities.”
The time has obviously come for the promotion of art renovation and conservation as many artistic sites and heritages across the country are getting older by the year and neglect or lack of awareness is bound to add additional constraint on already constrained situation. This is definitely the time to bridge the gap that, if left unaddressed would make art conservation and renovation work an uphill task. It should be clear that art preservation is not for today or tomorrow; it is for eternity.
BY MULUGETA GUDETA
The Ethiopian herald November 17/2024
