Ethiopia is known for its lively art. Numerous famous painters have cherished the art scene of the country. Most of the time the artists’ works reflect the wonderful topography, climate, and culture of a country singled out for thirteen months of sunshine. In addition to this, the painters use their brushes to portray the country’s colorful events and peoples’ day to day feeling of happiness, sadness, togetherness as well as other common phenomenal facets of life.
They also devote their pen to showing the ideal world on paper. They combine form and color to create a meaningful and reality-based image. Moreover, they easily give a soul to their pictures, making them look like capable of breathing walking or doing whatever human beings are capable to do. Thus the art sector has been playing a notable role contribution in Ethiopia.
The country could derive more from art. The decisive benefit is all about manifesting and showing the country’s massive unique societal identification. Moreover related to this, we can find relaxation. We could as well build morals and our ethics, improving cognition to have a well-organized decision making as well as sensing our self with thinking inside deeply.
Furthermore, every society could convey its multifaceted cultural and traditional background through the art industry. But the critical question that pops up here do different nation nationalities and people look the sector in a way to promote and build their well-inherited tradition to be transmitted to the succeeding generations.
From the Ethiopian famous artists, Honorable Maitre Artist Laureate Afework Tekle is the pioneer one in introducing widely the fundamentals of abstract art. HMAL Afework was the world’s gifted artist who played quite a great role in promoting Ethiopian art in particular and that of the world’s art in general. His internationally renowned masterpieces include Meskel Flower, Mother Ethiopia, Sun of Senegal as well as other diversified paints. On his sickbed, HMAL Afework Tekle had given Villa Alpha, housing the collection of his paints in one home with an endowment to the Ethiopian government and people.
There are many art shops and galleries open in the city to sell and exhibit art products to any interested person searching to find cultural and modern art products.
An art gallery is a room or building for the display or sale of artworks. The benefit of art galleries is numerous. Plenty of art galleries play their due to the growth and development of the tourism sector with manifesting the society’s visible and invisible traditions.
As a contemporary art gallery is a place where contemporary art products are shown for exhibition and/or sale, it will help the country to generate more from the tourism sector.
Painter Gebrekirstos Solomon, the grandchild of Ethiopian famous artist Belachew Yimer is one of the painters in Addis presenting his drawings at the center of the city, Piassa with his small souvenir shop. He said that most of the drawings are his own.
In addition to his drawings, he has gathered various collections of paintings, sculptures and other artifacts from his friends that reflect the traditions and culture Ethiopians. He emphasized that the significance of art is tremendous and needs the support and recognition of the government to be a more powerful instrument of conveying the culture and tradition of the society.
Furthermore, he underlines that the attention given to indigenous cultural art is fading out and lacks enough market opportunity. The youth painters bent of making culture focused paintings are declining from time to time. More attention should be given to own cultural painting style, coloring, designing as well as message.
According to him, the art market is sluggish and no support is given for young painters as well as the experienced ones.
Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritages Public and Internal Relation Directorate Assistant Director, Fanta Beyene said that art galleries collect artifacts, pictures, and souvenirs. Such a task is important for the promotion of tourism in the country. Their collections are not included in heritage lists but the authority attaches concern to them and supports galleries to build themselves and prove a small model of Ethiopia portraying the artifacts of the broad array of the country.
According to Fanta, heritage is something valuable to one country’s cultural, socio-economic and other phenomenal manifestation.
To sum up, in showing the uniqueness of a given society art plays a dominant and long-lasting role in saving the observable and unobservant socio-economic, political, spiritual as well as other characteristics and much more.
The Ethiopian Herald January 9, 2020
BY TEWODROS KASSA
