Afghan artists paint on felt, aim to revive old traditions amid pandemic

Record ID: 1587508

  • Title: Afghan artists paint on felt, aim to revive old traditions amid pandemic
  • Date: 18th November 2020
  • Summary: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (RECENT - NOVEMBER 9, 2020) (REUTERS) CLOSE-UP OF AFGHAN ARTIST FAIQA SULTANI'S HAND DRAWING ON FELT AT NAMAD COMPANY'S GALLERY VARIOUS OF SULTANI PAINTING ON FELT SULTANI CHOOSING A PAINTBRUSH VARIOUS OF SULTANI PAINTING ON FELT (MUTE) TIMELAPSE OF SULTANI PAINTING ON FELT VARIOUS OF SULTANI PAINTING ON FELT (SOUNDBITE) (Dari) AFGHAN ARTIST, FAIQA SULTA
  • Embargoed: 2nd December 2020 08:07
  • Keywords: Afghanistan Kabul Namad Company art felt painting pandemic
  • Location: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
  • City: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
  • Country: Afghanistan
  • Topics: Asia / Pacific,Arts/Culture/Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA001D58E05H
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: At a small gallery in Afghanistan's capital, Faiqa Sultani carefully dips a brush in paint before applying it to a felt canvas propped up on an easel.
    Sultani, 27, said she had been feeling depressed due to being out of work for nearly two months, a problem made worse by the coronavirus lockdown earlier this year, until she joined art enterprise Namad Company about a month ago.
    Painting has helped.
    "When I paint, it is a kind of expression of my feelings," said Sultani, who previously studied art at universities in Kabul and India and also works in fashion, painting on clothes. She noted that painting on felt is more challenging than other materials as she needs to apply more pressure to the paintbrush.
    Reviving the use of felt, a traditional textile in Afghanistan, showcasing the war-torn country's creativity and attempting to provide employment and a creative outlet for young people hit hard by the pandemic were all goals for Marzia Panahi, 21, the founder of Namad Company. In Dari, "namad" means felt.
    The international relations student launched the enterprise at the height of the pandemic in September after studying how to start a business and painting online. She established Namad Company with $100 that she had saved up from previous work.
    Panahi currently employs 10 people, including three artists, and said she has sold dozens of paintings so far, ranging between $100 and $200 each, largely through word of mouth.
    "Our customers are mostly people who value domestic production, are art-loving, and support the growth of Afghan culture because we do cultural work," she said.
    Afghanistan, where more than 60% of the population is younger than 25, has always struggled with high youth unemployment, but the pandemic's economic impact has exacerbated economic problems, with the World Bank predicting more than 70% of the population will slip beneath the poverty line in 2020.
    In addition to generating jobs, Panahi said that she had wanted to find a way to revive the use of felt, which has been produced and used in Afghanistan for centuries, especially in rural areas. It's made from animal wool, especially sheep wool. Namad Company sources its felt from a rural part of Jawzjan province, in the northern part of the country.
    In the past, Afghans used felt to make carpets and mattresses.
    "We wanted to start a new way of using felt," said Panahi.
    She said she hopes Namad Company becomes a major handicraft company in Afghanistan in the future, and dreams of it expanding abroad within the next decade.
    (Production: Aziz Mohammad, Hameed Farzad, Sayed Hassib)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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