- Title: ETHIOPIA-ART SCENE Artists in Ethiopia cash in but have they sold out?
- Date: 4th November 2014
- Summary: ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MAKUSH ART GALLERY AND RESTAURANT / CUSTOMERS EATING AMONGST ART PIECES ON WALLS TADESE BELAY, BUSINESSMAN, EATING / ART IN BACKGROUND (SOUNDBITE) (Amharic) TADESSE BELAY, BUSINESSMAN, SAYING: "You see I can't always go home for lunch. So I eat here often. I have bought a lot of art from this place too, to decorate my house and business space in Awassa. I have a lot of art in the reception and bar of my hotel there. I also have a lodge in Tigray and I have a collection there of a lot of historical paintings." VARIOUS OF TESFAYE HIWOT, OWNER AND FOUNDER OF MAKUSH ART GALLERY RESTAURANT ARRANGING ART PIECES (SOUNDBITE) (Amharic) TESFAYE HIWOT, OWNER AND FOUNDER OF MAKUSH ART GALLERY RESTAURANT SAYING: "It was a very tough situation when we started it 12 years ago. We used to go to all places and studios and collect paintings. Now, since we have grown, we don't go to the artists. It is artists themselves who come to us. If it is a new artist We ask them to bring at least four paintings and we will take it to our gallery if it is a good painting. That's how we have grown over the past 12 years. Today, we have almost 650 paintings and 70 artists." VARIOUS OF ART ON THE WALL VARIOUS OF PAINTER, ATIKILT ASEFA ENTERING HIS STUDIO WITH HOME STUDIO WITH HIS DOG ASEFA WORKING ON A PAINTING (SOUNDBITE) (Amharic) ATIKILT ASEFA, PAINTER, SAYING: "Before, it was very tough being an artist here. Meaning, you can't live on art alone. No one buys art even if you display your paintings at exhibitions. It was very difficult even to buy the necessary inks etc. Everything changed after galleries like Makush came to the scene." VARIOUS OF PAINTER AND TEACHER, GIRMA SABOKA TEACHING ART AT ABYSSINIA ART SCHOOL (SOUNDBITE) (Amharic) GIRMA SABOKA, ARTIST AND ART TEACHER AT ABYSSINIA ART SCHOOL SAYING: "Art in its nature has two categories. The first is that an individual can paint for commercial purposes so that people can buy their work at a low price, for decoration purposes. The second is art made by artists purely to express his or her internal feelings and they are often invaluable and not made for sale. They are often destined for Museums. That is how they are different and that is the trend we are observing now in our country." NATNAEL YOHANNES, MAKUSH ART GALLERY RESTAURANT DIRECTOR RECEIVING ART (SOUNDBITE) (Amharic) NATNAEL YOHANNES, MAKUSH ART GALLERY RESTAURANT DIRECTOR, SAYING: "Every one has a choice of the field of business or job. So, Makush Gallery is a commercial art gallery. Being a commercial art gallery, we are changing the lives of artists, we are promoting Ethiopia and we are generating revenue for the country. When we do this we don't force the artists to do this or that. All these art pieces you see here are created by the artists themselves. So, we choose to become a commercial art gallery. Is that a sin?" VARIOUS OF ART PRODUCTS IN MAKUSH GALLERY
- Embargoed: 19th November 2014 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Ethiopia
- Country: Ethiopia
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA7RBF2ISAC08J4XDDI1UCQDTNN
- Story Text: On the menu at this restaurant is not only good food but also, a variety of art for sale.
The Makush Art Gallery Restaurant in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa is an ambient eating space with a display of works from budding artists.
Not many Ethiopians are art collectors, but this gallery takes advantage of the fact that people have to eat and while having a meal, cannot help but be drawn to the art on the walls.
"You see I can't always go home for lunch. So I eat here often. I have bought a lot of art from this place too, to decorate my house and business space in Awassa. I have a lot of art in the reception and bar of my hotel there. I also have a lodge in Tigray and I have a collection there of a lot of historical paintings," said Tadesse Belay, a businessman.
The man behind the concept is Tesfaye Hiwot, who after 27 years living in the United States where he owned a restaurant, an art gallery and a club, wanted to bring his love for food, art and business back home.
"It was a very tough situation when we started it 12 years ago. We used to go to all places and studios and collect paintings. Now, since we have grown, we don't go to the artists. It is artists themselves who come to us. If it is a new artist We ask them to bring at least four paintings and we will take it to our gallery if it is a good painting. That's how we have grown over the past 12 years. Today, we have almost 650 paintings and 70 artists," said Hiwot.
The art scene in Ethiopia was in the past, small and not very profitable for many. Even though Ethiopians have a rich culture of painting and sculpture, there has never been much of an industry around it.
When he first opened Makush, Hiwot says more than 80 percent of his customers were tourists and foreign expats but that has changed dramatically in the last five years and more Ethiopians are buying art.
Ethiopia, one of Africa's fastest growing economies has an emerging middle class that is enjoying increasing buying power in a country that failed to feed itself just three decades ago and the country could meet a target to become a middle-income nation by 2025, according to the IMF.
Artist, Atikilt Asefa moved from a house he struggled to pay 25 US dollars for every month, to a 1,000-dollar villa in the Addis suburbs. In Ethiopia, the salary of a top earning high school teacher is about 250 US dollars a month.
"Before, it was very tough being an artist here. Meaning, you can't live on art alone. No one buys art even if you display your paintings at exhibitions. It was very difficult even to buy the necessary inks etc. Everything thing has changed after Galleries like Makush came to the scene," said Asefa.
It may seem like the art scene is growing in Ethiopia, with more artists getting into the industry and more people buying pieces at places like Makush, but art critics warn that the high turnover for commercial value waters down the integrity of the work and Ethiopia's image as country of fine art.
"Art in its nature has two categories. The first is that an individual can paint for commercial purposes so that people can buy their work at a low price, for decoration purposes. The second is art made by artists purely to express his or her internal feelings and they are often invaluable and not made for sale. They are often destined for Museums. That is how they are different and that is the trend we are observing now in our country," said art teacher, Girma Saboka.
Makush owners say they are filling a gap and giving people a livelihood where there was hardly any market at all.
"Every one has a choice of the field of business or job. So, Makush Gallery is a commercial art gallery. Being a commercial art gallery, we are changing the lives of artists, we are promoting Ethiopia and we are generating revenue for the country. When we do this we don't force the artists to do this or that. All this art pieces you see here are created by the artists themselves. So, we choose to become commercial art gallery. Is that a sin?" said Natnael Yohannes, the restaurant's director.
The average price of a painting at the gallery is 300 US dollars but there are cheaper options for as low as 60 US dollars and the more expensive pieces for up to 750 US dollars.
Hiwot says during tourist peak season they can sell up to 250 paintings a month. Whether they are collectables or aesthetic pieces is a description left entirely to the owner.
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