How success can be found in tradition or future trends – or a blend of the two
In Part II of our photo essay and chat with Selamawit Alene, we show how the creative journey can take you back to the past – or out into the future, with success coming from a blend of the two as well.
PhotoSparks is a weekly feature from YourStory, with photographs that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In the earlier 180 posts, we featured an art festival, cartoon gallery. world music festival, telecom expo, millets fair, climate change expo, wildlife conference, startup festival, Diwali rangoli, and jazz festival.
Emerging post-colonial economies face unique challenges (as well as opportunities) in preserving their rich cultural heritage while also trying to embrace a globalised economy. Success, however, can be found not just in cultural promotion or modernity, but in a blend of the two – via fusion.
Emerging creative trends in fusion span everything from food and fashion to music and paintings, opening up new opportunities for artrepreneurs and designpreneurs. See earlier editions of PhotoSparks capturing this fusion trend in India, Morocco and Singapore.
St. George Gallery in Addis Ababa reflects how Ethiopian artists explore these three modes of art in the twenty-first century, according to curator Selamawit Alene (see Part 1 of the interview with YourStory here).
Artists today can establish themselves in current genres of culture, or strike out on their own and create new formats and styles. From rural to urban and from national to global, artists can build their own cultural foundations, says Selamawit. Art can be expression, empowerment and emancipation, as the second part of our photo essay on St. George Gallery shows.
Now what have you done today to re-interpret and re-invent yourself?
Got a creative photograph to share? Email us at [email protected]!
See also the YourStory pocketbook ‘Proverbs and Quotes for Entrepreneurs: A World of Inspiration for Startups,’ accessible as apps for Apple and Android devices.
