Abstract
In this section
Step change 126
An alternative resistance 129
No history lessons? 133
Head to head: Philip Pullman and Cathy Casserly 136
As part of a freedom of expression arts workshop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, a group of dancers made a metal workshop their stage. Words by
The place was one kind of hell: cramped, overcrowded, men half running through a narrow alley carrying monstrous loads of scrap metal on their backs, the relentless din of hammering on metal, lungs attacked by the corrosive smoke of burning paint and oil. The men who work here making pans and bowls out of defunct oil drums are paid a pittance for each object they produce. Starting as boys, they go on until they are too worn out to work anymore, seamlessly replaced by more younger men. This is the dark heart of Addis Ababa’s mercato, the largest open air market in Africa. It sells everything – you can even bargain for a new soul there, so they say.
Yacob Bizuneh grew up in and around the mercato and knows the men who work there and the short, brutal life cycle of their trade. He managed to find a route out through his art, studying at Addis’s Alle School of Fine Art and Design. Since graduating this summer, he has been one of the participants in Wax and Gold, produced by Netsa Art Village, a project drawing on historic ideas of passing important messages (gold) in a non-threatening and hidden way (covering them with wax). Bizuneh’s idea brought contemporary dancers in to perform around the oil-drum beaters to show that something else is possible in this environment, even if only for a few minutes. The steady, overlapping rhythmic hammering provided the ear-splitting sound track and inspiration for their movements, choreographed by Junaid Jemel.
Jemel, who as a child sold tissues on the street to help support his family, started dancing aged ten when he took part in a programme led by British dancer/choreographer Royston Maldoom in 1996, introducing contemporary dance to kids living in the slums of Addis. Junaid, now an international dancer and choreographer, was one of the founding members of Adugna Dance Company, which came out of Maldoom’s programme. Central to their work is the commitment to constantly feed these opportunities back into the community. Not everyone can make a successful career out of the arts, it’s not a magic recipe for change, but the young people who started Adugna, and Yacob himself, are inspiring proof of how art can transform lives. Their work to create access to a space and skills to explore, express and exchange ideas provides a dynamic opportunity for people who have been led to believe that their voice, their experience or their story is valueless.
A project drawing on historic ideas of passing important messages in a non-threatening
and hidden way
See more photos: www.indexoncensorship.org/ethiopia