Ethiopia: The Art of Cross-Cultural Exchange
with Dr. Christine Sciacca, Curator of European Art, 300-1400 CE
The rich history of Ethiopian art has been explored in a handful of exhibitions over the past three decades; however, it has been studied primarily in isolation. While scholars have acknowledged that Ethiopia stands at a crossroads between the Mediterranean World, the Middle East, and India thanks to its location and its placement along trade routes, the specific ways in which it came into contact with the art of surrounding cultures have never been studied in an exhibition. From the pre-Christian period to the present day, Ethiopian artists have developed distinctive traditions while drawing upon the neighboring ones from Coptic Egypt, Nubia, South Arabia, Byzantium, Armenia, Italy, the greater African continent, and India, among others. In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, artists belonging to Ethiopian diaspora communities in North America and Europe have built upon this legacy. By examining the connections between Ethiopia and its surrounding cultures, we can better understand the impact of this great African artistic tradition.