Addishiwot, which means “New Life” is a self-employed Photographer, Jewelry and Clothing Designer and Manufacturer born in Arba Minch, the southern part of Ethiopia, Addishiwot always admired the abundant beauty of the land of her birth, growing up there inspired her on a multitude of levels. Addishiwot speaks English, French and Amharic, which is widely spoken in Ethiopia.There are 82 languages and 200 dialects in Ethiopia.
After successfully completing Secondary education at the Empress Menen High School (Yekatit 12) Addishiwot attended The Master Fine Arts Vocational Center in Addis Ababa. Graduating in Photography, Videography and Editing, She studied with great interest and applied the techniques involved in shooting and developing black and white pictures using an analogue camera, this for the next four years was her tool of creativity a tool which enabled her to document the natural beauty and rich cultural heritage of Ethiopia.
Addishiwot acknowledges the Most High Creator as her first inspiration, and this has led her to a deep appreciation of the art and culture of Ethiopia, Africa and the African Diaspora. She states ‘The use of natural and traditional designs and materials is a great inspiration, the intricate detail and quality design in hand made wool and clay always amazes me’. Addishiwot believes that ‘everything is art in Ethiopia’ she includes stills photography of both natural and social environments as a basis for her designs.
The Rastafari culture has also been a great inspiration, and it was through her involvement in the music of Rastafari that she was invited to Belgium in 2007. There she was gifted with the opportunity to utilize her photographic skills and also experience Europe for the first time.
This is when she started taking exclusive photos of Musicians and artists in different surroundings all over the world.
In 2008 Addishiwot travelled to Tenerife in Spain where she presented her first Photographic Exhibition, at Centro Cultural de Los Cristianos and 2012 had the second exhibition in Brussels Belgium at Kokob Ethiopian Restaurant and cultural spot.
The display depicted images of historically significant locations in Ethiopia from the perspective of someone born there, highlighting the beauty of both the people and the landscape. During this project and similar ones across Europe, Addis was able to put her networking and language skills to great use and one year later she returned to Belgium to continue to display her works, during an Exhibition Addis met her mentor Dip Camara, the owner of Fama Batik Manufacturers, and designer of batik clothing from Senegal. She fell in love with the work immediately!
Addishiwot loved the manufacturing techniques and the ethos of distributing quality goods from Africa; made by the people of Africa; to the world. With Fama Batik Addis learned how to create using her artistic skill and to then design and manufacture high quality fashion garments. It was here that she also learned how to design and manufacture jewelry as a complement to and enhancement of the distinctive individuality of the garments she was producing.
Dip Camara and Addis are partners and now work as a team along with Rema Keza from Rwanda and Burundi. The three of them work together infusing their ideas to establish beautiful African art all over the world.
CONTACT
Facebook: WA fama batik
Addis Creativity
Web:famabatik.skyrock.com
- I SEE THE LIGHT-
This picture has been taken at Gondar (ጐንደር) Emperor Fasiladas Castle.After the darkness must come out the light.
Cette photo a été prise au Château Empereur Fasiladas à Gondar. Après l'obscurité doit venir la lumière.
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- INNOCENT-
Wondo Genet (Paradise of Man) - Children of Wondo Genet, Life is not easy for some of them; they have to work in sugar cane plantation to get a better living. When I think about those beautiful Innocent children my heart is feeling the pain.Wondo Genet (Le Paradis de L'Homme) - Enfants de Wondo Genet. La vie n'est pas facile pour certains d'entre eux, ils ont à travailler dans les plantations de canne à sucre pour obtenir une vie meilleure. Quand je pense à ces beaux enfants Innocents mon coeur ressent la douleur.
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-TRUE SMILE -
This Picture has been taken at Wondo Genet; an young girl is making the Traditional Ethiopian Coffee (Bunna) to everyone to celebrate a new born into her Family.
Cette photo a été prise à Wondo Genet, une jeune fille fait le café traditionnel éthiopien (Bunna) à tout le monde pour célébrer un nouveau-né dans sa famille.
- MOTHER & CHILD -
The Sun is still shining, no matter how hard it is to achieve the goals; the most important is to live in happiness.Le soleil brille toujours, peu importe combien il est difficile d'atteindre les objectifs; le plus important est de vivre dans le bonheur.
- NATURAL ORGANIZATION-
Impressive roots of a tree grown over the stone wall at Gondar.
Impressionnantes racines d'un arbre cultivé dans le mur de pierre à Gondar.
-ጎንደር -Gondar
- which used to be the royal capital of Ethiopia from 1666 to 1864, was founded by Emperor Fasiladas in 1635- Qui était autrefois la capitale royale de l'Ethiopie de 1666 à 1864, a été fondée par l'empereur Fasiladas en 1635
- I AM THE FUTURE -
Bahir Dar,The Market where a child is watching the scene.
Marché à Bahir Dar où un enfant est à regarder la scène.
-BROKEN WINDOW VIEW -
Addis Ababa (ኣዲስ ኣበባ) .The rich is getting richer and the poor even poorer.
Le riche devient plus riche et les pauvres encore plus pauvres.
-DEVELOPEMENT OR DESTRUCTION -
Addis Ababa means New Flower like this picture which has been taken on an earlier morning in the city.Addis Abeba signifie Nouvelle Fleur, cette image a été prise un matin tôt dans la ville.
-DUSK OR DAWN -
A mystic moment at Wondo Genet.
Un moment mystique à Wondo Genet.
A mystic moment at Wondo Genet.
Un moment mystique à Wondo Genet.
- WAY HOME -
Who knows how many times His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I walked on this road going on his private bath at Wondo Genet. I am proud today I have followed his footsteps.
Qui sait combien de fois Sa Majesté Impériale Hailé Sélassié I a marché sur cette route pour aller dans sa salle de bain privée à Wondo Genet. Aujourd'hui, je suis fière d’avoir suivi ses traces.
Who knows how many times His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I walked on this road going on his private bath at Wondo Genet. I am proud today I have followed his footsteps.
Qui sait combien de fois Sa Majesté Impériale Hailé Sélassié I a marché sur cette route pour aller dans sa salle de bain privée à Wondo Genet. Aujourd'hui, je suis fière d’avoir suivi ses traces.
Lake Tana Monaster
There are 37 islands that are scattered about the surface of Lake Tana, out of which some 20 shelter churches and monasteries of immense historical and cultural interest. These churches are decorated with beautiful paintings and house innumerable treasures. Because of their isolation they were used to store art treasures and religious relics from all parts of the country.
Access for some of the churches is closed to women, although they are allowed to land on the banks of the island but not permitted to proceed further.
However women are permitted to visit churches on Zeghne Peninsula and nearby church of Ura Kidane Mehret, as well as Narga Sellassie.
Kebran Gabriel: is renowned for a magnificent manuscript to the Four Gospels which is believed to date back to at least the late fourteenth or early fifteenth century.
Ura Kidane Mehret: is more decorative with a huge, conical thatched roof is painted with scenes from Biblical lore.
Daga Istifanos: is considered one of the most sacred on Lake Tana, and said to have served as a temporary hiding place for the Ark of the Covenant. On this stands the church of Saint Stifanos which houses the Holly Madonna painted around 1434. The real historic interest lies in its treasury where there are glass-sided coffins containing the mummified remains of several of the former emperors of Ethiopia.
Tana Cherkos: this ancient monastery is found on the eastern shore of Lake Tana.
Tradition tells us that St. Mary rested here under a wall during her flight to Egypt, and stayed for three months and ten days. The monks claim that they owned a necklace which she left when she departed.
It is also said that the monastery was a sacred place of the Jews. Menelik I and the Jewish nobles, after fleeing from King Solomon, brought the Ark of the covenant to this monastery and built a temple over it, which was decorated with precious stones. Six hundred years later, the Ark was brought to Axum.
Ethiopian Orthodox Church
Psalm 68, written for King David around 1000 BC (BCE), says that "ETHIOPIA SHALL SOON STRETCH OUT HER HANDS UNTO GOD'S." The Ethiopian Orthodox Church was founded by the monks Frumentius and Aedissius in the early fourth century, during the reign of King Ezana of Axum (Aksum), who converted toEthiopian Cross Christianity along with many of his people. Frumentius was consecrated bishop in Alexandria, returning to Ethiopia to be its first bishop. In fact, the Ethiopian Church exists today as self-governing, though it traditionally shares the same faith with Egypt's Coptic Church. Until 1955, its Patriarch was a Coptic bishop sent from Alexandria, though since that time a native Ethiopian has been the Abuna, or Patriarch. The second ranking hierarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is the Abbot of the Debre Libanos Monastery, reflecting the importance of monasticism in Ethiopia.
In terms of doctrine, the Coptic Church separated from the early Orthodox Church in AD 451 after the Council of Chalcedon over the former's with other Orthodox, but separated from the Eastern Churches in the eleventh century over political as well as theological issues. Today, the Orthodox Church exists without the changes of Catholicism or the subsequent deletions of Protestantism.
The Ethiopian Church enjoyed a great deal of autonomy even when its Patriarch was sent from the Coptic Church of Egypt. While the Ethiopian Orthodox are not in direct canonical communion with the Orthodox of Greece, Constantinople, Russia, Ukraine, Antioch, and other jurisdictions, they are embraced fraternally to the extent that some of these churches allow their priests to administer the sacraments to the Ethiopian Orthodox. Outside Ethiopia, it is not unusual for Ethiopian Orthodox to attend services at these other Orthodox churches.
Great strides have been made in recent years of reconciliation between the Non-Chalcedonian Churches and the Orthodox Church. In the 1970s the Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria stated that his Church accepted that Christ is fully human as well as divine, which is an important statement. This has not yet resulted in the healing of the schism, but dialogue continues, and representatives of the Patriarchate of Constantinople have recently visited the Ethiopian Church.
There exist in certain countries, particularly in the United States, "Ethiopian" or "Abyssinian" churches which attract African-Americans. The theological heritage of these churches is essentially Baptist or, in some cases, Pentecostal. These congregations have no connection with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Their name reflects the fact that in times past 'Ethiopian' was often synonymous with 'African.
There are 37 islands that are scattered about the surface of Lake Tana, out of which some 20 shelter churches and monasteries of immense historical and cultural interest. These churches are decorated with beautiful paintings and house innumerable treasures. Because of their isolation they were used to store art treasures and religious relics from all parts of the country.
Access for some of the churches is closed to women, although they are allowed to land on the banks of the island but not permitted to proceed further.
However women are permitted to visit churches on Zeghne Peninsula and nearby church of Ura Kidane Mehret, as well as Narga Sellassie.
Kebran Gabriel: is renowned for a magnificent manuscript to the Four Gospels which is believed to date back to at least the late fourteenth or early fifteenth century.
Ura Kidane Mehret: is more decorative with a huge, conical thatched roof is painted with scenes from Biblical lore.
Daga Istifanos: is considered one of the most sacred on Lake Tana, and said to have served as a temporary hiding place for the Ark of the Covenant. On this stands the church of Saint Stifanos which houses the Holly Madonna painted around 1434. The real historic interest lies in its treasury where there are glass-sided coffins containing the mummified remains of several of the former emperors of Ethiopia.
Tana Cherkos: this ancient monastery is found on the eastern shore of Lake Tana.
Tradition tells us that St. Mary rested here under a wall during her flight to Egypt, and stayed for three months and ten days. The monks claim that they owned a necklace which she left when she departed.
It is also said that the monastery was a sacred place of the Jews. Menelik I and the Jewish nobles, after fleeing from King Solomon, brought the Ark of the covenant to this monastery and built a temple over it, which was decorated with precious stones. Six hundred years later, the Ark was brought to Axum.
Debre Birhan Selassie was built by Emperor Eyasu II (also known as Birhan Seged, "He to Whom the Light Bows") in the 17th Century. It was named Debre Birhan, "Mountain of Light," after the Emperor's nickname as well as in honor of the church of the same name in Shewa.
At the Debre Birhan Church in Shewa, a miraculous apparition of the Holy Light of God is said to have occured in the Middle Ages during the reign of Emperor Zera Yacob the Great. In exchange for the right of using its name, the Gondar church paid the Shewan church an annual tribute.
When the Mahdist Dervishes of the Sudan sacked the city of Gondar in 1888, they burned down every church in the city except Debre Birhan Selassie. According to local legend, when the Mahdist soldiers approached the church, a swarm of bees decended on the compound of the church and kept the soldiers back, and the Archangel Michael himself stood before the large wooden gates with a flaming sword drawn.
At the Debre Birhan Church in Shewa, a miraculous apparition of the Holy Light of God is said to have occured in the Middle Ages during the reign of Emperor Zera Yacob the Great. In exchange for the right of using its name, the Gondar church paid the Shewan church an annual tribute.
When the Mahdist Dervishes of the Sudan sacked the city of Gondar in 1888, they burned down every church in the city except Debre Birhan Selassie. According to local legend, when the Mahdist soldiers approached the church, a swarm of bees decended on the compound of the church and kept the soldiers back, and the Archangel Michael himself stood before the large wooden gates with a flaming sword drawn.
Fasil Ghebbi, Gondar Region, are the remains of a fortress-city that was the residence of the Ethiopian emperor Fasilides and his successors.
The founder of Gondar was Emperor Fasiladas who, tiring of the pattern of migration that had characterised the lifestyle of so many of his forefathers, moved his capital here in 1636 AD. By the late 1640s he had built a great castle here, which stands today in a grassy compound surrounded by other fortresses of later construction. With its huge towers and looming battlemented walls, it seems like a piece of medieval Europe transposed to Ethiopia.
In addition to this castle, Fasiladas is said to have been responsible for the building of a number of other structures. Perhaps the oldest of these is the Enqulal Gemb, or Egg Castle, so named on account of its egg-shaped domed roof. Other buildings include the royal archive and the stable.
Beyond the confines of the city to the north-west by the Qaha River there is another fine building sometimes associated by Fasiladas - a bathing palace. The building is a two-storeyed battlemented structure situated within and on one side of a rectangular pool of water which was supplied by a canal from the nearby river. The bathing pavillion itself stands on pier arches, and contains several rooms which are reached by a stone bridge, part of which could be raised for defence.
Besides such secular buildings, Fasiladas is reputed to have erected no fewer than seven churches, as well as seven bridges.
The founder of Gondar was Emperor Fasiladas who, tiring of the pattern of migration that had characterised the lifestyle of so many of his forefathers, moved his capital here in 1636 AD. By the late 1640s he had built a great castle here, which stands today in a grassy compound surrounded by other fortresses of later construction. With its huge towers and looming battlemented walls, it seems like a piece of medieval Europe transposed to Ethiopia.
In addition to this castle, Fasiladas is said to have been responsible for the building of a number of other structures. Perhaps the oldest of these is the Enqulal Gemb, or Egg Castle, so named on account of its egg-shaped domed roof. Other buildings include the royal archive and the stable.
Beyond the confines of the city to the north-west by the Qaha River there is another fine building sometimes associated by Fasiladas - a bathing palace. The building is a two-storeyed battlemented structure situated within and on one side of a rectangular pool of water which was supplied by a canal from the nearby river. The bathing pavillion itself stands on pier arches, and contains several rooms which are reached by a stone bridge, part of which could be raised for defence.
Besides such secular buildings, Fasiladas is reputed to have erected no fewer than seven churches, as well as seven bridges.
Psalm 68, written for King David around 1000 BC (BCE), says that "ETHIOPIA SHALL SOON STRETCH OUT HER HANDS UNTO GOD'S." The Ethiopian Orthodox Church was founded by the monks Frumentius and Aedissius in the early fourth century, during the reign of King Ezana of Axum (Aksum), who converted toEthiopian Cross Christianity along with many of his people. Frumentius was consecrated bishop in Alexandria, returning to Ethiopia to be its first bishop. In fact, the Ethiopian Church exists today as self-governing, though it traditionally shares the same faith with Egypt's Coptic Church. Until 1955, its Patriarch was a Coptic bishop sent from Alexandria, though since that time a native Ethiopian has been the Abuna, or Patriarch. The second ranking hierarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is the Abbot of the Debre Libanos Monastery, reflecting the importance of monasticism in Ethiopia.
In terms of doctrine, the Coptic Church separated from the early Orthodox Church in AD 451 after the Council of Chalcedon over the former's with other Orthodox, but separated from the Eastern Churches in the eleventh century over political as well as theological issues. Today, the Orthodox Church exists without the changes of Catholicism or the subsequent deletions of Protestantism.
The Ethiopian Church enjoyed a great deal of autonomy even when its Patriarch was sent from the Coptic Church of Egypt. While the Ethiopian Orthodox are not in direct canonical communion with the Orthodox of Greece, Constantinople, Russia, Ukraine, Antioch, and other jurisdictions, they are embraced fraternally to the extent that some of these churches allow their priests to administer the sacraments to the Ethiopian Orthodox. Outside Ethiopia, it is not unusual for Ethiopian Orthodox to attend services at these other Orthodox churches.
Great strides have been made in recent years of reconciliation between the Non-Chalcedonian Churches and the Orthodox Church. In the 1970s the Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria stated that his Church accepted that Christ is fully human as well as divine, which is an important statement. This has not yet resulted in the healing of the schism, but dialogue continues, and representatives of the Patriarchate of Constantinople have recently visited the Ethiopian Church.
There exist in certain countries, particularly in the United States, "Ethiopian" or "Abyssinian" churches which attract African-Americans. The theological heritage of these churches is essentially Baptist or, in some cases, Pentecostal. These congregations have no connection with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Their name reflects the fact that in times past 'Ethiopian' was often synonymous with 'African.
