DAN FANI –

‘TREASURES OF BURKINA FASO’S TEXTILE HERITAGE’

MAN’S MANUAL SKILLS – A WORLD HERITAGE THAT MUST BE SAVED

• UTILITARIAN OBJECTS OF YESTERDAY
• WORKS OF ART TODAY
• ANTIQUES OF TOMORROW
The exhibition took place May 19-22 2007 in the Atrium of the
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, 655 West 34th Street, New York.
Exhibition opening
the weaver
For hundreds of years the people of Burkina Faso in West Africa have been highly skilled in the techniques of hand spinning, dyeing and weaving the cotton harvested from their fields.

Today, less than 100 tons of naturally organic cotton grown in ancestral fashion are used for the production of the narrow woven bands traditionally made into clothing and a wide range of domestic furnishings.

Yet there are still some 53 000 men and women who can practice the ancient skills of handloom weaving and dyeing as a part or full time occupation, thus preserving century-old family traditions in rural and urban communities.

The superb technical craftsmanship of these weavers is further enhanced by the amazing variety of imaginative patterns employed - ranging from abstract and animal motifs to scenes of daily life - which contribute to the wealth of great ethnic and cultural diversity of the people of Burkina Faso. This, in return, has created a magnificent textile heritage which has yet to be internationally recognised and appreciated.

However, with more than 90 percent of these highly skilled people either unemployed, or underemployed outside their traditional professions, the art of handloom weaving and all related skills are doomed. With no means to educate and train future generations, the ability to continue creating objects which are as beautiful as they are useful will be irreplaceably lost.