ARTISTS

ALLEN, JAY C
AQUI, GWEN
ASHKAR, TIM
BARNES, CORNELL
BEAL, LA SHUN
BIBBS, CHARLES
FENNEL, ALBERT
GOTTFRIED, MARTA
HOLSTON, JOSEPH
MAVRUK, HULLIS
MCKENZIE, DAVID
MOENG, MARY
ROSS, LA VARNE
VARNER, ERNEST
WILSON, ELLIS

Feature article - Spotlight On Niger Leatherworks

The "Utility Art" presented to you by Echo Gallery is hand-crafted by Touareg artisans of the West African nation of Niger. Numbering approximately 210,000, the Touareg people make up 3 percent of Niger's total population.

This particular craft is unique to a Touareg sub-community known as the Inadan. Among the Inadan, the skill and knowledge of leatherworking is passed from father to son and from older brother to younger brother, in a society that is highly tradition - bound, conservative, and patriarchal.

For the Inadan, this craft is a "cultural emblem" which distinguishes them from other groups in the panorama of the Sahel's multi-ethnicity.

According to Mahomed Alouda, an Inadan artisan based in the Niger capital of Niamey, the designs, figures, and objects of this craft make it architectural in its own right.

We invite you to touch one facet of the Touareg experience by owning and proudly displaying part of the useful creativity brought to you by Echo Gallery.

Note: Check this web page frequently for more interesting and unique "featured artists and crafts persons."