Ethiopian Art Conservation Program

We had an incredible journey through history at the historic Post Office in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia. The gift and craft of parchment preparation and historical book binding was explained by the wonderful Hamere Birhan group. We listened to great expertise on the preparation of ink colors for religious books such as bibles. As it takes a life time to perform such skills it is something only allowed for a few religious protectors of this historic tradition to execute. As we share their mission in keeping this tradition alive we look forward to closely work together in the future. Stay tuned!

Call for PhD Scholarships 2023 - 2027 Bahir Dar University (BDU) and University of Antwerp (UAntwerp) aim to develop an Art Conservation Education and Research program at Bahir Dar University (DACER-BDU) in Ethiopia. To this end, it is planned to establish a fully operating university program that is rooted on the Master Heritage and Museum Studies at Bahir Dar University. With this call, DACER-BDU wants to recruit 2 motivated and capable PhD candidates, with a high interest in quality research and the commitment to become change makers by later serving at Bahir Dar University. For pertinent details on the scholarship, please visit the BDU website www.bdu.edu.et or contact EACP through the contact page.

On August 28 2021 Ethopian Art Conservation Program was inaugurated with a joyful gala dinner. It was the first introduction of the program to the general public and was inaugurated by Ethiopian Ambassador H.E. Hirut Zemene and her colleague Mr. Birhanu. - The Belgian-Ethiopian meeting was a great celebration of the foundation of the future of EACP and its many contributors. Together with Bruno Claessens ("Duende Art Protjects"), this meeting raised 27 thousand Euros to formalize the creation of the Ethiopian Art Conservation Program association. - Today, the Board of Directors has 3 employees and 9 councillors at its disposal. They will manage the further operation of the program. - This event was made possible by the generous contribution by Toneelhuis at Bourla in Antwerp (Belgium) under the guiding eye of sir Johan Swinnen (president) and leading, business director Ms. Maud Van de Velde.

Things are moving at EACP! On February 3, 2022 the first session for the board of directors was set. A fantastic vision for 2022 was developed and new members were announced. With a new board of directors of up to ten board members, EACP will have a productive and exciting year ahead. The board will monitor and adjust where necessary and it was decided to focus on Belgian activities that better support project work in Ethiopia. Efforts are being made in the field of communication, for which two Ethiopian board members have been appointed. From now on, Belay Haileselassie and Nahome Bekele will be responsible for direct communication in Ethiopia. Soon these two new staff members will be briefly inaugurated and explained through workshops and interactive information sessions. Happy 2022 everyone!