Comprehension: Senegal's Traditional Artisans Look to the Future

The traditional tapestries made by the Thies workshop just outiside the Senegalese capital Dakar have found their way around the world from the African Union to the UN in New York. Now the prestigious artisans are looking to find new ways to compete in the modern world.

Watch the video and answer the questions below. Decide if the statements are True or False.

1. The whole factory was involved in making the tapestry.
a. True
b. False

2. The tapestries are very expensive;
a. True
b. False

3. The factory was set-up by a former president of Senegal.
a. True
b. False

Watch the video and answer the questions below.  Decide if the statements are True or False.

Transcript and Answers:

It’s made of 24 square metres of wool and cotton; this huge tapestry will soon be hung in its new home in the UN headquarters in New York.  Made by two artisans and taking three years to complete, it is the largest ever to come from this workshop in Senegal.

“So proud - I think this honours the whole of Africa.”

Senegalese works adorn the walls of the Whitehouse and the headquarters of the African Union, among others, and they don’t come cheap.  Each square metre of tapestry costs between 800 and 1600 Euros.  Every new work has an original design that is reproduced, at the most, eight times.

“If a customer wants a ninth one, we have to call the artist, because the contract is eight - now we pay the artist something to make a new edition.”

The Thies factory was set-up by former president Léopald Senghor almost fifty years ago.  It was part of an ambitious project by the culture- loving president who also wrote poetry.   Today the workshop boasts a new generation of craftsmen.  The old hands pass on their knowledge to new recruits at the school of fine arts.

“We have a commercial aim too.  We have to look at how to occupy the market as widely as possible and it’s this combination of tradition and modernity that’ll get us there.”

The director plans to diversify the workshop’s production too.  They soon hope to bring in new and less time consuming techniques such as batik and screenprinting.

An age old factory still keeping its eye on the future.

Answers:
1. b
2. a
3. a

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