Thies: After 28-year-old Senegalese weaver Seydina Oumar Cisse weaves wool yarn, she spins the reel to watch the tapestry slowly take shape before her eyes.
From the colors to the design, everything is the same as the original work of Senegalese artist Cheikh Diouf.
“It’s satisfying,” Cisse said, seeing the results of six months’ work for the first time.
Cisse is a weaver at Senegalese Decorative Arts Manufacturers, headquartered in Ties, a leading manufacturer of high-quality artistic products in the African climate.
The organization’s creations adorn walls around the world, from the United Nations headquarters in New York to the African Union in Addis Ababa, as well as the residence of many heads of state.
Tapestry production in Thies was the cultural policy of the first president of Senegal, the poet Léopold Sedar Senhor, and now the production has been revived thanks to the expansion of operations and new collaborations, including with the fashion giant Chanel.
According to Colin Desportes, researcher at the National Institute of Art History (INHA), this led to a renewed interest in the art market with international galleries and a resurgence of interest in textiles and tapestries.
Senghor established a national tapestry factory in Thies in 1966, six years after Senegal became independent from France, with the aim of “creating a new art for a new nation”.
Although the weaving technique has long been popular in African dress design, the art of tapestry is less known in Senegal.
According to Senhor, four professionals went to France for special training two years before production began, and the new art form represents “the symbiosis of techniques brought from France and traditional culture.”
Over the years, the legacy of the former president has been carried on, but not without problems.
The country dropped support after the lords left and tapestries fell out of fashion, and production in Thies disappeared before orders picked up again in the 2000s.
There is no mistaking the weavers in the weaving workshop located within the white and green walls of the former army barracks.
Each one carefully follows the lines of woven cardboard, using Thiesden cotton to trace wool and European designs.
Not far away, about 30 American school children listened to a speech given by the manager of a cardboard factory where models were produced to guide the weaving process.
Businesses now welcome tourists and film crews, showing their desire to diversify their operations.
According to managing director Alois Diouf, there will be fourteen rooms, also housing artists.
Senegal tapestry production finds new lease of life
