The site allows Ethiopians to submit old photographs of ordinary people in Addis Ababa to a Tumblr page. At first, Schütz and Abebe wanted to sell and market the book to an international audience, but decided to target locals instead.
Science and Engineering college students at an open day in Addis Ababa in 1966. (Vintage Addis Ababa) |
For Wongel Abebe, the decision to make Addis Ababa the centerpiece of the project was a matter of practicality and historical significance. “Much of Ethiopia’s documented history tells of stories of a select few, and of what are categorized as ‘major’ events,” Abebe said. “Although this documentation speaks of truth, it can’t represent the whole picture of how things were at the time. Vintage Addis Ababa focuses on the happenings of just this one city.”
Young Ethiopian women pictured in the 1970s. (Vintage Addis Ababa) |
Two men row papyrus boats on Tana Lake in 1975. (Vintage Addis Ababa) |
Vintage Addis Ababa aims to show that people still had lives to live in spite of the monumental incidents happening in the country. “It never occurred to me that even in tough seasons, everyday people still lived moments worth remembering. People got married, went to photo studies, developed a sense for fashion, celebrated, studied, traveled, and started businesses,” Abebe said.
And it appears the site is tapping into a desire to see the capital’s history told through the lens of everyday people. In the almost two months Vintage Addis Ababa has been active, their posts reach on Facebook was over 400,00, and post engagement listed at almost 123,000. On Instagram, the site has over 1,000 followers.
Nafkot Gebeyehu credits the site’s growing popularity to “people-friendly” content that allows the “opportunity for [users] to be involved in preserving history as well.”
The site’s photos are all scanned professionally so they can be used in different formats. Schütz, Abebe, and Gebeyehu said their submissions and audience are mostly based in the country, but they’re already receiving interest from Ethiopian communities in the US, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates. One of the likely reasons this is focusing on the diaspora is that internet penetration is quite low in Ethiopia despite the uptick in mobile subscribers in the country.
The wedding of Martha Taffesse and Milkias Shamebo in 1984. (Vintage Addis Ababa) |
Enjoying a meta beer and good food.(Vintage Addis Ababa) |
https://qz.com/1050062/ethiopia-photos-of-addis-ababa-show-young-peoples-lives-50-years-ago/
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