Adiante Franszoon (adiantefr@yahoo.com)
Eastern Market is a cultural crossroads; we both are and are not local folks. I am awed by the world that has come to make Eastern Market its home. My passions are history and culture. I remember learning a
bout Suriname in college, about escaped African slaves from the low lands of Suriname going into the mountains to freedom and community--part of the story of the "New World". After centuries, many in that world questioned there identify, their origins. For those participants in the triangular trade or that "particular institution," cultural connections to Africa by the 20Th century were called Africanisms; examples include the sweetgrass baskets of North Carolina and Georgia and the speech, burial rituals in the Gullah islands off the coast of Georgia, iron work found in the French Quarter of New Orleans, the wood carving in Surinam, South America and many others.
bout Suriname in college, about escaped African slaves from the low lands of Suriname going into the mountains to freedom and community--part of the story of the "New World". After centuries, many in that world questioned there identify, their origins. For those participants in the triangular trade or that "particular institution," cultural connections to Africa by the 20Th century were called Africanisms; examples include the sweetgrass baskets of North Carolina and Georgia and the speech, burial rituals in the Gullah islands off the coast of Georgia, iron work found in the French Quarter of New Orleans, the wood carving in Surinam, South America and many others. At Eastern Market we have Adiante Franszoon of Dangogo in Suriname, South America. He comes from the Saramacca Moroon peoples of Suriname. He has been carving a place for himself a
nd his work for more than 15 years at the Market. He wrote that his"... goal is to incorporate the Saramacca Maroon style of woodcarving into the contomporary western style of furniture making." His hands, heart, mind and work trace a line from the mountains of South America, through the "middle passage," back through the "door of no return" on Goree Island to the heart of West Africa. His work has been in the Museum of African Art at the Smithsonian Institution. There are less than 70 wood artists from Surinam in the entire United States.
nd his work for more than 15 years at the Market. He wrote that his"... goal is to incorporate the Saramacca Maroon style of woodcarving into the contomporary western style of furniture making." His hands, heart, mind and work trace a line from the mountains of South America, through the "middle passage," back through the "door of no return" on Goree Island to the heart of West Africa. His work has been in the Museum of African Art at the Smithsonian Institution. There are less than 70 wood artists from Surinam in the entire United States.
Adiante is from one 
hemisphere and Tsolmon Damba is from another--Darkhan, Mongolia . For many years the iconic animal imagery seen in many paintings at the Market was mostly humorous dogs and cats, as seen in the work of Dan Kessler and Jonathan Blume. Then came Tsolmon with "Horses." As, a child, I thought of horses as just very big dogs, but I remember walking over to his stand and thinking, "Wow." Tsolmon paints in a tradition Mongolian style, using ink on linen and paper. He is also a leather artist. For years, I looked at his work. Then came my first nephew, Elias, named after his great grandfather, in the year of the horse. It was a sign. The Smithsonian Institutions "Folk Life Festival" of "The Silk Road" my favorite folk life fest to date. Tsolmon's work was included. While, I am not sure of all the significance that horses hold in Mongolian culture, I brought one of his horse painting in honor of my nephew's birth because I wanted my nephew to have within him the spirit of freedom, beauty and grace I see depicted in Tsolmon's paintings. Tsolmon Damba has been at The Market for over a decade. His work is in The Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian Institution.
(http://www.freersackler.com/)
(http://www.tsolomart.com/)
Tsolmon Damba
hemisphere and Tsolmon Damba is from another--Darkhan, Mongolia . For many years the iconic animal imagery seen in many paintings at the Market was mostly humorous dogs and cats, as seen in the work of Dan Kessler and Jonathan Blume. Then came Tsolmon with "Horses." As, a child, I thought of horses as just very big dogs, but I remember walking over to his stand and thinking, "Wow." Tsolmon paints in a tradition Mongolian style, using ink on linen and paper. He is also a leather artist. For years, I looked at his work. Then came my first nephew, Elias, named after his great grandfather, in the year of the horse. It was a sign. The Smithsonian Institutions "Folk Life Festival" of "The Silk Road" my favorite folk life fest to date. Tsolmon's work was included. While, I am not sure of all the significance that horses hold in Mongolian culture, I brought one of his horse painting in honor of my nephew's birth because I wanted my nephew to have within him the spirit of freedom, beauty and grace I see depicted in Tsolmon's paintings. Tsolmon Damba has been at The Market for over a decade. His work is in The Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian Institution.
(http://www.freersackler.com/)
(http://www.tsolomart.com/)
Tsolmon Damba
I have lived and studied art and metalsmithing in several western European Countries; every time I went, I visited their markets. I have never seen a level of talent or diversity of cultures even close to what we have here at Eastern Market.
Witnessing,
Sonda T. Allen
Turtle's Webb
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