24/10/2023
🇿🇲 Celebrating Zambia's Independence Day with a salute to the visionary Gabriel Ellison, the artistic genius who crafted our iconic flag in 1964.
Gabriel Ellison worked as the head of Graphic Arts at the Ministry of Information from 1960 to 1980 designing bank and railway insignia, emblems, coins, honours and awards but most famously the national Flag 🇿🇲 and Coat of Arms.
In the Parliament Building, Ellison designed the mace, the rod that symbolises the Speaker’s authority, as well as the Speaker’s seat.
Her murals decorated many important buildings in Lusaka such as Barclays Bank on Cairo Road and Kenneth Kaunda International Airport.
Ellison was a fellow member of the Royal Society of Arts, British Display Society and the Chartered Society of designers. She was honoured by both the British and Zambian Governments for her work in the arts. The British Government awarded her the MBE and The Zambian Government awarded her the Grand Officer of Distinguished Service.
This should save as a challenge to the graphic designers of today to emulate her, and persevere to design arts that will leave legacies and stand the test of time!
