Ethiopian-born artist Yadesa Bojia is the designer of the current flag of the African Union that was adopted in 2010. (Courtesy photo)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Updated: Monday, May 20th, 2013
New York (TADIAS) – On the evening of September 28th, 2009, Yadesa Bojia, an Ethiopian American artist based in Seattle, Washington, was babysitting his children at home while watching CNN when he recognized an image on the TV screen of one of his artworks. “That’s my design!” he exclaimed. He was looking at the new African Union flag created using a sketch that he had submitted for competition two years earlier. “By then I had almost forgotten about it because at that point I had not yet heard back from AU,” Yadesa (a.k.a. Yaddi) recalled in a recent interview with Tadias.
Yaddi spotted the flag on Lary King Live whose guest was Muammar Gaddafi, the Chairman of the African Union as well as the head of the African Union Commission (AUC) at the time. The Commission was tasked to come up with an updated insignia for the continental body, and the interview conducted at the Libyan Mission in New York showed Gaddafi flanked by the new banner. “I could not believe my eyes,” Yaddi said.
Immediately, Yaddi contacted the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa to enquire about the new flag. “What flag?” the perplexed women on the other end of the receiver replied. “Sir, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“To top it off the next morning there was Gaddafi again on CNN wearing my design all over his clothing,” Yaddi remembered laughing. “I was losing my mind.”
Yaddi would eventually learn that his work was selected earlier that year by the Commission out of approximately 127 entries submitted in the span of two years from artists residing in several African countries and including two contestants from the Diaspora.
Three months after he first saw the flag on CNN, Yaddi finally received a formal letter from the African Union announcing the adoption of his design as the continent’s new emblem. The letter included an invitation along with a paid travel package for him and his family to attend the flag’s inauguration ceremony during the 14th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State held in Addis Ababa on January 31st, 2010.
The design depicts a green Africa, the color portray the hopes and aspirations of the continent, resting on rays of a white sun that symbolizes the people’s desire for friendship and co-existence with all countries around the planet. The map is circled by a ring of golden stars each representing member states, wealth and a bright future.
“I was told by an official from the Ethiopian ministry of Foreign Affairs that when Meles found out the winner was an Ethiopian, he told them to go find the guy,” he said. “Once I got to Addis, on the second day of events, I was approached by the protocol chief who informed me that the Prime Minister wanted to see me. So my wife and I had the chance to meet with the PM privately who told me that he was proud of my work.” He added: “In addition, I also met with President Zuma of South Africa and other leaders who were very complimentary of the flag. Not to mention the five hours I spent with President Girma Wolde-Giorgis at the national palace.”
(Courtesy photos)
Although he received wide publicity in Ethiopia, Yaddi pointed out that his favorite moments were in the subsequent days spent in Addis, where people who recognized him would come up to him to give him a hug and a kiss. “A street vendor gave me a coin from the Menelik era that he was selling,” said Yaddi fighting back tears. “He sternly protested my offer to pay. The man told me that he just wanted to show his appreciation to me and he did not want any money for it.”
Yaddi says he continues to be proud of his contribution to AU and Ethiopia’s role over the past 50 years under starkly different successive regimes in keeping the organization alive. He is reminded of a forceful defense of this legacy by the late PM Meles Zenawi during his tenure as Prime Minister when there was a concerted effort to move the head office outside of Ethiopia.
“It was people like Nyerere, Nkrumah, who decided that Addis Ababa should be the headquarters of the OAU; Addis Ababa ruled at that stage by Emperor Haile Selassie,” Meles had argued. “Who trained Mandela? Who supported Mugabe in his fight against Rhodesia?” Meles asked. “There is one fact that nobody can deny — that irrespective of who is ruling Ethiopia, Ethiopia has always been committed to African independence and liberation.”
Indeed, it was 50 years ago this month that under the leadership of Emperor Haile Selassie 32 heads of state signed the founding charter to AU’s predecessor the Organization of African Unity (OAU). And to mark the occasion, Yaddi said, he has collaborated with his friend reggae musician Iré Taylor (Reginald Taylor) for a poetic and musical tribute.
“I wanted to commemorate the Golden Jubilee by remembering those who worked hard to establish the OAU, leaders like Haile Selassie, and applaud the Union’s historic and unwavering stand against apartheid in South Africa, as well as the present economic promise of African Nations and the selection of the first woman chair,” he said.
— You can watch the video on You Tube here. The music is also available on iTunes, spotify, Amazon, and Zune.
— Watch: African Union New Flag Design Winner Yadessa Zewege on ETV
Watch: ETV Interview Part 2
Watch: Tanzania’s President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete Poses for a photo with Yadesa Bojia
Watch: African Union African Union Yaddi & Iré (Official Music video)
New York (TADIAS) – Ethiopian classical pianist and composer Girma Yifrashewa is scheduled to perform at Issue Project Room in Brooklyn on June 8th.
“A highly accomplished performer of the romantic repertoire, Yifrashewa has chosen to remain in Ethiopia— where classical music is far from a dominant practice— forging a classical tradition for his own country,” organizers said in a press release. “Using traditional tunes as a foundation, Yifrashewa’s compositions combine the ecstasy of Ethiopian harmony with the grandeur of virtuoso piano technique into an effortlessly enjoyable, heady mixture. In this solo piano concert, Yifrashewa performs works by Chopin, Schumann, Debussy, and Mozart, as well as a set of his own Ethiopian informed compositions.”
Girma, who was born in Addis Ababa in 1967, is a graduate of the Yared School of Music and the Sofia State Conservatory of Music in Bulgaria.
“It was in Bulgaria that he made an impact as a solo pianist, performing the works of Schumann, Schubert, Chopin and Debussy, throughout the country until his return to East Africa in 1995,” the event announcement said. “He has a preference and well-determined approach to the music of Bach as well as Mozart and Beethoven.”
“Yifrashewa returned to Ethiopia in 1995, teaching piano at the Yared School of Music until 2001. He received scholarships for short-term specialization courses from the British and German Governments, at the Royal Academy of Music in London (1997) and at the Hochschule fur Music Und Theater in Leipzig (1999). Currently Yifrashewa works to promote Ethiopian and Classical Music throughout the continent and beyond.”
—- If You Go:
Sat, June 8, 2013 – 8:00pm
TICKETS | $15 / $12 members + students
ISSUE PROJECT ROOM
22 Boerum Place
Downtown Brooklyn
Phone: 718-330-0313 www.issueprojectroom.org
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Julie Mehretu: ‘Liminal Squared’ Opening Soon in New York and London
New York (TADIAS) – There are two major upcoming solo exhibitions in New York and London featuring works by Ethiopian-born painter Julie Mehretu entitled Liminal Squared. The NYC event will mark the artist’s inaugural show at the Marian Goodman Gallery, which is scheduled to open on May 11th and remain on display through June 22, 2013, while the presentation in England will take place at the White Cube Bermondsey from May 1st to July 7th, 2013.
“A series of new paintings will be on view as well as a suite of five new etchings,” the announcement from Marian Goodman Gallery said. “The works were created over the past three years in New York in the aftermath of events of the Arab Spring which were the point of departure for the monumentally scaled Mogamma (In Four Parts), 2012, recently presented at Documenta (13), 2012, Kassel.”
According to the gallery the paintings “follow a group exhibition In Praise of Doubt at Punta dell Dogana, Venice in 2011; and a recent presentation of her Mind Breath and Beat drawings at our Paris space in January-March 2013.”
In London, White Cube gallery said it is pleased to present an exhibition by Julie Mehretu. “This is Mehretu’s first major solo exhibition in London and will feature new and recent paintings, some of which will be presented within a specially constructed environment designed by David Adjaye in close collaboration with the artist,” the gallery said in a press release. “Described by curator Douglas Fogle as ‘perfect metaphors for the increasingly interconnected and complex character of the 21st century’, Mehretu’s large-scale paintings, which are built up in layers, employ a broad lexicon of drawing techniques together with a precise, muscular abstraction to investigate the intersection of politics, architecture and history and the way these forces shape the formation of our social identity.”
Julie, who was born in Addis Ababa in 1970 and immigrated to the United States with her family in 1977, is one of two Ethiopian-born artists whose work is part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art — along with Skunder Boghossian. She has received numerous international recognition for her work including the American Art Award from the Whitney Museum of American Art and the prestigious MacArthur Fellow award. She had residencies at the Core Program at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston (1998–99), the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York (2001), the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota (2003), and the American Academy in Berlin (2007).
Below is a link to a highlight of Julie’s forthcoming New York and London show in Vogue Magazine.
WATERTOWN — Tezeta is a word of great significance in Ethiopia. In Amharic it means memory, nostalgia or longing. It is also the name of a type of Ethiopian jazz and the ballads in that style that have been sung by countless Ethiopian singers. More recently, it has served at the linguistic inspiration for “Tezeta [The Ethiopian Armenians,]” a documentary by Armenian-American filmmaker, Aramazt Kalayjian.
The film, currently in production, explores the historic connection between Armenians and Ethiopians, with music serving as the main cultural bridge between the communities. Through the film, its creators hope to preserve the culture legacy of the small, relatively unheard of Armenian community in Ethiopia. “From 40 Armenian orphans adopted by Emperor Haile Selassie after the Genocide to perform as the first imperial orchestra of Ethiopia in 1924, to Alemayhu Eshete, the ‘Elvis’ of Ethiopia, Armenians have left their imprint on the cultural and musical landscape of Ethiopian society,” said, Kalayjian, creator and director of the project.
They didn’t see eye to eye on everything, but on one pivotal moment the playwright, Tanya Barfield, and her lead actress, Kerry Butler, agreed: When Ms. Butler’s character finally receives the photo of the child she hopes to adopt, the scene needed to be extended for a beat, or two, or three.
“It’s weird how you can even fall in love with a photograph and start showing it around or just start looking at it dozens of times in a day,” Ms. Butler said. Both women were intimately familiar with the issues — race and parenthood — raised by Ms. Barfield’s new drama, “The Call,” which depicts a white couple mulling whether to adopt a child from Africa. Ms. Barfield’s son and daughter were adopted from Ethiopia, as were Ms. Butler’s two daughters, the youngest of whom arrived last summer.
Alemtsehay Wedajo acting in Macbeth staged by Tayitu Cultural Center in DC. (Courtesy photo)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Updated: Saturday, April 6, 2013
New York (TADIAS) – Washington, D.C.-based Ethiopian actress, playwright and poet Alemtsehay Wedajo has composed over 400 Amharic lyrics for many legendary singers from Ethiopia, including Mahmoud Ahmed, Aster Aweke, Muluken Melese and the late Tilahun Gessese. But she is best known for her signature works in theatrical productions, such as Yalteyaze (Available). Last year scenes from this play were selected for performance at the University of Southern California’s celebrating “Voices from the Black Diaspora” — a USC Arts and Humanities initiative exploring “Visions and Voices” the multiple ways that identity is transformed and articulated in a global world.
“Early in my younger years, 13 to be exact, my teachers recognized my interest and talent in the arts particularly in poetry, playwriting and acting,” Alemtsehay told Tadias Magazine.
Later when she immigrated to the United States after working for several years as an actress and as the first female director at Ethiopia’s National Theatre in Addis Ababa — where at same time she launched the ‘children theater section’ at the Ministry of Culture serving as its head for nearly a decade — she said her parents were still not pleased. “With all these accomplishments in my profession as a performer, my family, particularly my father, were never satisfied since I did not complete a university education,” Alemtsehay said.
“So, after I came to America, working two jobs and raising two children, I started attending college and completed my Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.”
Alemtsehay is also the founder of Tayitu Cultural Center, formerly known as Tayitu Entertainment, a U.S.-based non-profit organization which held its first book release event and reading session in Washington D.C. in August 2000. Since then, the program has become one of the primary platforms for Ethiopian drama presentations in the United States. For the past 13 years Tayitu Cultural Center has put together more than 30 stage shows and traditional musical concerts. Alemtsehay emphasized that the center conjointly trains young Ethiopian-Americans in Amharic-poetry writing and acting. Tayitu has nurtured a number of aspiring artists and comedians in addition to hosting a popular monthly poetry night called YeWeru Gitm Mishit, showcasing emerging and veteran talents not only in literature, but also in painting, filmmaking and music, as well as highlighting various communities.
Photo from African Poetry night organized by Tayitu Cultural Center. (Courtesy photograph)
Alemtsehay Wedajo (Courtesy photo)
“Regardless of the trauma of adjusting to a new life in America and supporting my family, my love for my profession never faded away,” she said. “Being a woman is not easy.”
The association was named after Empress Tayitu Bitul who is famous for her historic role at the battle of Adwa during the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1896. “My two big dreams are to build a statue of Tayitu in Addis Ababa and to establish a permanent Ethiopian Cultural Center in Washington D.C.,” Alemtsehay said. “My other female role model is the beloved great actress and singer the late Asnakech Worku.”
As for the current generation of young people who want to follow in her own footsteps, “Have faith, dream high, be strong and do not quit,” she advises.
— You can learn more about the artist and Tayitu Cultural Center at www.tayituentertainment.com.
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Under a canopy of trees in a park not far from Addis Ababa’s National Museum, home of many of Ethiopia’s historic national treasures, a contemporary art revolution is quietly afoot. It is here at Netsa Art Village that the experimental work made from shoelaces by Merhet Debebe can be found, or the vibrantly-coloured work of Tamrat Gazahegn, who uses tree trunks as canvases. Nearby are the giant sculptures of jazz musicians, trains and horse-drawn carts made from metal scraps and trash by Tesfahun Kibru. The collective, the only one of its kind in Ethiopia, is made up of 15 artists who are spearheading Ethiopia’s contemporary art movement, shifting away from endless copies of Ethiopia’s ancient Coptic Christian paintings. Still in its infancy, the movement marks a daring shift away from the commercial art that dominates many of Ethiopia’s mainstream galleries, and seeks to put the country on the map in the international art world as a source for cutting edge work.
Painting by Tewodros Hagos from his 2013 U.S. exhibition at the Little Ethiopia Cultural and Resource Center in Los Angeles, California. (Image: Faces from the streets of Ethiopia, acrylic on canvas )
Tadias Magazine
Art News
Updated: Thursday, February 21st, 2013
Los Angeles (TADIAS) – Last year, Negist Legesse, also known as Nikki, director of the Little Ethiopia Cultural and Resource Center in Los Angeles asked her friend, commercial director and fine artist Lori Precious, to co-create an art competition for Ethiopian artists in Ethiopia. The first place winner would receive a trip to L.A., an exhibition of their artwork and a cash award.
“I was immediately intrigued since I had traveled to Ethiopia a couple of times and had taken note of some interesting contemporary art, including a visit to artist Elias Sime’s studio in Addis Ababa, (who had a 2009 solo show at Santa Monica Museum of Art and is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art),” Lori said in a statement announcing the first winner of the prize. “I said yes and ‘Ethiopia Creates’ was born.”
Lori said then launched a website and made radio announcements in Ethiopia. “Nearly a year went by and many submissions were received,” she added. “I then selected a group of judges who I knew to have impeccable taste and a sharp eye for new talent.” The judges included Alitash Kebede, owner of Alitash Kebede Gallery in LA, Bennett and Julie Roberts, co-owners of Roberts Tilton Gallery in Culver City, and painter Laura Owens.
The inaugural award went to Tewodros Hagos, whose haunting portraits of faces from Ethiopia wowed the group. “The judges viewed all the work collected via photographs,” Lori said. “The verdict was unanimous. Tewodros Hagos won first place in a landslide.”
As the first winner of the prize, Tewodros, who is a graduate of Addis Ababa University’s art school, participated in a week plus residency in Los Angeles earlier this month, and the first American exhibition of his work was held at the Little Ethiopia Cultural and Resource Center (LECRC) from February 10th to 16th, 2013.
Tewodros also spent time with inner city kids where he gave after school art lessons. According to organizers, a portion of the sales of Tewodros’ art from the Little-Ethiopia exhibition goes to Artists for Charity (AFC) in Addis Ababa. AFC was founded by Ethiopian American artist Abezash Tamerat and supports 18 HIV positive orphans who live and study together.
Organizers said they hope to expand the residency program in California next year to include more workshops and displays of the artist’s work in local galleries.
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Haile Gerima’s Film ‘Bush Mama’ Part of L.A. Rebellion
Haile Gerima's "Bush Mama" is about a Watts single mom's political awakening. It screens next month at The Museum of the Moving Image in New York. Haile will be present at the event. (Courtesy photo)
Tadias Magazine
Events News
Published: Wednesday, January 23, 2013
New York (TADIAS) – Ethiopian-born filmmaker Haile Gerima is among a group of African and African American independent producers and directors who were students at UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, in the sixties and seventies as part of an “Ethno-Communications” initiative designed to empower minorities. Their work is being highlighted in an upcoming film series at The Museum of the Moving Image in Queens from February 2–24.
“Now referred to as L.A. Rebellion, these mostly unheralded artists, including Charles Burnett, Julie Dash, Larry Clark, Billy Woodberry, and many others, created a unique cinematic landscape, as—over the course of two decades—students arrived, mentored one another, and passed the torch to the next group,” the museum said in its announcement. “They came from Watts. They came from New York City. They came from throughout America or crossed an ocean from Africa. Together, they made movies and produced a rich, innovative, sustained, and intellectually rigorous body of work. The filmmakers of L.A. Rebellion achieved this while realizing a new possibility for “Black” cinema, one that explored and related to the real lives of Black communities in the U.S. and worldwide.”
– If You Go:
February 2–24
36-01 35 Avenue
Astoria, NY 11106
718 777 6888 www.movingimage.us
Organized by the UCLA Film & Television Archive
—
Below are images from some of the films featured at the ‘L.A. Rebellion’ series
At World Cafe Live in Philadelphia last weekend Debo Band drew on Ethiopian pop music from the 1970s and many other sources. The band's spirit of adventure made it a pleasing performance. (Courtesy Photo)
Hard-driving African music held court Saturday night at World Cafe Live. And though rhythms of Africa and its diaspora dominated the proceedings, drums had very little to do with this domination.
Debo Band, from Boston, has gone all in on the Ethiopian pop music of the 1970s, a veritable golden age of creativity in that venerable land. Though other groups, including Either/Orchestra, Debo’s Hub homeboys, have done homage to this music, none is as adventurous or unabashedly traditional as Debo.
The exhibition will be held at the Jazz Heritage Center's Lush Life Gallery in San Francisco, California.
Tadias Magazine
Events News
Published: Friday, January 11, 2013
San Francisco (TADIAS) – An art exhibition featuring works by Ethiopian artists residing in the United States is scheduled to open in the Bay Area this weekend. The event organized by the Ethiopian Arts Forum and the San Francisco Jazz Heritage Center takes place at center’s Lush Life Gallery from Saturday, January 12th to February 17th, 2013.
Among the artists highlighted include Yisehak Fikre-Sellassie, Ezra Wube, Solomon Asfaw, Tadesse Alemayehu, Tesfa Besu Amlak and Yohannes Tesfaye.
The opening reception, which is free and open to the public, is scheduled for tomorrow (Saturday, January 12th) from 6PM to 9PM and includes live jazz and discussion about Ethiopian art and music.
— If You Go:
SELEDA: Fine Art Exhibition
Opening: Saturday, January 12, 2013 (6PM – 9PM)
Jazz Heritage Center’s Lush Life Gallery
1320 Fillmore Street
San Francisco, CA
For more information call: 415-255-7745
Email: info@jazzheritagecenter.org Click here to learn more at the Jazz Heritage Center
— Related: New Exhibition Highlights the History of Africans in India
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High Hopes for Ethiopia’s Rising Classical Music Stars – Video
One evening last month, the sounds of classical Spain could be heard in an unlikely place: the Ethiopian National Theatre in Addis Ababa. Onstage were the talented students of the Yared School, Ethiopia’s only institute of higher learning for music; directing them was Silvia Sanz Torre, conductor of the Metropolitan Orchestra of Madrid. And in more ways than one, the performance ended on a high note. (Radio Netherlands Worldwide)
“This concert has encouraged the students to continue studying and working a lot,” says Yared School director Tadele Tilahun. “In Ethiopia, there has not been an orchestra concert in the last 30 to 40 years purely formed by students or teachers of Ethiopia.”
Around for over four decades, Yared, which is part of Addis Ababa University, has become a special spot for budding musicians, often fresh out of secondary school. To enrol, candidates must all demonstrate musical talent. But aside from that, each student’s story is unique.
The late artist Afewerk Tekle speaking at Stanford University on March 7, 2004. (Photo: Tadias Magazine File)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Updated: Wednesday, December 26, 2012
New York (TADIAS) – In 2012 we lost Ethiopia’s most famous painter, Maitre Artiste Afewerk Tekle, who died last Spring at the age of 80 and was laid to rest at the cemetery of the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa on April 14th. Speaking about his life-long dedication to the fine arts, Afewerk Tekle once said: “At the end of the day, my message is quite simple. I am not a pessimist, I want people to look at my art and find hope. I want people to feel good about Ethiopia, about Africa, to feel the delicate rays of the sun. And most of all, I want them to think: Yitchalal! [It's possible!]” Our coverage of Afewerk’s passing was one of the most shared articles from Tadias magazine this year: (In Memory of Maitre Artiste Afewerk Tekle: His Life Odyssey).
Below are other arts and culture stories that captured our attention in 2012.
Marcus Samuelsson’s Memoir ‘Yes, Chef’
Marcus Samuelsson released his best-selling memoir Yes, Chef back in June. From contracting tuberculosis at age 2, losing his birth mother to the same disease, and being adopted by a middle-class family in Sweden, Marcus would eventually break into one of the most exclusive clubs in the world, rising to become a top chef with a resume including cooking at the White House as a guest chef for President Obama’s first State Dinner three years ago. Since then, Marcus has morphed into a brand of his own, both as an author and as owner of Red Rooster in Harlem. Earlier this year, Tseday Alehegn interviewed Marcus about his book.
Watch: Tadias interview with Marcus Samuelsson
Dinaw Mengestu Named MacArthur ‘genius’ Fellow
Ethiopian American novelist and writer Dinaw Mengestu was named a MacArthur genius Fellow in September. The Associated Press reported Dinaw’s selection along with the full list of 22 other winners. Dinaw is the author of The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears and How to Read the Air. In addition to the two novels, he has written for several publications, including Rolling Stone, Jane Magazine, Harper’s, and The Wall Street Journal. According to MacArthur Foundation, the “genius grant” is a recognition of the winners “originality, insight, and potential” and each person will receive $500,000 over the next five years. Below is a video of Dinaw discussing the award.
Ethiopia at Miss Universe 2012
Helen Getachew (Photo credit: Miss Universe)
After years of absence from the Miss Universe pageant, Ethiopia graced the global stage this year represented by 22-year-old Helen Getachew. The competition was held in Las Vegas on December 19, 2012. Women from over 80 countries participated in the 61st annual contest. The new Miss Universe is Miss USA Olivia Culpo, a 20-year-old beauty queen from Rhode Island and the first American to claim the coveted title since 1997. Olivia was crowned Miss Universe 2012 by Miss Universe 2011 Leila Lopes of Angola. Over the next year Olivia will hit the road on behalf of her cause: HIV/AIDS prevention as mentioned on her official pageant profile.
A Prodigy Reviving Ethiopian Jazz & A Rock Band from Ethiopia Called Jano
Samuel Yirga (Photo courtesy of Worldisc)
Two distinctly different Ethiopian musical acts emerged in 2012 that are sure to dominate the entertainment scene in the coming year. Samuel Yirga (pictured above) is a U.S.-based pianist from Ethiopia whose debut album Guzo has won critical acclaim. Here is how NPR described the artist and his work in its recent review of his new CD: “A 20-something prodigy, Yirga is too young to have experienced the Ethio-jazz movement of the early 1970s, but he has absorbed its music deeply — and plenty more as well. With his debut release, Guzo (Journey) Yirga both revives and updates Ethiopian jazz.” Likewise, the new Ethiopian rock band Jano is also influenced by legendary musicians of the same era, but as their producer Bill Laswell put it: They don’t join the ranks of Ethiopian music, they break the rules.” Below is the latest music video teaser by Jano.
Teddy Afro Abroad
Teddy Afro pictured during a surprise party thrown for him at Meaza Restaurant in Falls Church, Virginia following his performance at Echostage in Washington D.C on Friday, November 23rd, 2012. (Photo: By Matt Andrea for Tadias Magazine)
Two Ethiopian American Bands Make a Splash: Debo & CopperWire
Debo Band is an 11-member Boston-based group led by Ethiopian-American saxophonist Danny Mekonnen and fronted by vocalist Bruck Tesfaye. (Courtesy Photo)
In its thumbs-up review of Debo band’s self-titled first album released this year, NPR noted: “The particular beauty of Debo Band is that you don’t have to be an ethnomusicologist to love it: It’s all about the groove. Debo Band transforms the Ethiopian sound through the filter of its members’ collective subconscious as imaginative and plugged-in 21st-century musicians…The swooning, hot romance of Yefikir Wegene bursts up from the same ground as the funky horns of Ney Ney Weleba. From that hazy shimmer of musical heat from faraway Addis, a thoroughly American sound emerges.” Similarly, another Ethiopian American musical ensemble that made a splash this year is the sci-fi trio ‘CopperWire’ that produced the futuristic album Earthbound. The hip-hop space opera takes place in the year 2089 featuring three renegades from another world who hijack a spacecraft and ride it to Earth, and eventually land in Ethiopia. Watch below CopperWire’s music video ET Phone Home.
Fendika Dancers’s First Solo American Tour
Melaku Belay and Zenash Tsegaye of Fendika Dancers (Courtesy photo )
After thrilling New York audiences at Lincoln Center in summer 2011, members of the Addis Ababa-based musical troupe, Fendika, returned to the East Coast for their first solo tour in 2012 with stops that included New York, Washington, D.C, Boston, Hartford, Connecticut and Smithfield, Rhode Island.
Mahmoud Ahmed, Gosaye Tesfaye and Selam Woldemariam at the Historic Howard Theatre
Mahmoud Ahmed performs at Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, May 26th, 2012. (Photo by Matt Andrea)
Mahmoud Ahmed and Gosaye Tesfaye performed at the historic Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C. during a Memorial Day weekend concert on Saturday, May 26th, 2012. It was the first time that Ethiopian music was featured at the iconic venue, which re-opened in April following a $29 million renovation. The event was organized by Massinko Entertainment, and also included an appearance by guitarist Selam Woldemariam whose collaborative concerts with Brooklyn-based musician Tomas Donker at Summer Stage in New York was part of the biggest entertainment stories that we covered this year.
Journalist Bofta Yimam Nominated for Regional Emmy Awards
Bofta Yimam is an Ethiopian American reporter currently working for Fox 13 News in Memphis, Tennessee. (Courtesy photo)
Last but not least, Ethiopian American Journalist Bofta Yimam who is a reporter for Fox 13 News in Memphis, Tennessee, was nominated this year for Regional Emmy Awards by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Nashville/Mid-South Chapter) for her journalism work. The winners will be announced on Saturday, January 26th, 2013 at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville where the ceremony will be telecast live beginning at 8:00 PM. Below is a video of Tsedey Aragie’s interview with Bofta Yimam.
Teddy Afro pictured during a surprise party thrown for him at Meaza Restaurant in Falls Church, Virginia following his performance at Echostage in Washington D.C on Friday, November 23rd, 2012. (Photo: By Matt Andrea for Tadias Magazine)
Tadias Magazine
Art Talk
Updated: Thursday, December 13, 2012
New York (TADIAS) – As Teddy Afro continues his current world tour, the Ethiopian pop star is also attracting international media attention. Teddy performed for a sold-out crowd at Echostage in Washington D.C last month, accompanied by Abogida Band, and as part of his ongoing concert series.
In the following video, the English program of China Central Television (CCTV), highlights Teddy’s growing popularity on the global stage.
Seattle-based hip-hop musician Gabriel Teodros, right, with fellow Ethiopian-American artists Meklit Hadero, left, and Elias Fullmore, center, pictured in a promo image for their group CopperWire's space fiction album called "Earthbound," released in 2012. (Photo: CopperWire)
Tadias Magazine
By Tigist Selam
Updated: Monday, December 10th, 2012
New York (TADIAS) – Last month musician Gabriel Teodros was highlighted at ‘TEDx Talks’ in Seattle. The artist was part of the Ethiopian American sci-fi trio CopperWire that earlier this year produced the futuristic album Earthbound. The hip-hop space opera takes place in the year 2089 featuring three renegades from another world who hijack a spacecraft and ride it to Earth, and eventually land in Ethiopia.
In the spirit of creative “ideas worth spreading,” TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share their experiences. “To know that another world is possible, and to bring it to life through music; this has always been the mission of Gabriel Teodros,” the program announcement stated. “He made a mark with groups CopperWire, Abyssinian Creole and Air 2 A Bird, and reached an international audience with his critically-acclaimed solo debut Lovework.”
The following is a video from the event that took place at TEDxRainier in Seattle on November 10, 2012. Gabriel performed and told his personal story as an artist, culturally mixed heritage and his relationship with his parents — a mother who is an immigrant from Ethiopia and a father who is a Vietnam veteran from Duvall, Washington.
Watch: Hip Hop & Science Fiction — Gabriel Teodros at TEDxRainier
Romare Bearden. (Photo courtesy of the Romare Bearden Foundation)
Tadias Magazine
Events News
Published: Monday, December 3, 2012
New York (TADIAS) – Earlier this year, as part of Black History Month — and in conjunction with displays of his paintings at Macy’s stores nationwide, including works owned by Alitash Kebede Gallery — we had highlighted the distinguished African American artist and writer Romare Bearden.
The Poetry Center in New York now invites creative writers to speak about what Bearden’s life and art has meant to them. An announcement of the event highlights Playwright August Wilson’s praise of Romare Bearden for his celebration of “black life presented on its own terms, on a grand and epic scale, with all its richness and fullness, in a language that was vibrant.”
According to organizers, the tribute this evening at 92nd Street Y also features a special showing of Bearden’s artwork.
Samuel Yirga is a pianist from Ethiopia. A 20-something prodigy, Yirga is too young to have experienced the Ethio-jazz movement of the early 1970s, but he has absorbed its music deeply — and plenty more as well. With his debut release, Guzo, or “Journey,” Yirga both revives and updates Ethiopian jazz.
His talent was recognized early, but music educators in Ethiopia placed roadblocks in Yirga’s path. First, they told him his hands were too small to play piano. Later, he was thrown out of a prominent music school for experimenting too much. Yirga fit in better in the anything-goes world music scene in England. At last a place where his penchant to fuse jazz, Latin music, classical, pop and Ethiopian sounds made perfect sense.
On “Abet Abet,” a Fender Rhodes piano vamps while a traditional violin plays dark harmonies to conjure a delicious mood of foreboding. The sound instantly allies Yirga with Ethiopia’s fabled musical past, a time when indigenous folk musicians, brass bands and local funksters found common ground in the capital Addis Ababa.
On “I Am the Black Gold of the Sun,” Yirga enters into a kind of retro soul-jazz collaboration with the Creole Choir of Cuba. Quirky, yes, but decidedly original. Among the intriguing ensemble pieces on this album are three solo piano compositions, and this is where we can really take the measure of a maverick young player.
Yirga throws a lot into the mix with this release. He actually risks being overwhelmed by his influences, whether they be the unmistakable rhythms and modes of Ethiopia, or any of his other wide-ranging borrowings. Yirga has had to fight for his right to be himself, and in the end, the voice and vision of a distinctive composer shines through in this impressive debut.
“Atletu (The Athlete)," produced and directed by Davey Frankel and Rasselas Lakew, is a tale of extraordinary determination and of a singular man, Abebe Bikila. (Courtesy photo)
Tadias Magazine
By Aida Solomon
Updated: Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Los Angeles (TADIAS) – It is no secret that Ethiopia has produced some of the world’s greatest long distance runners. Rasselas Lakew’s independent film Atletu (The Athlete), pays tribute to the first runner that paved the way for generations of African athletes in the Olympic Games — the marathon hero Abebe Bikila.
Directed by Davey Frankel and Ethiopian-born Rasselas Lakew, Atletu, which was released in 2009, is currently featured as part of Film Festival Flix’s monthly theatrical series and an online platform that brings lesser-known movies to audiences around the country. Lakew, who co-wrote the script and also stars as the legendary runner, will attend the screenings along with the co-director.
In the film, Abebe Bikila is introduced to the audience well after his physical prime, while visiting family in Jato, Ethiopia in 1969. Driving a creaky Volkswagen on a dirt road, Bikila takes a literal and figurative drive down memory lane, passing through the breathtaking countryside of his childhood as actual footage of Bikila’s past races are juxtaposed together.
Bikila, who served as a member of the Imperial Bodyguard of Emperor Haile Selassie, became the first African to win a gold medal in the 1960 Rome Olympics, which he run barefoot, and setting into motion the legacy of long-distance running in Ethiopia. He won his second consecutive gold four years later in Tokyo in a new world record time, becoming the first athlete to win the Olympic marathon twice. The film’s archival footage highlights Bikila’s historic finish in Italy as he ran through the streets of Rome – passing by the stolen Ethiopian Obelisk monument while cruising to victory.
A symbolic slap in the face to Ethiopia’s former occupier, Italy, Bikila catapulted into international stardom. Several years after the Rome Olympics, however, Bikila realizes that other young stars from his country are conquering the sport. Atletu touches upon Bikila’s reckoning with being an aging legend in his country, as he focuses his attention on the upcoming 1972 Munich Games.
Unfortunately Bikila’s qualification for Munich is further deterred by a car accident that he suffers on his trip back to Addis Ababa from the countryside. Declared a quadriplegic, Bikila has to endure months of rehabilitation in the U.K., and his final race is never fulfilled.
Rasselas Lakew’s portrait of Bikila is stoic and understated, garnering him the “Best Actor” award from the 2011 Brooklyn Film Festival. Although Lakew studied Geology in college, he was drawn to filmmaking in the hopes of creating African narratives created by Africans. Lakew, who now lives and works in New York, took film-studies courses at Montana State University film school in the early 90′s. Lakew says Bikila’s remarkable story is a neglected one, a “man of the mountains” who “conquered Rome” with his bare feet.
With stunning cinematography, a memorable soundtrack, and archival footage that is sure to stir pride and please any heart, Atletu (The Athlete) is a modern ode to one of Ethiopia’s legendary heroes.
— Watch: Atletu (The Athlete) Movie Trailer
Members of the new rock band Jano consists of four vocalists - two male and two female - two guitarists, two keyboard players, a bassist and a drummer. (Courtesy photo)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff | Art Talk
Updated: Thursday, October 18, 2012
New York (TADIAS) – You may remember the new Ethiopian rock band Jano from our interview over the summer with their producer Bill Laswell who told us that he is convinced that the ten-member ensemble that fuses distinctly Ethiopian sounds with heavy guitar, will be the next big musical act on the world stage to come out of the country. Laswell had promised an unconventional marketing strategy to introduce the group to outside audiences.
“It will come as a word-of-mouth and not so much as a marketing distribution build up how America does things, but more to do with getting that interest to communities,” Laswell had said. “I think it will start in the Ethiopian community and hopefully it will build into what the world calls the ‘World Music’ genre, which is pretty big internationally.”
Jano recently released a teaser video that is already creating a buzz within the Ethiopian community online and elsewhere.
You can watch the video below and join the conversation on Facebook.
– Watch: The Ethiopian Rock Band Jano – Interview with Producer Bill Laswell (TADIAS)
Interview: Alemayhou Gebremedhin on his Obama Painting, Plus Photos
Artist Alemayhou Gebremedhin pictured at Richmond Art Show. (Courtesy photo)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff | Art Talk
Updated: Monday, October 8th, 2012
New York (TADIAS) – Regardless of who wins in November, and despite President Obama’s restrained and lackluster performance at the presidential debate last week, there is still a voter in Virginia who says the incumbent doesn’t have to worry about losing his support.
“My personal admiration and respect for Obama goes far beyond politics,” says Alexandria-based artist Alemayhou Gebremedhin, whose portrait of the President was recently presented to Yohannes Abraham, Deputy National Political Director of Obama for America 2012, at the Ethiopian New Year celebration event held last month beneath the Washington Monument in the nation’s capital. According to All Eyes on Africa, Mr. Abraham, the Ethiopian-American campaign official who accepted the gift, also delivered a message of “Happy New Year” from President Obama to the Ethiopian community in the United States.
Alemayhou told TADIAS he started the painting four years ago after he watched Obama’s acceptance speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver. “That was the day I said, wow, this guy is someone special, very brave. And if you remember the crowd was something else,” Alemayhou said in a phone interview. “I have been in America for 40 years, I came here in 1972. I attended Howard University in D.C. I have seen all the major changes that took place in this country in the last four decades.”
“When I was watching Obama that day on TV four years ago speaking to 80,000 people gathered outdoors in Denver, Colorado I knew that he was a very serious person and that he was destined for history. His confidence was my inspiration for the painting. I wanted to do something as an artist to capture the imagination that he fired inside me.” He added: “That’s when I started thinking about him in a way that I still do. Almost immediately I began putting my thoughts on canvas. From my personal perspective the fact that Obama became President represents social and cultural progress in the United States in a scale that I never thought was possible in my lifetime. That’s the lens in which I look at him. When he was elected it was an incredibly beautiful feeling for many, many people. I jumped up and said ‘only in America’ like Don King would say. I was so proud of Americans. If you understand the racial history of the United States and how far the country has come even since I got here, for example, in the arts, movies, music, literature, and politics, then you know that symbolically there could be no doubt that Obama is a very important figure in American history. This is what my painting expresses. His name that is written in Amharic on his tie is to show my Ethiopian background.”
Alemayhou, whose colorful paintings are part of the decor in a number of Ethiopian restaurant across the country, said he also exhibits his works at different galleries in the D.C. area, including at Parish Gallery, Anacostia Gallery, and DC Loft Gallery.
“Art is my passion,” he emphasized. “It’s a direct response to my interaction with my environment and a creative expression of my life as well as a personal interpretation of the lives of those around me, their love, pain, dreams and aspirations.”
“Painting is my way of surviving and coping. There is no other way to describe it,” he said.
Below is a slideshow of samples courtesy of the artist, including the Obama painting.
The World Music Network label has a new CD out called Rough Guide to Ethiopia , which provides samples of everything from Ethio-jazz to contemporary fusion sounds, including classics from Mahmoud Ahmed and Alemayehu Eshete as well as a new Krar Collective. (World Music Network, 2012)
Ethiopian music continues to be a source of fascination and listening pleasure. Buda Musique’s Ethiopiques series, 27 volumes strong and full of vintage rediscoveries and new revelations, has certainly had a lot to do with leading the charge. It’s safe to say, though, that the Ethiopian fascination has taken on a life of its own. And it just so happens there’s an ever-increasing supply of releases to satisfy the also rising number of devotees.
It makes perfect sense that World Music Network would put out a second edition of The Rough Guide to the Music of Ethiopia.
President Barack Obama and his daughters, Malia, left, and Sasha, watch on television as First Lady Michelle Obama takes the stage to deliver her speech at the Democratic National Convention, in the Treaty Room of the White House, Tuesday night, Sept. 4, 2012. (Photo by Pete Souza / White House)
Tadias Magazine
Art Talk | Election 2012
Published: Wednesday, September 12, 2012
New York (TADIAS) – President Barack Obama’s reelection efforts are getting help from some of America’s most renowned artists, including Ethiopian American painter Julie Mehretu. Mehretu is one of nineteen artists whose work is featured in a portfolio of a limited edition print-set called “Artists for Obama,” which was created in collaboration with Gemini G.E.L., a Los Angeles based art workshop and publishing house.
Organizers have announced that September 24th is the initial New York presentation of a nationwide offering of the special collection. “The evening will be an intimate reception for a maximum of 150 guests, including a number of the artists whose work appears in the portfolio,” the announcement said.
Artists participating in the fundraiser include John Baldessari, Ed Ruscha, Richard Serra, Bruce Nauman, Claes Odenburg, Chris Burden and Frank Gehry.
Per The Los Angeles Times, “Organizers said the portfolio is being offered in exchange for a $28,000 donation to the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee. They said 150 portfolios will be up for sale, for a potential fundraising total of $4.2 million. All proceeds will go toward the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee, according to organizers.”
— If You Go:
Monday, September 24
7:00–9:00 PM
535 West 24th Street – 3rd Floor
New York, New York 10011
Portfolio on exhibit through Election Day. Click here to view the Artists for Obama portfolio. Minimum donation for reception: $300 per ticket, $500 per couple, payable to the Obama Victory Fund. Attendance is limited and RSVP is required. RSVP at artforobama@joniweyl.com 212-249-3324.
—- Related video: At convention, Obama asks for time to win U.S. revival
New York (TADIAS) – A group of African-born filmmakers in the United States, including Ethiopian-American writer and director Wondwossen Dikran, are collaborating in upcoming movie project exploring one of Africa’s busiest cities.
According to the film’s writer and producer, Benard Neto, a Kenyan native, he drew inspiration for the script from actual stories. “Nairobi is a unique city with a diverse range of characters struggling for survival,” Neto said in a statement. “Growing up I saw the inner workings of the real street hustlers and their constantly evolving relations with the police — this became the basis for Mzungu,” which chronicles the vacation of a lifetime for a character named Jesse Bloom, a charming young traveler who wakes up one morning after a night of hard partying and is arrested for a grizzly murder.
“When the writers and the director pitched me this project, I was instantly drawn to the material for its originality, blistering energy, and the way it deals with certain themes that are very timely right now,” Wondwossen told TADIAS.
Nairobi itself is a home of many worlds. Alternatively known as the “Green City in the Sun” and sporting sprawling villa suburbs, it is also host to some of the biggest urban slums on the continent.
The film’s synopsis notes: “Mzungu” – pronounced [muh-zun-gooo]) – is the southern, central, and eastern African term for foreigner, usually referring to people of European descent. (Image credit: Kickstarter Poster)
“It’s a story that must be told,” Wondwossen said. “I knew after reading the script that I had to get involved because I had never seen or heard anything like it, and here came opportunity to be able to tell this unique story in an unfiltered and unmasked manner.” He added: “On top of this, to be able to film this in Africa gave me extra motivation. There was no way I was going to be able to turn down what could be an opportunity of a lifetime.”
Has Wondwossen been to the Green City in the Sun? “I have never had the pleasure of visiting Nairobi,” he said. “I am looking forward to it.”
—- You can learn more about the project at www.kickstarter.com, where the filmmakers have launched campaign to raise $40,000 towards the production of the film.
Debo Band’s debut album both honors and updates the sound of “swinging Addis.”
On “Asha Gedawo,” the sunny swing of a brass section playing in march time echoes the military bands of Ethiopia’s regal past. Bruck Tesfaye’s lead vocal brings in an element of Ethiopian folklore and a shot of American soul. This is the sound that made Addis swing, until a military coup in 1974 put an end to an extraordinary music scene.
Debo Band’s founder, Danny Mekonnen, was born in Sudan and grew up in Texas, learning about the golden age of Ethiopian pop through recordings. He says Debo Band aims to reinvent old sounds, not just reproduce them. The band adds sousaphone, accordion, electric guitar and violins to the lineup. And the players are strong, capable of improvising their way to the edges of free jazz.
24-year-old Awol Erizku at the opening reception of his solo exhibition at Hasted Kraeutler Gallery in New York. (Photo credit: Arte Fuse)
Tadias Magazine
Events News | Art Talk
Published: Friday, July 13, 2012
New York (TADIAS) – In his current photography exhibition at the Hasted Kraeutler Gallery in New York, Awol Erizku, an Ethiopian-born, Bronx-raised photographer, re-imagines famous portraits with a modern, urban twist. In one striking image a woman resembles one of art history’s most famous painting from 1667: Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring.” Except in Awol’s case, the model is an African American woman who maintains the integrity of the pose and mood, and the photo is named “Girl with a Bamboo Earring.”
Awol discovers his subjects in various places, including online via Facebook as well as on the streets and subways. “The models are removed from the present moment yet still float somewhere between their contemporary garb and the historical ghosts they inhabit,” The Huffington Post noted in its recent highlight of the show. “There is an honesty to their expressions despite the fact that we’re staring at pure fiction.”
“Girl with a Bamboo Earring” by Awol Erizku.
– If You Go:
Awol Erizku: Powerful Urban Portraiture
Hasted Kraeutler Gallery
537 West 24th Street
New York, NY 10011
Show ends on July 20, 2012
Phone: 212 627 0006
Learn more at: www.hastedkraeutler.com
TADIAS TV: The Ethiopian Rock Band, Jano – Interview with Producer Bill Laswell
Members of the new Ethiopian rock band Jano. The group is expected to tour the United States this year following the launch of their upcoming album. (Courtesy photo)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Updated: Friday, June 22, 2012
New York (TADIAS) – When it comes to world music, New York-based producer Bill Laswell is convinced that the next big act coming out of Ethiopia is a young rock band called Jano – a ten member ensemble that fuses distinctly Ethiopian sounds with heavy guitar, drum and other instruments.
“I think they were probably deeply influenced by the great musicians of Ethiopia, the great singers without question,” said Laswell in a recent interview with TADIAS. Laswell, who has put together the band’s forthcoming CD, has an extensive resume including work with Ethiopian vocalist Gigi, among others.
Regarding Jano, he added: They have “progressive sounds. It’s very new and very different. Nothing like this ever came out of Ethiopia.”
Laswell said what makes the young musicians unique is that they manage to keep the traditional Ethiopian vibe while appealing to global music lovers. “You hear old songs by singers from the 60′s inside of the rock,” he said. “Another interpretation that might upset some people but carries on the tradition in a modern way.” He continued: “These are modern instruments but it does not overlook the kirar, it does not overlook masinko, it does not overlook the traditional singing, the church music and the power of the tradition. It does not take that for granted. They don’t join the ranks of Ethiopian music, they break the rules.”
The group consists of four vocalists (two male and two female), two guitarists, two keyboard players, a bassist and a drummer – all in their twenties.
According to Laswell, the band was talent-spotted by Ethiopian entrepreneur Addis Gessesse who is also credited for helping to launch the careers of reggae star Ziggy Marley and Ethiopian pop icon Teddy Afro.
As to the release date for Jano’s album, Laswell said they have an unconventional marketing strategy worked out. “The album is done and the packaging is done and they are in the process of creating it now in Ethiopia, and probably it will come here soon,” he said. “It will come as a word-of-mouth and not so much as a marketing distribution build up how America does things, but more to do with getting that interest to communities.” He added: “I think it will start in the Ethiopian community and hopefully it will build into what the world calls the ‘World Music’ genre, which is pretty big internationally.”
Watch: The Ethiopian Rock Band Jano – Interview with Producer Bill Laswell (TADIAS TV)
NYC Exhibition of Ethiopia Images From Chester Higgins’ Africa Collection
The Sof Omar Cave in the Bale Zone of the Oromia Region (left) and the St. George church in Lalibela - Ethiopia. (Photos by Chester Higgins Jr.)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff | Art Talk
Published: Tuesday, May 22, 2012
New York (TADIAS) – “As a 25-year old, I did not know what to expect, but I knew that I was not traveling to Africa to see the animals,” photographer Chester Higgins Jr. said in the announcement of his current exhibition in New York entitled: My Soul Flies to Africa: Images from an Ongoing Journey.
Higgins, who has been a staff photographer for the New York Times since 1975, has traveled to Africa more than 30 times in the last forty years providing us with stunning photographs that stand in contrast to the endless stream of negative images that often dominate world headlines concerning the continent. He focuses his lens on people, historical locations, and cultural ceremonies – from Ethiopia to Mali – highlighting his deep sense of wonder, grace and connection to his subject matter.
“This installation exhibition is a retrospective of my work in Africa over the past four decades,” Higgins said in a recent interview with Tadias Magazine. “For me, each image represents unique encounters of discovery and becomes a memory of my experience.”
How often does he go to Africa these days? “I try to return to Africa once a year,” Higgins told us. “My most recent trip to Ethiopia was in November through December 2011.”
For his upcoming project in Ethiopia Higgins is focusing his lens on the Abay river. “Actually, I’m looking at how the Nile has, over thousands of years, become a spiritual corridor,” he said. “Perhaps, my photographs will broaden how Americans see Africa.”
—- If you Go:
Chester Higgins Jr.
Specail exibition hosted by Tekserve
119 W. 23rd Street, NYC
212.929.3645 Tekserve.com
Store Hours: Mon-Fri, Sat 11-7, Sun 11-7 Click here to learn more about Chester Higgins Jr.
Video: An Ongoing Journey – My Soul Flies Home To Africa Opening
Look: Slideshow of Ethiopia photographs by Chester Higgins Jr.
‘Father of Ethio-Jazz’ Mulatu Astatke Honored at Boston Music School
Ethiopian musician Mulatu Astatke, the members of the Eagles, and Grammy winner Alison Krauss were honored during the Berklee College of Music's commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 12 at Boston University's Agganis Arena. (Photo courtesy of Mulatu Astatke's Facebook page)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Updated: Tuesday, May 15, 2012
New York (TADIAS) – Influential musician and “Father of Ethio-Jazz” Mulatu Astatke has been awarded an honorary doctorate in music degree from his alma mater The Berklee College of Music – the largest independent college of contemporary music located in Boston. The artist was honored along with the Eagles and Grammy Award-winning country singer Alison Krauss during the school’s commencement ceremony on Saturday.
Keeping with four decades of tradition, where Berklee has been presenting honorary degrees to prominent figures in the music industry, students paid tribute to Mulatu, Krauss and the Eagles with a concert featuring their music. More than 900 students from 58 countries graduated from Berklee this year, according to AP.
“At Berklee, I was immersed in a motivating and creative academic environment where Ethio-jazz was conceived,” Mulatu told the graduating class at a ceremony the night before graduation. “You now have the skills and the education to create new innovations in music . . . You are a selected few with a special gift, and we all have great expectations for you”.
Mulatu was one of the first African students to attend Boston’s prestigious music college, where he studied vibraphone and percussion in the 1960′s.
“This year’s honorary doctorate recipients were recognized for their achievements in contemporary music, for their enduring contributions to popular culture, and for the influence their careers and music have had over Berklee’s international student body,” the school said in a statement. “The Eagles, Krauss, and Astatke join the ranks of such esteemed recipients as Duke Ellington (the first, in 1971), Aretha Franklin, Dizzy Gillespie, Quincy Jones, Smokey Robinson, David Bowie, Bonnie Raitt, Count Basie, Sting, Loretta Lynn, B.B. King, Billy Joel, Chaka Khan, Steven Tyler, and Patti LaBelle.”
Kirubel Assefa Kebede is a California-based Ethiopian musician and the co-owner of the start-up label Taza Records. (Courtesy photo)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff | Art Talk
Published: Tuesday, May 1, 2012
New York (TADIAS) – We hear from industry insiders in Ethiopia to expect a wave of new CD releases in the next few months. One such upcoming album is entitled Dimtsepia, led by Los Angeles-based Ethiopian bassist, drummer and keyboard player Kirubel Assefa. The CD features various musicians, including Fitsum Mahadere, Tsedenia Gebremarkos, and Teklish and is being distributed under Kirubel’s own label Taza Records.
“Our plan is to release the album in Ethiopia in early June and in the U.S. and abroad in late June,” Kirubel told Tadias Magazine.
“Dimtsepia is a contraction of the Amharic word Dimtse or sound and Ethiopia,” he said, in response to our inquires regarding the CD’s title. “It means ‘The Sound of Ethiopia’ which is a comprehensive overview of the music contained within.” He added: “The various singers give the songs different vibes. It’s also an excellent format to promote their work, giving them a boost and more visibility.”
As to Taza Records, Kirubel said it is a joint project with an American friend, and that the label is designed to tap into the growing popularity of Ethiopian music outside the country. “The idea behind the label is to create a fair business model for the artists” he said. “While the core audience will be the Ethiopian community, we intend on servicing the music to mainstream outlets. There are many musicians out there who make the music, but the business is left on the table.”
Kirubel Assefa Kebede. (Courtesy photo)
Kirubel grew up in Ethiopia and moved to the States in the late 80’s. He studied music at the Musician’s Institute in Los Angeles. “I began playing at a young age in Ethiopia and was inspired by the many great musicians that dominated the music scene during the early 1970’s,” Kirubel said. “The Roha Band, The Ethio Star and the Walias Band all had significant impact on my playing and sensibilities.” He added: “My neighbor, Gedub Alfred was the drummer for the Wabe Shabelle Band. I saw him on television and from that time onwards I was committed to learning the drums and developing my musical skills.”
What’s his perspective on the globalization of Ethiopian music? “Riffs of African music have found their way into many popular mainstream songs for many years,” Kirubel said. “With elements of jazz and African rhythms, it becomes a fusion of various traditions and the outcome can be absolutely marvelous.”
— You can learn more about the new album and hear sample music at www.tazarecords.com.
ART CRITIC: Bedrock of Art and Faith – The St. George Church in Lalibela
The St. George church in Lalibela, dedicated to Ethiopia’s patron saint, is one of 11 Ethiopian Orthodox churches that were carved out of the rock in the 13th century and are literally anchored in the earth. (Damon Winter/The New York Times)
LALIBELA, Ethiopia – ON the roads through Ethiopia’s highlands traffic raises a brick-red haze that coats your clothes, powders your skin and starts a creaking in your lungs. Despite the dust people wear white. Farmers wrap themselves in bleached cotton. Village funerals look like fields of snow. At churches and shrines white is the pilgrim’s color. I wear it too, protectively: long-sleeved white shirt, tennis cap, Neutrogena sun block. A pilgrim? Why not?
I’m here for something I’ve longed to see, Ethiopia’s holy cities: Aksum, the spiritual home of this east African country’s Orthodox Christian faith and, especially, the mountain town of Lalibela, with its cluster of 13th-century churches some 200 miles to the south. Lalibela was conceived as a paradise on earth. And its 11 churches, cut from living volcanic rock, are literally anchored in the earth. In scale, number, and variety of form there’s no architecture or sculpture quite like them anywhere. They’re on the global tourist route now, though barely. To Ethiopian devotees they’ve been spiritual lodestars for eight centuries, and continue to be.
Ethiopia's most famous painter Maitre Artiste Afewerk Tekle, who died last week at the age of 80, was laid to rest at the cemetery of the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa on Saturday, April 14th. (Photos: Afewerk Tekle speaking at Stanford University on March 7, 2004 / Tadias Magazine File photographs)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Updated: Saturday, April 14, 2012
New York (TADIAS) – The last time Tadias Magazine interviewed Maitre Artiste Afewerk Tekle was on March 7th, 2004, following his appearance as a Keynote Speaker at Stanford University’s Pioneers Forum organized by the Stanford Ethiopian Student Union. There are few moments as electric as when Afewerk Tekle walked through the crowded auditorium to give an insider’s view of his accomplishments and life adventures. Elegantly clad in the sheer white of the Ethiopian national costume, Maitre Artiste Afewerk let his artistic mind captivate the audience as he took his red-bordered netela to demonstrate the various ways that one can wear the shawl for different public occasions, including as a graduation gown. He received a thunderous applause as he concluded his brief demonstration.
“At the end of the day, my message is quite simple,” he told the diverse audience from the university and the larger Bay Area Ethiopian community. It was the first time since the mid-1960’s that he had formally traveled to the United States to talk about his award-winning artwork.
“I am not a pessimist, I want people to look at my art and find hope,” he said. “I want people to feel good about Ethiopia, about Africa, to feel the delicate rays of the sun. And most of all, I want them to think: Yitchalal! [It's possible!]”
Speaking about his life-long dedication to the fine arts, Maitre Afewerk Tekle instilled in his audience the importance of using art to inspire people, to uplift nations and to create an optimistic view of life. “What we do today must reflect today’s life for tomorrow’s generation and pave the way for the future generation,” he said. “Art is in every fabric of life.”
Afewerk Tekle was born in the town of Ankober in Ethiopia on October 22nd, 1932. Having grown up in an Ethiopia battling fascist Italian forces, Afewerk was acutely aware of the destruction of war and the need to rebuild his native home. Intent on acquiring skills that would allow him to contribute to Ethiopia’s restoration, the young Afewerk settled on pursuing his studies in mining engineering.
His family and friends, however, had already recognized his inner talent in the arts. Around town he was know for his drawings on walls using stones, and for possessing a curious and ever reflective mind. Despite his natural gravitation to the art world, at the age of 15 Afewerk was chosen to be sent abroad to England to commence his engineering studies.
Maitre Afewerk recalled being summoned by Emperor Haile Selassie to receive last-minute advice prior to his departure. “To this day I cannot forget his words,” the Maitre said pensively. “The Emperor began by counseling us to study, study, and study.” he told the audience. “He told us: you must work hard, and when you come back do not tell us what tall buildings you saw in Europe, or what wide streets they have, but make sure you return equipped with the skills and the mindset to rebuild Ethiopia.” Maitre Afewerk later confided that this sermon rang in his head each time he was tempted to seek the easy life, free from the responsibility of rebuilding his nation and uplifting his people.
As one of the earliest batch of African students admitted to exclusive boarding schools in England, Afewerk faced culture shock and the occasional strife caused by “English bullies.” Yet he remained steadfast in pursuing his studies. He especially excelled in courses such as mathematics, chemistry and history, but it was not long before his teachers discovered his art talent.
With the encouragement of his mentor and teachers, Afewerk decided to focus on refining his gift and enrolled at the Central School of Arts & Crafts in London. Upon completion of his studies he was accepted as the first African student at the prestigious Faculty of Fine Arts at Slade (University of London). At Slade, Afewerk focused on painting, sculpture and architecture.
Upon returning to Ethiopia, Maitre Afewerk traveled throughout the country, to every province, staying at each location for a period of up to three months, immersing himself in the study of his surroundings and absorbing Ethiopia’s historical and cultural diversity. He pushed himself to become an Ethiopian artist with world recognition.
Maitre Afewerk Tekle speaking at Stanford University in California on March 7, 2004. (Photo: TADIAS Archive)
“I had to study Ethiopian culture,” the artist said, “because an important ingredient of a world artist is to have in your artwork the flavor of where you were born.” He added, “My art will belong to the world but with African flavor.”
Above all, Maitre Afewerk worked diligently in the hopes of using his artwork as a social medium with which to highlight the history, struggles and beauty of his native home. Although he was educated abroad, he fought against what he called “the futile imitation of other artists’ works, Western or otherwise.”
With the message of rebuilding Ethiopia still ringing in his ears, Maitre Afewerk quickly decided to relinquish the ministerial post assigned to him upon completion of his university studies, and opted instead to devote his full attention to painting and exhibiting his artwork both at home and abroad.
At age 22, Afewerk Tekle held his first significant one-man exhibition at the Municipality Hall in Addis Ababa in 1954. He followed up his success by conducting an extensive study tour of art in Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and Greece, paying particular attention to collections of Ethiopian illustrated manuscripts as well as acquiring skills in stained-glass artwork.
Returning home he was commissioned to create religious art for St. George’s Cathedral. He also worked on some of the first sculptures depicting Ethiopian national heroes. His designs and inspirations were soon printed on stamps and national costumes. Most notably, he conceptualized and designed the elaborate stainedglass window artwork in Africa Hall at the headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
With the income and savings he acquired by selling his artwork Afewerk designed his own 22-room house, studio and gallery, which he nicknamed ‘Villa Alpha.’
By 1964 Maitre Afewerk had held his second successful exhibition, thereafter followed by his first show abroad in Russia, the United States and Senegal. Touring African nations at a time when parts of the continent was still under the yoke of colonialism, Afewerk Tekle used his paintings to spotlight the struggle, naming his artwork with titles such as Backbones of the African Continent, Africa’s Heritage, and African Unity. The theme of African independence and the interrelationship of African cultures are indelibly etched in Maitre Afewerk’s creations.
“Your brush can be quite stronger than the machine gun,” he said “I wanted to show how you can write Africa through your artwork, what it means to have liberty, to have your fellow humans completely equal.”
Many art critics have tried, time and time again, to label and categorize his work as having either European or African influence, and sometimes even both. He told us, however, that “you should be free and liberated in your thoughts and style. Your art should speak to you in your hidden language.”
Maitre Afewerk noted that 10% of his work is considered religious art while at least 50% echoes Ethiopian influence. But there is room for him to explore and develop his own style that speaks to his inner muse.
Today, Maitre Afewerk’s art is known and celebrated throughout the world, and indeed he has achieved his dream of becoming an Ethiopian artist with world recognition. He has uplifted Ethiopia, and at the same time his art has been infused into the daily life of his community and fellow citizens.
Around the time that Afewerk Tekle came to speak at Stanford, his art projects around Addis were hard to miss — depicting heroes such as world champion athlete Haile Gebresellasie. At the bottom corner of the artworks there was an Amharic phrase that said it all: Yitchalal!.
— Click here to learn more about Afewerk Tekle.
Many of the 20,000 people from Ethiopia and Eritrea living in the Bay Area call Oakland home. Oakland North is taking a look at the culture and history of the Ethiopian or Eritrean community in Oakland with “East Africans in Oakland” a series of profiles on everyday people living in the city. (Photo: Musician Elias Negash in his home studio in the Oakland hills)
The plan was for Elias Negash to live in the U.S. for a just a couple of years, get a degree, and then return home to Ethiopia. But as he says now, “Things happen. You never know what life is going to throw at you.”
Negash never returned to live in Ethiopia, and instead has lived in this country— mostly in the East Bay—for more than 40 years. Negash is a member of the jazz and world music group The Retroz Band, as well as a solo recording artist who has put out five of his own albums he recorded at his home studio. His talent as a piano and keyboard player helped him travel all over the world to perform and play in influential and popular jazz and reggae groups. It’s how he met musical legends like Bob Marley, and also, by chance, how he met his own wife. While Negash’s music is well known to jazz and African music aficionados in the US, it is also popular in his native country—it’s played at hotels around Ethiopian and on Ethiopian airlines. He owns a spacious home in the Oakland Hills with a swimming pool and a recording studio he built.
“Music is what makes me happy and I know it makes other people happy,” Negash says. “I just really love it.”
Maya Gate Haile is an Ethiopian model and philanthropist based in New York City. (Courtesy photo)
Tadias Magazine
By Tseday Alehegn
Published: Thursday, March 29, 2012
New York (TADIAS) – Our next feature for Women’s History Month is model and philanthropist Maya Gate Haile. Maya is signed with Elite New York and Los Angeles, and has worked with Ford Model (Chicago & Miami), IMG (Paris), and Zero Management Model (South Africa). She was born in Ethiopia, grew up in Holland and speaks four languages (English, Dutch, Amharic, and Guragena). She currently resides in Harlem, New York with her husband Chef Marcus Samuelsson. In addition to fashion & modeling, Maya’s personal interests include photography and learning about diverse cultures. “I believe it enriches people’s lives and everyone should embrace the best part of different cultures to create your own culture without forgetting your original one,” she says.
Maya serves on the steering committee for UNICEF’s Next Generation and focuses on reducing child mortality and improving the lives of children through education, engagement and advocacy work. Maya is also involved with 10×10, a feature film and social action campaign developed by ABC news journalists to empower girls in developing nations by providing access to education.
In 2011, Maya launched ‘Ethiopia’s Next Number One Model,’ an initiative to provide Ethiopian women with support and resources to gain access to international modeling opportunities. Maya serves as host of the program where the winning contestant receives a 3-year contract with a top international modeling agency as well as travel opportunities to network with high-fashion designers. Maya has been quoted as saying “Modeling is not a destination, it’s a start.” Her work both in the fashion industry as well as her outreach with youth is a testament of her desire to uplift and inspire the next generation.
“What I love about my job the most is working with creative people,” Maya tells Tadias. “I work and learn at the same time, and meet new people every day.” Her role models are “the women of Ethiopia, who work hard everyday to make their parents and family proud.”
Reflecting on her volunteer and charity work Maya says: “Working and being a model is glamourous and it’s been so great, but what’s next? Helping people. My family did that and they are still doing it, and when you get so much love and you see how people care you just want to give back to your people.”
To Tadias readers Maya says: “Dream big. Be positive. Take chances. Be mindful of your day. Respect yourself and you will respect others.”
— Stay tuned for more highlights celebrating Ethiopian women role models and change agents.
New York-born Sahra Mellesse is an actress based in Los Angeles (Courtesy photo)
Tadias Magazine
By Tigist Selam | Art Talk
Updated: Sunday, March 25, 2012
New York (TADIAS) – As part of our Women’s History Month series, we spotlight Sahra Mellesse, an emerging actress based in Los Angeles. Sahra’s first major screen role was in the feature film Pariah – a contemporary drama about a Brooklyn teenager juggling conflicting identities. Pariah was released last December by Focus Features and was an official selection at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Sahra is also a series regular on Speed Racer for the Nicktoons Network, and has appeared in guest roles on Law & Order. Having studied screenwriting at UCLA, Sahra has developed a television series pilot in which she plans to star.
Belwo is our Q & A with Sahra Mellesse.
TADIAS: What would you like to share about yourself with Tadias readers?
Sahra Mellesse: I was born and raised in the South Bronx, New York City to an Ethiopian father and a Ugandan mother. Growing up in New York City gave me access to groups of friends who are as ethnically and ethically diverse as Home Depot’s paint selection. It’s allowed me to interact with and connect to so many different types of people. But I’ve also been hindered by it in the sense that Hollywood isn’t as open minded as I am. My goal as a filmmaker is to expand the images of minorities in general, so that audiences aren’t just limited to the same stereotypical image of each group. I want to make visible the variety of images that I grew up with. No entire group of people is the same. And I want to explore that. There are so many people, and ideas unrepresented or under-represented on screen. So I’m working to bring those characters and those stories to light.
TADIAS: What do you most enjoy about acting?
SM: The part of acting that I most enjoy is being able to put myself on a hanger and try on someone else’s life for a little bit. To play a character with any type of authenticity you have to first understand them. And it’s so rare that people get to explore a culture outside of their own or a perspective that differs from theirs. But it’s my job to do that. It’s my job to put my beliefs, my experiences, and my perspective on a shelf, and inhabit someone else’s, so that I can live life through their eyes, within their skin. You learn so much. So every project has been a real growing experience and an education of sorts.
TADIAS: When did you know you wanted to be an actress? Was there a specific event that inspired it?
SM: I believe I was in middle school when I decided I wanted to become an actor. I honestly can’t pinpoint the moment I made the decision. I didn’t have an epiphany or anything. I think it started out with the combination of being a good liar and a class clown. I just liked to entertain. I liked making people laugh. It was fulfilling. The most gratifying feeling for me is creating something that people take with them in their day to day lives.
The other day someone told me they were from West Philly, and I followed with “born and raised, in the playground is where I spent most of my days!” It’s the theme from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. It’s embedded into my psyche. I know whole episodes by heart. I also know the show Friends, verbatim. I have a VCR in my head, and when I need a laugh I just press play. The shows that I grew up with and the movies that I’ve seen have become a part of me. And I take them with me everywhere I go. And my hope is that people will take my performances and my projects with them as well. And maybe one day I can be responsible for someone breaking into song in the middle of a conversation. However, I’d settle for just making someone smile.
TADIAS: In celebration of Women’s History Month, who are your female role models?
SM: The main one would be my Mom. She’s my Mother Theresa. I don’t think there’s enough time in the day to explain why. I actually don’t think there’s enough time in the year. But she’s been really supportive. This isn’t the easiest business to crack into, but she’s always championed me regardless. And apart from being my mom, she’s also a philanthropist. She works for a non-profit organization that grants money to different causes they believe in. She’s a do-gooder!
In terms of role models in Hollywood, I have two. One would be Dee Rees, who wrote and directed Pariah. The amount of courage it took to put her struggle in theaters with the hope of making someone else feel less alone is by-far the bravest act I have ever witnessed. She’s the most genuine and most courageous person I know, hands down. My other role model is Meryl Streep. I’ve been a groupie since Music of the Heart in 1999 and have since seen damn-near everything she’s done. Not only is she talented but she carries herself with such class and such grace. And on top of that, there’s still room in her personality to be undeniably charismatic. I don’t think I’ve ever watched one of her performances or watched her in an interview and said, ‘well, I’m bored.’ Never.
Tomas Doncker (center) with Selam Woldemariam (left) performing during Doncker's tour launch party on December 1, 2011 in New York. (Photo by Kidane Mariam for Tadias Magazine)
Tadias Magazine
Art Talk | Review
Updated: Wednesday, March 7, 2012
New York (TADIAS) – Tomas Doncker’s new album entitled Power of the Trinity blends Jazz, R&B, Ethiopian beats, reggae and urban sounds, reflecting the diverse borough where he grew up in Brooklyn, New York. The CD, produced in collaboration with some of the best known Ethiopian musicians, is also a traveling musical featuring dance performers from the United States and Africa.
“The CD is what I like to call a global soul meditation and how I feel that we are all connected,” Doncker said in an interview. “I grew up in Brooklyn NY, in Crown Heights and I attended St. Ann’s school from 1st grade until the 12th grade.” He added: “Crown Heights at that time was a very dangerous neighborhood. Lots of gangs and violence, but we still managed to maintain a sense of community, at least among the families on my block.”
Receiving a scholarship to attend St. Ann’s made it possible for Doncker to meet people from diverse backgrounds and learn about other cultures. “It changed my life and helped to mold me into the artist that I am today,” he said. “My mother was my first role model, and she was a musician as well.”
Doncker said his latest album is inspired by a play named for Emperor Haile Selassie. “I was asked to score a play called Power of the Trinity by NYC Playwright Roland Wolf and in my research I realized that collaborations with this particular group of artists would really capture and enhance the feeling that I was looking for,” Doncker said. “The process of producing this CD and working so closely with these artists was one of the most rewarding artistic experiences of my life.”
Among others, the CD features guitarist Selam Woldermariam, whom Doncker dubs “The Jimi Hendrix of Ethiopia.”
“I call him the Jimi Hendrix of Ethiopia because Americans understand what I am talking about that he’s got some unique guitar talent,” Doncker said.
The following interview was taped follwing his CD release and tour launch party last December.
Romare Bearden, who died in 1988 at the age of 76, was an African American artist and writer. (Photo: Romare Bearden, The Calabash, collage, 1970, Library of Congress)
Tadias Magazine
Art Talk | By Tadias Staff
Published: Wednesday, February 22, 2012
New York (TADIAS) – For Black History month last week, Macy’s held a series of in-store celebrations that honored the legacy of the distinguished African American artist Romare Bearden. Window displays of paintings by Bearden, as well as other artists, were featured in New York, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, and San Francisco. The week-long events included an opening reception, children’s activities, live music, cooking demonstrations featuring Bearden’s favorite recipes, and a celebration of the artist’s 100th birthday if he were alive.
The California-based Alitash Kebede Gallery provided several of the works exhibited at Macy’s Los Angeles and San Francisco stores. “I was delighted when I was asked by the Bearden Foundation to be a part of the Celebration,” gallery owner Alitash Kebede said in a recent interview with Tadias Magazine. “Romare Bearden along with the pioneer Ethiopian artist Skunder Boghossian was an inspiration for my venture into the art world.”
Alitash, who was born and raised in Ethiopia, recalled that when she first encountered one of Bearden’s most famous series, Prevalence of Ritual, in the 1970s, she had no idea who he was. “I certainly didn’t know that he was a celebrated American artist,” she said, reflecting on Bearden’s work. “I also had no idea that one day I would end up being in the art business because of him.”
“Life works mysteriously,” Alitash said. “The 100th birthday celebration happens to fall in 2012, which happens to be the 30th anniversary of my art business.” She added: “It is in 1982, not knowing how long it would last, that I started my art venture out of my West Hollywood apartment showing the work of Romare Bearden.”
Four years later, Bearden’s friend, the artist Herbert Gentry introduced Alitash to Bearden. “He took me to his studio in Long Island City and there I thought I was in heaven,” she said. “It is when I met Bearden, the artist who inspired me, that I decided that I was destined to be an art dealer.”
Alitash continued: “I feel so fortunate to be associated with one of the most innovative artists of the 20th century, and someone I’m privileged to call my friend,” she said. “Not only was he a master of the collage medium, he was also an author, a songwriter and had a wide range of scholarly interests in performing arts, history, literature and world art, which highly informed and inspired his work.” She added: “He was also known as one of the most generous people in the art world who helped many artists personally and through institutions that he co-founded, such as the Studio Museum in Harlem. He has certainly helped me, in more ways than one; and I will forever be indebted to him.”
– Related: Macy’s Celebrates The Romare Bearden Centennial (Macys.com) The Romare Bearden Foundation
The exhibition “Romare Bearden: Southern Recollections” will open at the Newark Museum, on May 23, 2012. “The Bearden Project” is presently at the Studio Museum in Harlem. This and other exhibitions are all part of the 100th Birthday Celebration.
Photo credit: Alitash Kebede by Lily Kebede at Alitash gallery.
AllAfrica's Genet Lakew and Rahwa Meharena asked three women - Salem Mekuria (top left), Rahel Zegeye (top right) and Sosena Solomon (bottom left) - to share their stories. They represent two generations of Ethiopian documentary filmmaking.
Documentary filmmaking holds a special place in the history of African women’s cinema. In 1972, Senegalese filmmaker Safi Faye became the first sub-Saharan African woman to make a commercially distributed feature film when she directed “Kaddu Beykat”. The film, a mixture of fiction and documentary, depicts the economic problems suffered by Senegalese village farmers because of agriculture policies that Faye says rely on an outdated, colonial system of groundnut monoculture. Faye would go on to direct several documentaries often focused on rural life in her native Senegal.
African women who have taken documentary filmmaking to new levels come from across the continent and handle a wide range of topics. The films show an Africa that is not often seen, according to Beti Ellerson, director of the Center for the Study and Research of African Women in Cinema. Ellerson, who teaches courses in African studies, visual culture and women studies in the Washington, DC, area, is also the producer of a 2002 documentary, “Sisters of the Screen: African Women in the Cinema.”
Much has changed since Faye’s early Senegalese films. The emergence of the Internet, social media and crowd-funding platforms such as Kickstarter now offer a new generation of African women documentary filmmakers the tools to realize their visions. To learn of the challenges and opportunities facing African women filmmakers, AllAfrica’s Genet Lakew and Rahwa Meharena asked three women – Salem Mekuria, Rahel Zegeye and Sosena Solomon – to share their stories. They represent two generations of Ethiopian documentary filmmaking.
The Black History Month program at the Schomburg Center in New York on Thursday, February 23 will honor the two-year anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti with a preview of "Broken Stones," a feature-length documentary about self-recovery after the tragic Haiti quake in 2010. (Photo: A film still from the movie 'Broken Stones')
Tadias Magazine
Events News | Black History Month
Updated: Monday, February 20, 2012
New York (TADIAS) – As part of its annual Black History Month film screening, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in conjunction with the African Film Festival, Inc., is featuring a new documentary by award-winning Haitian film director Guetty Felin-Cohen. The film, Broken Stones, recounts the tragic earthquake two years ago while Haitians express their concerns and impatience with the reconstruction process as well as their aspirations for the country of their dreams.
(Photo: Writer & Director Guetty Felin-Cohen. Credit: Bellemoon Productions)
“I am a Haitian-American filmmaker who has shared her life between America, Haiti and France,” Felin said in announcing the film. “My sensibility, vision and cinematic language have been highly influenced and shaped by my life experience in all three countries.” She added: “I fell in love with cinema at a very early age at the drive-ins in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The ‘electric shadows’ on that glowing screen were a stark contrast to our realities and yet they deeply connected us to the outside world. Cinema, for me, became my own little sanctuary, my personal way of filling those chasms that were wedged by an insidious political system. I began seeing my parents and the adults around me like characters in a film that I was incessantly writing and directing.”
Today after several years in the business, and after becoming a mother, Felin says film-making fully defines her identity. “Cinema is how I engage the world around me, how I denounce social and political injustice, how I explore haunting themes such as memory, exile, foreignness, and the unending search for home, and also how I interconnect our common global humanities,” she wrote.
The special preview screening of Guetty Felin’s Broken Stones will take place on Thursday, February 23, 2012, 7 – 9 p.m., at the Schomburg Center in Harlem, followed by a panel discussion with the filmmaker and special guests.
– If You Go:
The event is free and open to the public.
For registration, visit www.schomburgcenter.eventbrite.com or call (212) 491-2040.
For more information, go to www.africanfilmny.org or call (212) 352-1720.
Watch the trailer:
A Conversation With Elias Negash About His New CD “Jazzed Up”
Elias Negash, second from left, is the leader of Retroz Band - a jazz ensemble based in the Bay Area. Members of the group, left to right, are: Anthony Lincoln, Lead vocals & Tenor Sax, Elias Negash, Piano, Keyboards & Vocals, Louie Moon Robinson, L & R. Guitar & Vocals, Mark Williams, Up.& E. Bass, Bob Marshall, Drums. (Courtesy photo)
Tadias Magazine
Art Talk | By Tadias Staff
Updated: Thursday, February 16, 2012
New York (TADIAS) – The latest CD by California-based musician Elias Negash, whose songwriting combines Ethiopian music with international influences, is entitled Jazzed Up. “It is a reflection of the various dynamic genres incorporated into the music,” Elias said in a recent interview with Tadias Magazine. “Ethio-smooth is included along with R&B, Reggae and Salsa.” He added: ” In so doing, the music has been refreshed and jazzed up. On this CD I am using musicians that are very good friends of mine. The five-piece group have played varying styles of music in the past, but currently we are focusing on a fusion of Jazz, Ethio- Jazz, Rhythm & Blues and other world music. These are the musicians I will be traveling with for years to come. We are called the ‘The Retroz Band.’”
Elias, who was born in Ethiopia and moved to the United States in 1971, has a long resume in the music industry. He was one of the pioneering figures in the Reggae and African music scenes in Northern California during the 1970s. He performed with groups such as Obeah, Axum, Caribbean All Stars and the Rastafarians. After a brief stint in Los Angeles working on the Royal Princess Cruise ship in the 1980s, Elias appeared on a sound track for the television movie Glitz and also performed in the TV series Murder She Wrote.
Elias now owns and operates SophEl Recordings, a music studio located in Oakland Hills, California that opened in September 2000. He says he enjoys spending time in this quite, residential neighborhood. “I often work with fellow music producer Gordon Brislawn, who was iTunes’ first call for 42 of iTunes front-page exclusives,” he said. “We have all the latest equipments to make any music project number one.”
Elias Negash at a recording session in Berkeley, CA. (Courtesy photo)
Regarding his childhood in Ethiopia Elias said: “I was born in Addis Ababa and grew up in a very big house in ‘Riche’ on the road to Debre Zeit. The house belonged to my grandfather. A couple of years before St. Joseph school was established I went to German School – Deutsche Schule – kindergarten in Addis Ababa for a year, then to Nativity Catholic Cathedral School for my first grade. And when St. Joseph school opened in 1960, I was transferred to second grade to persue my elementary and high school education.”
After completing high school Elias moved to New York with his uncle who was a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. “Living in upstate New York for almost two years at a young age was a very cold experience,” he said. “My brother was living in Northern California at the time, and so he would tell me how the weather was so similar to our motherland. That really convinced me to move to California.”
Discussing his favorite musicians, Elias said his musical taste and influences are wide-ranging. “As far as Ethiopian musicians are concerned I like Mulatu Astatke for being the father of Ethio Jazz,” he said. “And Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru’s Classic piano solo album. Among male vocalists I listen to Tilahun Gessesse, Mahamoud Ahmed and Girma Beyene.” He continued: “Non-Ethiopians would be Ray Charles, Bob Marley, pianist Ramsey Lewis Ahmad Jamal, Booker T & The MG’s, Bill Evens, Jimmy Smith, Earl Garner and Oscar Peterson.”
Returning to the topic of his latest album “it reflects an experience of dialing up any baseline to a positive atmosphere,” Elias said. “It is my hope that listeners feel jazzed up.”
— You can learn more about the artist at www.eliasnegash.com.
To listen to and order the CD visit: www.cdbaby.com.
NYU Black History Month Exhibit: Time, History and Memory
New York – As elements of experience both History and Time seem at once ever present and invisible. So too, Memory, whether collective or personal, has the elusive quality of being unique, real and abstract all at once. In this way Time, History and Memory become modes of communication as much as means of experience. As communication, they are perhaps a common language, but they can also be a private language, a language of communion, understanding and unity. A language spoken, a memory shared. In trying to touch upon this theme of the uniqueness of language and of the experience of history, CPT: Time, History and Memory proposes a dialogue on the nature of this communication, and finally, this engagement with history and memory.
The artists:
Deborah Willis, Stephanie Dinkins, Brett Cook, Hank Willis Thomas, Sonia Louise Davis, Shani Peters, Jamel Shabazz, Chester Higgins, Sheila Pree Bright, Michael Forbes, Tahir Hemphill, Daniel Dawson
Ethiopian-born artist Etiyé Dimma Poulsen, who lives and works in Belgium, is one of the artists whose work is featured at Skoto Gallery's 20th Anniversary Exhibition in New York scheduled from January 26th to February 25, 2012 (Photo: Tadias Magazine)
Tadias Magazine
Art Talk
Updated: Monday, January 23, 2012
New York (TADIAS) – In the heart of Chelsea, one of the centers of the New York art world, lays a gem for African art lovers. Skoto Gallery that opened in 1992 is one of the first contemporary African art galleries in the United States focusing on a mix of artists from the continent and the Diaspora.
Since its inaugural exhibition two decades ago – curated by jazz icon Ornet Coleman and held at its previous location in SoHo – the gallery has mounted memorable shows highlighting artists hailing from several African countries including Ethiopia, Sudan, Ghana, Nigeria, Egypt, Cameroon, and Senegal.
In a recent press release Skoto Gallery announced that it is preparing to host its 20th Anniversary Exhibition this week featuring works by at least seventeen contemporary artists including Ethiopians Etiye Dimma Poulsen, Wosene Kosrof, and Tesfaye Tessema.
(Photo: Inaugural exhibition at Skoto Gallery, 1992)
“It is tempting to talk about Skoto Gallery as a secret treasure of the New York art scene; but doing so brings up a lot of contradictory data,” wrote poet and critic Geoffrey Jacques. “For instance, how does a “secret” survive two decades in a historically tough scene made even tougher by the cultural and economic head winds that have buffeted art, the New York art world, and the world in general in the last few years?” He added: “To say the quality of the work shown at Skoto Gallery during these last twenty years is responsible for its success would be one obvious truth. There is, however, more to it than that. Skoto Gallery performs a vital intervention into the very idea of contemporary art.”
In an interview with Tadias Magazine a few years ago, gallery owner Skoto Aghahowa stressed the importance of having a greater understanding of the creative process, the environment in which artists operate, as well as marketing and communication skills within the African artist community. “A piece of art work retains its value when one strikes a balance between scholarly work and commercial success,” Skoto said. “The most important work of an art dealer is to be familiar with the work of world artists, not just African artists, and to help create a context in which the work can be understood and appreciated.”
Geoffrey Jacques noted: “I remember being so moved by a 1995 exhibition of works by two sculptors that I had to write about them. The pairing was, at first glance, audacious: Tom Otterness, from Kansas, who lived in New York; and Bright Bimpong, from Ghana, who was, at the time, studying in New Jersey. It was the kind of beautiful exhibition we’re now used to seeing at Skoto Gallery.”
—
If You Go:
Skoto Gallery
20th Anniversary Exhibition
January 26th – February 25 , 2012
Reception: Thursday, January 26th, 6-8pm
529 West 20th Street, 5thFL
New York, NY 10011 www.skotogallery.com
The Film Oblivion: How Abduction for Marriage Ended in Ethiopia
Oblivion is a feature length narrative film based on a true story about the legal precedent setting court case that helped to outlaw the practice of abduction for marriage in Ethiopia – also referred to as “telefa”.
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
New York (TADIAS) – One afternoon in 1997, in a small, rural village in Arsi, Ethiopia, 14-year-old Aberash Bekele was returning home from school with her friends when a group of horsemen dragged and beat her before abducting her.
“He hit me about the face,” Aberash recounted, speaking about the 29-year-old farmer who led the abduction. “I nearly lost consciousness. He was such a huge man, I couldn’t push him away. Then he forced my legs apart. He beat me senseless and took my virginity.”
As horrifying as it may sound, the man was not doing anything illegal. He was participating in a centuries old tradition called Telefa, which permited men to abduct young girls for marriage.
Aberash found a kalashnikov in a room where she was being held, grabbed the weapon and attempted to run away. A chase ensued, and the cornered Aberash shot and killed her assailant; she was arrested and charged with murder.
A group of independent producers and filmmakers in the U.S. have now launched a kickstarter.com campaign to help finance a film about Aberash Bekele’s story entitled Oblivion. The film is a feature length narrative about “the legal precedent-setting court case that outlawed the practice of abduction for marriage in Ethiopia.”
“I don’t think of myself as having killed anyone,” Aberash told the media then. “I could have been killed myself.”
Aberash was represented by the Ethiopian Women’s Lawyers Association (EWLA), then led by Attorney Meaza Ashenafi who won the case for her client arguing self-defense.
“This is an epic story, an engaging and engrossing film about a universal topic,” said Leelai Demoz, an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker who is one of the producers of Oblivion. “I have wanted to do something in Ethiopia for a long time and I have finally found a solid script.”
Crowdfunding by kickstarter is used to gain support for a variety of commercial and social projects. “I am also excited about being engaged through the kickstarter platform not only to raise funds, but also to develop a grassroots audience for this important project,” Leelai added.
— You may watch the trailer and contribute to the kickstarter campaign for Oblivion here.
21-year-old Abel Tesfaye, a Toronto-based R&B singer, better known by his stage name "The Weeknd," is one of the most talked about international musicians of 2011. He gained popularity last March after releasing his first album, House of Balloons. He is an artist to watch out for in 2012. Watch his video below.
Tadias Magazine
By Tigist Selam
Updated: Monday, January 2, 2012
New York (TADIAS) – As we enter the new year and review last year’s contributions in the area of arts and entertainment, 2011 was a year of new beginnings from comedy, to music and fine arts, which should bode well for 2012.
I almost fell out of my chair when I watched the Simpsons episode in Little Ethiopia last November. Like many Ethiopians who tweeted and posted the video in social media, I was excited to share something funny that recognized Ethiopian culture – albeit in a respectful way. I laughed at every moment of the segment. Little did we know that the Simpsons (and Hollywood) would make 2011 the year of Gursha. My favorite part is when Bart and Lisa feed each other leftover injera at home and Homer Simpson telling his wife: “Marge, the kids are acting ethnic!” Hilarious! Watch it here, if you haven’t already.
In 2011, a young Ethiopian American music executive was appointed as the new head of the legendary Motown label now owned by the Universal Music Group. The company named Ethiopia Habtemariam, 31, Senior Vice President of Universal Motown Records. The promotion makes Ms. Habtemariam one of the most prominent women, as well as one of the most influential blacks in the music industry.
Abel Tesfaye’s Rapid Rise to Fame
My 17-year old cousin introduced me to the new R&B/rapper sensation Abel Tesfaye, a 21-year old Ethiopian artist born in Canada who has taken the music industry by surprise. He exploded into the music scene in spring 2011 after releasing his first nine-song free album, House of Balloons, via the internet. Abel, who goes by his stage name The Weeknd, has already been highlighted by Rolling Stone magazine, MTV News, BET and more. John Norris of MTV has dubbed him “the best musical talent since Michael Jackson.” And his first album, House of Balloons, has been named one of The Best Albums of 2011. But The Guardian wasn’t so enthusiastic. “The singing and songwriting on House of Balloons aren’t especially strong by R&B standards,” noted the UK newspaper. “What’s getting the Weeknd so much attention is [his] command of mood.” While a review by the Frontier Psychiatrist declared that the songs are “brilliant, disturbing, and not safe for work.” As to the lyrics: “So unsafe it should come with a child-proof cap.” Nonetheless, TIME magazine says: “Tesfaye has explored some of the dankest, darkest corners of our world, and thus has crafted some of the most compelling and captivating music for its genre.” There could be no doubt that Abel is a gifted musician and endowed with a soulful voice. He is an artist to watch out for in 2012. The following video is entitled The Knowing, the last track from the House of Balloons album. The mysterious meanings in this futuristic video is open to interpretation but its Ethiopian influence is obvious.
The event held on Thursday, August 11th, 2011 was attended by thousands of people. It was described by The New York Times as “generous, warm, high-spirited real entertainment for a big audience.” The Debo/Fendika collective was the second Ethiopian music ensemble to ever perform at the Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors event, following in the footsteps of Ethiopia’s leading musicians Mahmoud Ahmed, Alemayehu Eshete, and legendary saxophonist Getachew Mekuria, who made a historic appearance here in 2008. Watch TADIAS’ video coverage of the 2011 Lincoln Center Out of Doors concert at the Damrosch Park Bandshell in New York.
The 8th Annual Sheba Film Festival in 2011 featured the New York premiere of Yemane Demissie’s film Twilight Revelations: Episodes in the Life & Times of Emperor Haile Selassie. The screening took place at the Schomburg Center on Thursday, May 26th. The documentary, which features rare archival footage coupled with exclusive interviews and firsthand accounts, takes a fresh look at the mixed legacy of one of the most controversial African leaders in modern history. Check out the trailer here.
I am a huge fan of NBC Universal’s Focus Features program and last year they named Ethiopian Filmmaker, Zelalem Woldemariam, as one of the recipients of its 2011 grant for short films from Africa. His upcoming film entitled Adamet (Listen) is about preserving culture. “My film is about an Ethiopian drummer who learns about his identity and traditional music in an unexpected way,” Zelalem said during an interview with Tadias Magazine. “I have always been fascinated by our music and I have wanted to do a film that showcases this rich and colorful part of our culture for a long time.” You can learn more about the self-taught filmmaker at www.zelemanproduction.com.
Like hip hop, house music is fast becoming a universal language among youth worldwide and so too among Ethiopians. A new music video called Bole Bole, which was staged at Studio 21 in New York and directed by Supermodel Liya Kebede, is getting a lot of buzz online. The lyrics are entertaining. Click here to watch Bole Bole.
Ethiopian-American Singer/Songwriter Rachel Brown is another artist to watch for in 2012. After graduating from Harvard, the up-and-coming musician has been carving a niche for herself both in New York and around the country. With her effortless style, self-confidence and beautiful voice, she is mesmerizing. We look forward to hearing more of her in 2012. Listen to Rachel at rachelbrownmusic.com.
I’ve followed Ezra Wube’s work since 2004. I simply can’t take my eyes off some of his paintings. I continue to giggle at his recent short animation film Hisab (stop action animation painted on a single surface canvas). The video tells an urban folklore by bringing to life the sights and sounds inside Addis Ababa’s popular blue-and-white minibus (a cross between a bus and a taxi). The short film’s main characters are the city’s four-legged residents – donkeys, dogs and goats. Watch the video below.
Some rarely seen historical images from the Kennedy White House years, with the President and First Lady hosting Emperor Haile Selassie, are part of an upcoming film entitled Point Four — a documentary about Haramaya University (previously known as Alemaya College). Haramaya University is an agricultural technical college that was established in 1956 in Ethiopia as a joint project between the two nations. Watch the trailer here.
— The list was updated on Sunday, January 1, 2012 to include Ethiopia Habtemariam.
Music Video Buzz: Bole Bole by Liya Kebede; Tadias by Hahu
Above: Screen grab of footage from Bole Bole music video directed by Liya Kebede - inverted colors.
Tadias Magazine
Art Talk
Published: Monday, December 12, 2011
New York (TADIAS) – Among youth worldwide, hip hop is a universal language, and so too among Ethiopians.
Two new music videos have been getting a lot of buzz lately: The first is called Bole Bole, which was staged at Studio 21 in New York, is directed by Supermodel Liya Kebede.
The second video is made by the Ethiopian hip-hop group Hahu, who have come out with a single entitled ‘Tadias.’
Both videos have positive lyrics combining Amharic and English words with a fusion of Eastern and Western beats and rhythms.
AFC will hold its annual holiday benefit event on Saturday, December 3 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: A painting of Cherkos up for bid at last year's event by Matt Andrea)
Tadias Magazine
Events News
Updated: Monday, November 21, 2011
Washington, DC (TADIAS) – Artists for Charity (AFC) will host its 5th Annual Holiday Art Auction next month in Washington, D.C. The network of artists, volunteers and donors operate a home for HIV positive orphans in Addis Ababa.
“The benefit will be held during World AIDS Week and will feature amazing artwork from local and international artists,” AFC said in a press release. Artwork made by the children at the AFC home will also be featured.
The AFC Children’s Home houses young people infected with HIV, who have lost both their parents. The home provides food, shelter, medical care, school fees and supplies for the children. AFC also has other projects including an Artist-in-Residency program, which allows qualified volunteers to spend up to a year in Ethiopia while sharing their creative talents with AFC children.
“Millions of children around the world are infected with HIV every day and many of them die young, and those who survive struggle to live normal healthy lives” the press release said. “The AFC Holiday Benefit gives everyone a chance to support the cause.”
— If You Go:
AFC’s 5th Annual Holiday Benefit & Art Auction
Saturday, December 3, 2011
600 I St. NW Washington, DC 20001.
Advance tickets: $35
Ticktes at the door: $40
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Learn more at Artistforcharity.org
— Related: Photos: 2010 Artists for Charity Fundraiser
Watch: Artists for Charity (AFC) Children’s Home – Their Story
Azeb Zekiros with an unfinished painting of hers in 2008. (Photo: The Women's Resource Group)
Tadias Magazine
Art Talk
Updated: Sunday, November 13, 2011
New York (TADIAS) – Ethiopian-born visual artist Azeb Zekiros, who was one of the most active members of the Diaspora artists community, died suddenly on Monday, November 7th. She was 61 years old.
Sheba Azeb Zekiros left Ethiopia in her early teens and came to the US in 1967. She went to school in California and later attended the Art Students League in New York where she concentrated in drawing and painting. She received an Associate of Science degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from SUNY Empire State College in 2001, and Bachelor of Science degree in Community and Human Services. Azeb completed many credits through evaluation of her prior learning, and translated her knowledge of art and languages into college credit.
She was an employee of the American Association of Retired Persons.
In her artistic career spanning four decades, she has exhibited her works in several venues in the East Coast, including a one woman show at the Milestone Gallery; Black Burn Center, Howard University; Department of Education; Fondo Del Sol; The Meridian House International; Lansburgh’s Cultural Center; and the Harvard Kennedy School. She has lived in England, France, Denmark and Switzerland. In 1986 she was featured as part of the ‘Contemporary African Artists’ show at the United Nations.
In describing a few artists she admires, Azeb highlighted Skunder Boghossian and Julie Mehretu in a comment posted last February. “Julie Mehretu’s paintings are great, her sense of colors, space and time is amazing,” she said. “Even though they have different styles, I have been an admirer of Julie and Skunder’s work.” She added: “As a painter, I get inspired by Julie’s energetic expressions.”
San Francisco offers a haven to creative talents from around the world and one of the city's newest stars is Ethiopian-born Meklit Hadero, a restless soul who found her voice in the funky Mission district's eclectic arts scene. (Courtesy photo)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Saturday, November 5th, 2011
New York (TADIAS) – In a recent interview with PBS, Ethiopian-American Musician Meklit Hadero contemplated the various meanings that she came across when researching her name. “My father is from the south of Ethiopia and Hadero means milk,” she said. “But once when I was in college I had a friend look up in a Geez-Amharic dictionary. Geez is the ancient language of Ethiopia and Meklit is a Geez word. He looks it up in the dictionary and he said ‘oh, it means one who knows the balance of things.’”
Like the meaning of her name Meklit’s music is a balance of various cultures: American jazz, Ethiopian classics, and sounds from the vibrant San Francisco’s art scene — all held together with her eloquent poetry. Meklit, who left Ethiopia when she was one year old, grew up in New York and graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in Political Science before settling in San Francisco where she currently resides. She has been compared to Billie Holiday, Tracy Chapman and Joni Mitchell. But her creative renditions of the traditional Ethiopian song Abbay Mado is as original as her piece entitled People of Movement, a musical tribute to refugees worldwide.
“At the moment, I’m finishing up two new collaborative albums, both set for release early in 2012 on San Francisco’s Porto Franco Records,” Meklit tells Tadias Magazine. She is currently in Ethiopia. “I came here to inaugurate UN Women’s campaign for gender equity with a free concert at the UN compound in Addis, as well as to perform at and attend the African Leadership Network Conference,” she said. “It’s always wonderful to be in Addis.”
Describing her upcoming albums Meklit said: “The first is with two Arba Minch Collective members and Ethiopian-American Emcees Gabriel Teodros and Burntface. We were all in Ethiopia together in May 2011, where we played in the town square of Harrar, at the foot of the castles in Gondar, and in Addis Ababa. I’ve also got an album coming out with Oakland soul singer Quinn DeVeaux, exploring soul interpretations of indie-rock and art rock songs, and really highlighting the soul roots of that music.”
The Ethiopian-American group’s name is CopperWire and the album is called Earthbound. “It uses concepts of outer space and intergalactic distances to unravel ideas around diaspora, separation, and the longing for home,” she said. “We’re all so excited about how the music turned out.”
Also, last week, it was announced that Meklit will be a 2012 TED Senior Fellow. “I’m so thrilled about that,” she added. “Folks can always keep in touch with me on Facebook and Twitter.”
— Watch: “Quick Hits” Highlight of Meklit Hadero’s “Leaving Soon” (PBS/Sound Tracks)
Fikru Gebre Mariam at his Addis Ababa home-studio. (Courtesy photo)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Thursday, November 3, 2011
New York (TADIAS) – A painting by the prolific Ethiopian artist Fikru G/Mariam was recently sold in the United States for $37,500 to help pay for surgical expenses of three Ethiopian children with severe spine disease. Fikru, who works from his Addis Ababa and Paris-based studios, has exhibited at prestigious European galleries and cultivated an international following.
Fikru first learned about spine disease from an American doctor named Rick Hodes, who has lived and worked in Ethiopia for over 20 years. Dr. Hodes initially arrived in Ethiopia as a relief worker during the 1984 famine and has remained there ever since. He currently serves as Medical Director of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee in Addis Ababa. His work with severely disabled children, including those with spine diseases, is the subject of the HBO documentary Making the Crooked Straight as well as a book by journalist Marilyn Berger entitled This is a Soul.
Fikru met Dr. Hodes last year at a Thanksgiving dinner in Addis Ababa hosted by mutual friends – a couple from Orlando who are temporarily living in Ethiopia and are collectors of his paintings. “My friends Donald and Barbara Prearson first introduced Dr. Hodes and I at their home,” Fikru told Tadias Magazine. “Rick said he knew about my work from the displays in the house.” He added: “During the dinner Rick told me what he did as a Doctor in Ethiopia, and I was impressed.” Dr. Hodes showed Fikru photos of his spine disease patients. “I can probably say they were the most shocking images I ever saw in my life,” Fikru said of the photographs.
“Spine disease is quite common,” Dr. Hodes said in a recent interview with Tadias. “In America, at least 3% of the population has scoliosis, which is a spinal curvature. There is no data from Ethiopia, but it is quite likely that the rate is at least the same. We also have neuromuscular disease such as cerebral palsy and old polio leading to scoliosis.” Dr. Hodes said he receives at least 200 new spine patients a year. About two-third have scoliosis, which causes an S-shaped spine, and one-third have Pott’s Disease, which is tuberculosis of the spine. Without the possibility of spine surgery, Ethiopian patients often have progressive disease which may lead to paralysis and breathing difficulties. Many of Dr. Hodes’ patients have lost well over 50% of their lung function due to the lungs being compressed by twisted spines. “I work closely with an organization called FOCOS and raise money to send my patients to them in Accra, Ghana for surgery,” Dr Hodes said. “It costs me about $18,000 per surgery.” He added: “My overall goal is to [build] a hospital in Ethiopia where this surgery can be done, and to train Ethiopians to do these operations.”
The conversation with Dr. Hodes and the photos lingered in Fikru’s head long after the dinner. “It was painful to watch and the images stuck in my mind,” Fikru said. “I felt shame that I was not doing enough to help my people who desperately need my help while foreigners are doing a great job to save Ethiopian lives.” He added: “When I left the Prearson’s home that night I told Rick I will do something to help and contribute to save the children.”
“Weeks later when Mr. Noel Cunningham of The Cunningham Foundation came to Addis from Denver, I invited him to my studio and told him my plan to donate my painting to fund the surgeries,” Fikru continued. “I had estimated it to be around $24,000 but I thought they could get a better price for it at an auction.”
“We greatly appreciate your talent and your generosity in donating this painting,” Noel Cunningham, President of the Cunningham Foundation, said in a letter to Fikru. “In fact, your painting has raised money to provide complete medical and surgical care to 3 Ethiopian youth with spine disease.”
Dr. Hodes remembers meeting Fikru at the Thanksgiving dinner. “Fikru was very taken by the strength and the difficulties of life of my spine patients.” he said. “He has since met several of them, and he had a very good idea of the great difficulties they have. He would call me at least twice a week.”
Regarding the painting, Fikru said he came up with the concept a year ago at his Addis home-studio, which he designed.
“I talked to Rick Hodes this morning and he told me that the children will go abroad for surgery on Sunday November 6,” he said. “I will go to Bole airport to see them off.”
Fikru G/Mariam and Noel Cunningham with the painting “Dream Hunters”, which sold at an auction in Denver for $37,500 to help pay for medical expenses of three Ethiopian children with severe spine disease. (Courtesy photo)
The artist’s home-studio in Addis Ababa. (Courtesy photo)
Zelalem Woldemariam, pictured above in 2010 in Spain, is one of the winners of the 2011 Focus Feature’s Africa First program for short films. (Courtesy Photo)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Updated: Wednesday, November 2, 2011
New York (TADIAS) – NBC Universal’s Focus Features has named Ethiopian Filmmaker, Zelalem Woldemariam, as one of the recipients of its 2011 grant for short films from Africa.
Earlier last month, CEO of Focus Feature’s Africa First program, James Schamus, announced that their initiative exclusively for emerging filmmakers from Africa has awarded five artists $10,000 apiece. The grant is designed to help finance the production of a short film by each filmmaker.
“My film is about an Ethiopian drummer who learns about his identity and traditional music in an unexpected way,” Zelalem said in a recent interview with Tadias Magazine. Speaking about his film entitled Adamet (Listen), Zelalem adds: “I have always been fascinated by our music and I have wanted to do a film that showcases this rich and colorful part of our culture for a long time.”
The other winners include Ms. Oshosheni Hiveluah of Namibia, Mr. Cedric Ido of Burkina Faso, Mr. Mark Middlewick of South Africa and Ms. Akosua Adoma Owusu of Ghana.
According to the motion picture company, the winning filmmakers will also visit New York City this month for a weekend to meet each other as well as Mr. Schamus and President of Focus Features production Jeb Brody.
“I’m continually impressed by the range of great young artists we meet through Africa First,” Mr. Schamus said in a statement. “Each filmmaker has a distinctive vision and voice, and I look forward to learning from them at our summit.”
Zelalem is a self-taught filmmaker, born and raised in Addis Ababa. In 2005, he founded Zeleman Production, which now employes twenty-five people and has become one of Addis’ go-to studios for creating various media products. Zelalem’s first international recognition came in 2010 when his film called Lezare (For Today), a 12 minute movie which explores the link between environmental degradation and poverty, won the “Best Short Film Youth Jury Award” at the 7th African Film Festival in Spain.
Producer Kisha Cameron-Dingle, who serves as program director for the Africa First program, said, “We are particularly proud of the diversity and ambition in this year’s solid group, with new storytellers coming from several countries contributing to the program for the first time.”
“This means a lot for me and my Ethiopian filmmaker colleagues,” Zelalem said. “To be recognized by a Hollywood studio is a big deal.” He added: “Personally I hope it will open a lot of doors.”
— You can learn more about Focus Features’ Africa First program at focusfeatures.com.
Brooklyn to Ethiopia: Doncker, Gigi, Selam, Laswell, and more
Guitarist Selam Woldemariam (left), former member of legendary Ethiopian bands, Ibex and Roha, with New Yorker Tomas Doncker (front) performing at the City Winery in Manhattan last year. (Courtesy photo)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Updated: Sunday, October 9, 2011
New York (TADIAS) – Brooklyn based musician Tomas Doncker’s new album entitled Power of the Trinity, which features well-known artists hailing from Ethiopia including Gigi and legendary guitarist Selam Seyoum Woldemariam, is as much a tribute to Ethiopia and its history as it is a soulful blend of R&B, spoken word and global urban sounds, reflecting the culturally eclectic neighborhood where he grew up. The CD also features Grammy award winning producer and bassist Bill Laswell, Pulitzer Prize winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa, and Electro-dub specialist Dr. Israel as well as reggae artist Tsegaye Selassie.
“Musically speaking, being able to work with Bill Laswell and Selam Woldermariam was like taking a journey into the heart and soul of Ethiopian groove, ” Tomas Doncker said in a recent interview with Tadias Magazine. Bill Laswell was the producer of Gigi’s 2001 album, which propelled the vocalist to worldwide acclaim. Selam Woldermariam, also known as Selamino, was a member of the storied Ibex and Roha bands.
According to Tomas, a theater production about Emperor Haile Selassie and his role during World War II, following the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, gave impetus to his new album. The drama was never staged but he said it inspired him to learn more about the Emperor. “I was asked to score a play called Power of the Trinity by New York Playwright Roland Wolf and in my research I realized that collaborations with this particular group of artists would really capture and enhance the feeling that I was looking for,” Tomas said. “It was the most rewarding artistic experience of my life.”
Tomas said he fell in love with Selam Woldermariam’s work long before he met the guitarist, whom he said he discovered through one of the earliest editions of the Ethiopiques series – number seven – which spotlighted the award-winning singer Mahmoud Ahmed and the historical band Ibex.
“Tomas Doncker had this CD and was searching for musicians that played with Ibex in those days,” Selam told Tadias. “A common friend knew where I resided and told Tomas about it, that’s how we connected.”
The name of the album, Power of the Trinity, is the English translation of Emperor Haile Selassie’s name. The CD cover shows a globe embedded with a giant map of Africa filled with a photo collage of the late emperor. Tomas Doncker’s own name is written using a combination of English and Geez alphabets. “Graphic Designer Michael Luciano and I worked very closely on this,” Tomas said. “We wanted to highlight Ethiopia as being one of the most important places in world history, perhaps even the cradle of civilization. You can’t do that without making H.I.M. a focal point.”
Selam, who majored in History at Addis Ababa University and is currently researching “the music history of the Horn of Africa,” says the collaborative project is more than a nod to the former king. “As we all know Ethiopian music is now a fashion throughout the world,” he said. “It is not surprising to see bands whose members are mainly western musicians playing Ethiopian music repertory of the 60s and 70s.” He adds: “This phenomenon was partly the result of the distribution of Ethiopiques CD series, produced by a good friend, Francis Falceto. And, fortunately, I was part of the group known as ‘Ibex’ that performed during the early 70s at Ras Hotel. It included the renowned performer Mahmoud Ahmed and we recorded his Ere Mela Mela on LP which later became Ethiopiques number 7 in 1989.”
For Tomas, it is also about crossing cultural boundaries. “I grew up in Brooklyn NY, in Crown Heights” he said. “I attended St. Ann’s school from 1st grade until the 12th grade. Crown Heights at that time was a very dangerous neighborhood. Lots of gangs and violence, but we still managed to maintain a sense of community, at least among the families on my block. Receiving a scholarship to attend St. Ann’s made it possible for me to meet people and learn about other cultures. It changed my life and helped to mold me into the artist that I am today.”
Tomas Doncker and Selam Woldemariam at the Blue Note in NYC on April 12, 2010. (Photo courtesy of Selam Woldemariam)
Regarding his new album Tomas said: “It is what I like to call a global soul meditation about Ethiopia and how I feel that we are all connected.”
Selam, who also served as a Production Consultant, worked on the Amharic translations for most of the compositions on the album. He described the genre of the new CD saying: “It is mainly a fusion work of Tomas’ compositions with Ethiopian rhythm and sounds. He uses the slow and fast Chik-chika rhythms on most of his compositions. This rhythm is extensively used in most Ethiopian music. Moreover, most horn sections on some of the tunes resemble the unique sound of Ibex Band from the Ethiopiques number seven volume. Therefore, I think we can safely label the new album as ‘global soul,’ a fusion of western R&B and African and Ethiopian music.”
Selam adds: “I would like to thank Tomas for dedicating his song, Seven Sons, in memory of Ibex.”
— Thomas Doncker’s “Power of the Trinity” is now available for purchase on I tunes. You can learn more about the artist at www.tomasdoncker.net.
Watch: Tomas Doncker introduces guitar hero Selam Woldemariam at the Blue Note in NYC
Watch: Inside Tomas Doncker’s “Power of The Trinity Project”
Addis Ababa’s Red Light District: Q & A With Photographer Michael Tsegaye
New York (TADIAS) – Addis Ababa does not have a Red Light District per se, but the Sebategna area in Merkato comes close to it. Photographer Michael Tsegaye’s intimate portraits of prostitues from this neighborhood, entitled Working girls II, is currently showing at a highly-regarded international exhibition in Paris dedicated to non-Western photography. He is one of 46 contemporary photographers from 29 countries whose work is on display through November 11th, 2011 at the 3rd edition of the Photoquai Biennale exhibition of world images organized by the musée du Quai Branly.
“I wanted to share what I saw, but ultimately everyone will have their own response to it,” Michael Tsegaye, who was born and raised in Addis Ababa, said in a recent interview with Tadias Magazine. “A lot of the women, as well as the customers, come from many different parts of the country, since it’s close to the central bus stop. This creates an interesting social dynamic.”
And how did he gain the women’s confidence for such a close-up look at their lives? “I spent about two weeks with them, spending the day in the room where they live,” he said. “The first three days were very quiet, until they got used to me. We spent a lot of time talking, eating meals together, drinking tea and coffee.”
Below is our Q & A with photographer Michael Tsegaye:
Michael Tsegaye: I had taken photographs of prostitutes in Sodo a long time ago, but then wanted to continue the project. I decided to try it in Addis Ababa since it is a very sensitive issue.
TADIAS: What do you want people to take away from these images?
MT: Whatever they’d like. I wanted to share what I saw, but ultimately, everyone will have their own response to it.
TADIAS: You say on your website that as a photographer you don’t want to be “pigeonholed.” What do you mean by that?
MT: It’s common for people in the art world to first define you as an Ethiopian or an African artist, as opposed to just an artist. Once you are labeled in that way, you are then easily exotified. You are not given equal stature with other international artists – -the Europeans, Americans etc. Your work is not judged on its artistic merit, or the idea it represents, but rather which continent it comes from.
TADIAS: How did you get into photography?
MT: It was by accident. I used go to the Geothe Cultural Center to use the library, and one day I came across a photography workshop that was being led by a German photographer called Ralf Becker. I sat in on the class, and he thought I was a student. Later, I walked up to him to ask questions and we started a conversation. He asked me to join the class, and I did. We are still good friends to this day. He bought me my first camera, a Minolta analog.
TADIAS: What is good photography?
MT: There is a quote by a Frenchman called Jacques Leenhardt. It says: “Photography is best when it emulates poetry”, portraying “… not only the complex and problematic reality of the outside world, but also the way a person’s eye has seen it. It shows a person’s self-expression, a person becoming the poet we all have within us…” I think this is a very true statement.
TADIAS: Do you have a favorite photographer?
MT: I dont have a favorite photographer, but I have favorite painters, like Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Repin. I like Vermeer and Rembrandt because they make good use of light, while Repin’s composition is a great example of Russian painting.
TADIAS: We understand that you too started out studying painting but later developed an allergy to oil paint? Can you tell us more about that and how it has impacted your artistic expression?
MT: Over time, the hours I had spent in the studio breathing in fumes from the oil paints made me very sick, which forced me to give up painting. I then switched to photography as my main medium of expression. In terms of its effect on my overall artistic expression, as a whole, painting and photography are very different disciplines. With painting, I spent a lot of time in the studio. But photography forces you to interact with people, to explore the country and what is around you. From painting, I learned how to use light and composition in my photographs, so it has made learning photography much easier for me. I try to photograph with a painter’s eye.
TADIAS: Regarding the photos in your latest exhibition, is there a reason why you selected the Sebategna area in Merkato?
MT: Yes. Sebategna is an area heavily populated with commercial sex workers. Since there are so many, over time the area has formed its own subculture. In Sebategna, you will find a diverse range of prostitutes: from the very inexpensive, to the more costly. They are also diverse in age as well. A lot of the women, as well as the customers, come from many different parts of the country, since it’s close to the central bus stop. This creates an interesting social dynamic.
TADIAS: How did you gain the girls’ confidence?
MT: I spent about two weeks with them, spending the day in the room where they live. The first three days were very quiet, until they got used to me. We spent a lot of time talking, eating meals together, drinking tea and coffee.
TADIAS: Any parting words?
MT: I’d just like to thank Tadias Magazine and urge the Tadias audience to continue supporting Ethiopian arts.
TADIAS: Thank you and wishing you continued success.
Unforgettable performance by the Debo/Fendika collective on Thursday, August 11th in New York at the 41st annual Lincoln center summer music festival — one of the longest-running, free, outdoor festivals in the United States. (Photo by Tsedey Aragie)
Tadias Magazine
By Tigist Selam
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
New York (Tadias) – The following is our video coverage of the 2011 Lincoln Center Out of Doors concert at the Damrosch Park Bandshell in New York, which also featured Debo band and special guest Fendika. We had the opportunity to interview the band members, as well as the Director of Public Programming for Lincoln Center. The event was attended by thousands of people. It was described by The New York Times as “generous, warm, high-spirited real entertainment for a big audience. It was a delight to watch them.” The Debo/Fendika collective became only the second Ethiopian music ensemble to perform at the Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors event, following in the footsteps of Ethiopia’s leading musicians Mahmoud Ahmed, Alemayehu Eshete, and legendary saxophonist Getachew Mekuria, who made a historic appearance here in 2008.
Debo band was joined by the Ethiopian traditional dance and music troupe, Fendika in New York on Thursday, August 11th for an outdoors performance at the Lincoln Center. (Photo by Tadias Magazine)
Tadias Magazine
By Tigist Selam
Updated: Sunday, August 14, 2011
New York (Tadias) – Debo band and special guest Fendika staged a memorable concert on Thursday, August 11th, in New York at the 41st annual Lincoln center summer music festival — one of the longest-running, free, outdoor festivals in the United States.
The Debo/Fendika collective became only the second Ethiopian music ensemble to perform at the Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors event, following in the footsteps of Ethiopia’s leading musicians Mahmoud Ahmed, Alemayehu Eshete, and legendary saxophonist Getachew Mekuria, who made a historic appearance here in 2008.
“There were an estimated 4,500 people in attendance,” Marian Skokan, the event’s Senior Publicity Manager, told Tadias Magazine.
As The New York Timesput it: “At the end of a day of perfect New York summer weather on Thursday, the mood established by the Lincoln Center Out of Doors two-part event of dance and live music at the Damrosch Park Bandshell was just right: generous, warm, high-spirited real entertainment for a big audience.”
Tadias crew was there and we had the opportunity to interview the band members, as well as the Director of Public Programming for Lincoln Center.
Debo band will be joined by the Ethiopian traditional dance and music troupe, Fendika, on Friday August 5 in Los Angeles, on Saturday August 6th in Oakland, on Monday August 8th in D.C. and on Thursday August 11 in New York. (Photo courtesy of Debo band)
Tadias Magazine
By Tigist Selam
Updated: Tuesday, August 2, 2011
New York (Tadias) – Debo band and Fendika dance group will perform near Los Angeles’s Little Ethiopia at Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts at MacArthur Park on Friday August 6.
The group is also expected to make its first appearance in Northern California this coming weekend when they perform live at the “Historic Sweets Ballroom” in Oakland. The Oakland event is being hosted by the Ethiopian Arts Forum of the Bay Area and will take place on Saturday, August 6th.
In the East Coast, “Ethiopian funk invades Washington as Debo welcomes Lounge Lizards to the Kennedy Center’s Atrium on the roof terrace level for an extraordinary happy hour,” reports The Washington Examiner. The D.C. concert is slated for August 8th.
The band will then head to New York for an outdoors performance at the Lincoln Center – Damrosch Park, scheduled for Thursday, August 11th.
Debo, the Boston-based Ethio-groove ensemble, and Fendika, the Addis Ababa-based cultural dance group, have been collaborating on joint international shows since 2009. “U.S. audiences went crazy for the traditional dancing of [Fendika],” said Debo’s band leader Danny Mekonnen in an interview with Tadias Magazine in regards to the group’s recent tour. “I think seeing the dance of a culture immediately creates a greater appreciation and understanding of the music.”
Watch: Debo Band Tour 2011 from Ashley Hodson on Vimeo
Debo is an Ethiopian American band. And its unique instrumentation – including horns, strings and accordion – was inspired by the Golden Age of Ethiopian music in the late 1960s and early 70s, but its accomplished musicians are giving new voice to that sound.
The Ethiopian traditional dance and music troupe, Fendika, includes amazing young Azmari artists led by one of Ethiopia’s leading dancers Melaku Belay. Belay, who is one of the most active arts advocates in the Addis Ababa scene today, is an innovative and virtuoso interpreter of Eskista. Belay performed at the Lincoln outdoors concert in 2008 with legendary saxophonist Gétatchèw Mèkurya and The Ex band.
Regarding the collective’s upcoming NYC show – which will be held at the same venue where the historic concert featuring Mahmoud Ahmed, Alemayehu Eshete, and Getachew Mekuria took place three years ago – Danny said he is eagerly anticipating his New York gig.
“I can’t tell you how I excited I am to present Debo Band with special guests Fendika at Lincoln Center Out of Doors!”, he said. “I was at the historic concert in 2008 with Getachew Mekuria, Mahmoud Ahmed, and Alemayehu Eshete.”
Danny adds: “I loved the collaborations with saxophonist and The Ex and vocalists and The Either/Orchestra. I think that audiences will remember Melaku as the dancer with Getachew and the Ex. I’m honored that my band is the next group to present Ethiopian music to Lincoln Center audiences. Also, I’m thrilled to have Melaku as the project’s co-leader. He is a visionary Ethiopian artist and his work with Fendika is second to none.”
Los Angeles Friday August 6 at 7PM
Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts – MacArthur Park
230 West 6th Street Los Angeles, CA 90057
Info: FREE – call 213-384-5701
For more details: http://levittla.org/en/calendar.html
Oakland Saturday August 6th at 9PM
Historic Sweets Ballroom
1933 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94612
Door: $20.00
Venue phone: 510-501-3413
More info at: ethiopianartsforum.org
Washington, D.C. Monday August 8th at 6pm
Where: Kennedy Center Atrium, Millennium Stage
Who: Debo Band / Fendika
When: Lounge opens at 5:30 p.m.
Info: Free, 202-467-4600 or kennedy-center.org
New York City Thursday August 11 at 7:00pm
Lincoln Center – Damrosch Park
Lincoln Center’s Plaza
B/N Broadway & Amsterdam Avenues
West 62nd Street to West 65th Street
Visit LCOutofDoors.org for complete schedule
Call 212-875-5766 to request a brochure.
Direction to Lincoln Center – Damrosch Park:
Take No.1 IRT to 66th Street/Lincoln Center Station)
OR the A, B, C, D and No. 1 trains to 59th St/Columbus Circle.
Video: Addis Ababa Bete – Debo Band with Fendika Dancers at Joe’s Pub, NYC, September 2010
Debo & Fendika to Perform at The Lincoln Center Out of Doors – August 11
Above: The Ethiopian traditional dance troupe Fendika, will join Debo band on Thursday August 11 for one of the nation's longest running summer outdoor concerts. (Photo courtesy of Debo Band)
Tadias Magazine
By Tigist Selam
Published: Thursday, July 14, 2011
New York (Tadias) – The Boston-based Ethio-groove ensemble, Debo, and the Addis Ababa-based cultural dance group, Fendika, are set to collaborate on another exciting NYC summer concert. This time, the collective will perform on August 11 at The Lincoln Center Out of Doors, the same venue where the historic concert featuring Mahmoud Ahmed, Alemayehu Eshete, and Getachew Mekuria took place in 2008.
Debo is an Ethiopian American band led by Danny Mekonnen. The band’s unique instrumentation – including horns, strings and accordion – was inspired by the Golden Age of Ethiopian music in the late 1960s and early 70s, but its accomplished musicians are giving new voice to that sound.
The Ethiopian traditional dance and music troupe, Fendika, includes amazing young Azmari artists led by one of Ethiopia’s leading dancers Melaku Belay. Belay, who is one of the most active artists and arts advocates on the Addis Ababa scene today, is an innovative and virtuoso interpreter of Eskista. Belay performed at the Lincoln outdoors concert in 2008 with legendary saxophonist Gétatchèw Mèkurya and The Ex band.
Below is our recent interview with Debo’s band leader Danny Mekonnen, standing front-right in the above photograph.
Tadias: The last time your band was in town, we danced all night. The lead singer makes it very easy.
Danny Mekonnen: Bruck is charismatic and humble, but he’s also a very serious musician! I definitely think having him as a front man makes it easy for audiences to get into our music, even if they don’t understand what he’s singing about. One of the things that inspires me is knowing that what we do is unique — there’s not a group anywhere in the world quite like us. Playing a diverse musical set is important to us because we love music from across the country and throughout Ethiopia’s musical history. To only play music from the 1970s would miss out on great contemporary artists like Gossaye and Tsehaye Yohaness; we’ve played and studied several arrangements by Abegaz Shiota, as well. And to play only Amharic music with a chic-chic-ca beat, would miss out get Tigrigna and Oromo music, too. Ethiopia has a reach musical landscape and we try hard to honor that.
Tadias: How was Fendika received by U.S. audiences?
DM: U.S. audiences went crazy for the traditional dancing of Melaku Belay and his partner Zinash Tsegaye. I think seeing the dance of a culture immediately creates a greater appreciation and understanding of the music. And Melaku and Zinash are the best at what they do! We started working with Fendika (Melaku’s group) in May 2009 on our first tour in Ethiopia. It helped that Debo Band’s members hung out at Melaku’s azmari bet – also called Fendika – every night that we weren’t playing! So the friendship and bond grew in a very organic way.
Tadias: How excited are you about your upcoming appearance in New York this summer?
DM: I can’t tell you how I excited I am to present Debo Band with special guests Fendika at Lincoln Center Out of Doors! I was at the historic concert in 2008 with Getachew Mekuria, Mahmoud Ahmed, and Alemayehu Eshete. I loved the collaborations with saxophonist and The Ex and vocalists and The Either/Orchestra. I think that audiences will remember Melaku as the dancer with Getachew and the Ex. I’m honored that my band is the next group to present Ethiopian music to Lincoln Center audiences. Also, I’m thrilled to have Melaku as the project’s co-leader. He is a visionary Ethiopian artist and his work with Fendika is second to none.
Tadias: Any plans to come out with a CD?
DM: I hope to do more touring with Debo — this summer we are going to California for the first time. And hopefully we’ll do our first European tour in 2012. Yes, we are planning to release a CD next year. I’m really excited about all that we have going on right now.
Tadias: On a personal note, we also hear that you recently became a father. Congratulations!
DM: Thanks so much. My daughter is a year and a half now. I’m not sure I have quite learned to balance work and family! It’s always a struggle, but it helps to have a wife who’s supportive of my band. It also helps that she’s an artist and business owner herself!
Tadias: What kind of music do you listen to at home?
DM: I listen to all kinds of music. Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Fleet Foxes, a great indie-folk band. But I go through phases where I listen to nothing but hip hop or experimental or Ethiopian music. My inspiration comes from all over including from my friends who are great musicians.
Tadias: Is there anything that you would like to add?
DM: I just want to add that this summer’s tour with Fendika wouldn’t be possible without the support of Lincoln Center. New York is lucky to be home to one of the largest and most artist-friendly performing artists institutions in the world. Our heartfelt thanks go out to Bill Bragin, Director of Public Programming at Lincoln Center, who is a big fan and supporter of both Debo and Melaku.
Tadias: Thank you Danny and good luck.
—-
If You Go: All events are free and take place on Lincoln Center’s Plaza between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenues, from West 62nd Street to West 65th Street (except where noted). Debo will perform on August 11th. Take No.1 IRT to 66th Street/Lincoln Center Station) OR the A, B, C, D and No. 1 trains to 59th St/Columbus Circle. Visit LCOutofDoors.org for complete schedule or call 212-875-5766 to request a brochure.
Photos courtesy of Debo band.
Video: Addis Ababa Bete – Debo Band with Fendika Dancers at Joe’s Pub, NYC, September 2010
Above:Model Hana wearing a scarf by Rahel Takle Peirce of
Ramech-Art. (Photo: Marlene Burger's Gallery, 02/05/2011)
Tadias Magazine
Art Talk
By Alan Bunce
Updated: Thursday, June 23, 2011
Berkshire, UK (Tadias) – The untrained eye may not at first spot the significance of the designs of artist Rahel Takle-Peirce, whose elaborate and colorful pattern creations are used for silk scarves, shawls, sarongs and a variety of other products.
Rahel, born in Addis Ababa in 1951, tells the story of her country of origin, not through writings or poems, but through designs of abstract art.
Every one of her 250 designs has its origins in Rahel’s personal reaction to the traumatic events of the 1970′s in Ethiopia, the dispersion of people from their original homeland and the re-direction of a life that should have been very different. Through the medium of design, she also relays the subsequent joy of her marriage and birth of her two sons.
Rahel’s family who were owners of a coffee plantation, sent their daughter to college in Minnesota which was ended abruptly when they were forced to flee the country and lost everything in the revolution of the 1970s.
They arrived in London in 1976 and Rahel has now lived in England for over 30 years.
She married a scientist and had two sons but still finds the trauma of her past difficult to dwell over.
Her escape is to become a conduit for those thoughts, allowing them to pass through her and onto the canvas, translating them into vibrant designs. Take any one of the images from her portfolio of 250 at her studio Ramech-Art, and Rahel can tell you its origins and how its colours are her way of expressing her emotions, built up over 30, sometimes challenging and sometimes joyful, years.
“I can see the colours of emotions,” she said. “The creative mind has to take over. My artwork has helped to heal me.”
Rahel, who has worked in psychiatry in the UK, first used her art as a way to relax. Now she takes that concept a stage further, listening in strict confidence to the troubles of others to inspire an abstract painting for that person which represents their emotions and internal conflicts and that can help them learn about themselves for many months afterwards.
Her subjects are asked to talk of their thoughts of the ‘now’, while Rahel translates their words into a painting. She says it helps them understand their feelings better.
The basic colour, orange, is the colour of warmth and well being. This represents contentment. The
sun’s connection through the body. In Rahel’s case it was the happiness she felt to be alive with her
young children. (Photograph courtesy of Ramech-Art – Healing art design by Rahel Takle-Peirce)
Appendage: In memory of ‘tied legs’, the realities of those left behind. (Design by Rahel Takle-Peirce)
The basic colors green & blue are colors of growth and peace. In this case, it represents gratitude for
the harmony and abundance in Rahel’s life and the love she experiences through her family. (RTP)
People who feel they are at a crossroads often find it therapeutic, but Rahel describes what she does as a gift rather than something she has to try hard at.
She said: “It’s just like breathing to me. If I can do it for one person, I can do it for anybody.”
But for her it is not a case of pondering the troubles of her subjects, simply interpreting them.
She said: “People tell you their stories and the colours I see symbolise what they say. But it does not go into my mind. My mind switches off to protect me. The designs are a bit like hieroglyphic messages. My mind will translate what they say. I don’t process it in my mind. I see the person’s voice and not much gets registered in my memory. After people have received their design it sticks in their mind rather than mine. When I am finished I feel better and they feel better. They can use the picture to solve problems they are dealing with.”
However, this can work in reverse. People can come to her when they are happy, have an abstract design painted from their thoughts and use it as a tonic at more sombre moments.
But while her paintings all tell stories, the task for Rahel now is to get that story told to fashion buyers and hotel designers. She needs them to know that the designs she wants to sell them carry powerful tales of real human pain and joy and are not purely abstract.
Buyers at some top hotel brands have heaped praise on her work but the opportunities to meet them face to face are few and far between. The marketing obstacle she faces is to convince them she is not just another artist looking to make a living but someone with a remarkable background which took her from wealth to running for her life and then onto joy and happiness.
— Rahel’s designs can be printed on textile, paper, any other household items, or on any object. Some printed products are available for purchase directly through her website. You can learn more about Rahel Takle-Peirce and buy her work at www.ramech.com.
Video:The following video is courtesy of Ramech-Art – Rahel’s designs.
Watch:
Interview: Yemane Demissie Talks About His Latest Film on Haile Selassie
Above: Episodes in the Life & Times of Emperor Haile Selassie
was screened at the Schomburg on Thursday, May 26, 2011.
Tadias Magazine
Events News
Updated: Friday, May 27, 2011
New York (Tadias) – The 8th Annual Sheba Film Festival featured the New York premiere of Yemane Demissie’s film Twilight Revelations: Episodes in the Life & Times of Emperor Haile Selassie. The screening took place at the Schomburg Center on Thursday, May 26th.
The documentary, which features rare archival footage coupled with exclusive interviews and firsthand accounts, takes a fresh look at the mixed legacy of one of the most controversial African monarchs in modern history. Emperor Haile Selassie is widely admired abroad for his memorable appeal at the League of Nations in 1936 during the second Italian invasion of Ethiopia, as well as for his continental leadership role in the 1950′s and 1960′s during the decolonization of most African countries. History also remembers him for his administrative failures at home and for presiding over one of the most archaic land tenure systems in the world. Although credited for his commitment to establishing modern institutions and nurturing a new class of academics and professionals in Ethiopia, he is also criticized for his prolonged neglect of reform voices and the unsustainable poverty of the vast majority of his people – which would eventually bring about the abrupt and unceremonious end to his rule.
Below is our recent interview with Filmmaker Yemane Demissie who is also an Assistant Professor at the Kanbar Institute of Film & Television at NYU.
Tadias: It is clear that you’ve made a conscious effort to tell a balanced story. The film documents the highs and lows of the Emperor’s reign. Why do you think people remain fascinated by Haile Selassie almost four decades after he was deposed by a popular revolt?
YD: Apart from the five-year intermission during the Italo-Ethiopian War, the Emperor was in power from 1916 until 1974. That is long enough to make it possible for two generations of Ethiopians to be born and come of age during his reign. But in addition to the length of his sovereignty, his significant national and international contributions, his personality, and his leadership style contribute to the fascination. In the end, however, charisma is never the sum of the parts.
Tadias: The documentary also touches upon the more human side of the person. We hear from some of his family members about his role as a father, other interviewees discuss his daily routine, such as his regular early morning physical exercise, etc. You also incorporate some fascinating images that capture the Emperor in private moments. What do you most want people to take away from this film?
YD: That nearly six decades of leadership cannot be reduced to a triumph, [such as] the 1963 establishment of the OAU in Addis Ababa, or a fiasco, the 1973 famine. That a lot more research is wanting since there is so much we don’t know about the Emperor and his era. I also need not point out that it’s impossible to convey six decades of leadership in 58 minutes, the length of the documentary. That empathy is crucial if one wants to learn.
Tadias: One of the most dramatic moments in the film comes during the 1960 coup attempt against the emperor while he was traveling abroad. We know that you have dedicated a whole movie exploring this subject. Can you tell us a bit about the coup, its leaders, and why the revolt was a significant historical event?
YD: In December 1960, General Mengistu Neway, the head of the Imperial Bodyguard, his younger brother, Ato Girmame Neway, the intelligence tsar, Colonel Workeneh Gebeyehu, and a circle of their supporters attempted to overthrow the Emperor while he was on a state visit to Brazil. When the coup d’état failed, the leaders executed most of the government officials they had detained — including the acclaimed patriot leader, Ras Abebe Aregay — and fled. Ato Girmame Neway and Colonel Workeneh Gebeyehu died before they were captured and their corpses were hung publicly. General Mengistu Neway was taken captive. He was given a trial in which he expressed himself openly. A copy of the trial transcriptions can be found at the Institute of Ethiopian Studies. At the end of the trial, he was found guilty and condemned to death.
For a number of years before the coup, a not insignificant number of the intelligentsia had began to express its discontent and frustration, albeit it discretely, with and about the imperial administration. These young people believed that the Emperor and his administration were, at best, dithering, or at worst, blocking the political, social, economic and cultural changes that they deemed were essential and overdue.
The coup was a significant event for many reasons. I can think of two at the moment: First, the lack of significant civic bodies or institutions, such as independent press, political parties, professional associations, labor unions, in which differing views and proposals could be discussed openly and seriously and then implemented or rejected, encouraged the belief in force as the only path to change. Second, for many of the educated young men and women who came of age immediately following the coup d’état the leaders of the putsch became champions of change.
Tadias: Even though the film consists of several interviews, we do not see the face of the interviewer, and except on two occasions we don’t hear the interviewers voice either. How would the film be different if the audience had heard the questions? How did most of the interviewed individuals react off-camera to the questions?
YD: I used “chapter headings” before each “episode” to make sure that the topic at hand was not confusing. The only time you heard the interviewer’s, my voice, was when its absence would have caused confusion. Had I included my voice, the chain-like flow of the narratives would have been shattered. Many of the responses were selections from much longer explanations and anecdotes. Part of my job as the editor was to distill and synthesize. This approach is not unusual in documentary filmmaking.
Tadias: In the last scene you actively interject and ask a follow-up question. What spurred this break in style?
YD: I decided to use that section because it was moving and powerful. Since Ato Mamo Haile, the interviewee, asked me a question directly, breaking the fourth wall, I had to reply. If I had technically muted my response the segment would not have worked. After experiencing a film in which the subjects addressed an invisible person off camera for about 56 minutes, the shift, with Ato Mamo addressing the camera directly, becomes noticeable and affective. By breaking the fourth wall, Ato Mamo poses a question not only to me but to the viewer. That was why I switched styles.
Tadias: Were there any rules you set for yourself about what you would or wouldn’t discuss on camera?
YD: I wouldn’t say rule but approach. There is vast amount of literature about the Emperor and his era written primarily by journalists or scholars who specialize in that time period. Since that information was readily available, I targeted primary sources or first hand accounts from individuals whose observations were not as readily available.
Tadias: What were some of the biggest challenges in making this film?
YD: One of many [challenges] was constructing a narrative when so many of the key participants were killed by the military junta or have died of old age or poor health without leaving any record of their work or observations.
Tadias: Why did you name the film “Twilight Revelations”?
YD: I hope the answer to that question becomes evident after a viewing of the film.
Tadias: Thank you Yemane and see you on Thursday at the Schomburg Center!
—
If You Go: (This event has passed) The 8th Annual Sheba Film Festival
The New York premiere of “Twilight Revelations” Episodes in the Life & Times of Emperor Haile Selassie
Thursday, May 26th, 2011 7PM (Admission: $12)
The Schomburg Center (515 Malcolm X Boulevard, 135th St)
Director Yemane Demissie will be present for the Q&A session following the screening. Click here to watch the trailer.
Ethiopian Art at Elizabeth Street Fine Arts Gallery in New York
Above:About 15 of the Ethiopian parchments will remain on
display until June 30th 2011 at Milos Simovic's gallery in NYC.
Tadias Magazine
Art Talk
Published: Saturday, May 14, 2011
New York (Tadias) – Elizabeth Street Fine Arts gallery in New York, which specializes in antiquities and tribal art, is offering a rare opportunity to view old talismanic art of Ethiopia, ranging in price from $4,000 to $16,000 each and dating back to the 18th century.
According to the gallery: “Production of talismanic art was wide spread among the entire Ethiopian population. While mostly within Christian tradition, it also drew heavily from Judaism and Islam and was practiced by all. It was wide spread in Egypt in 10th century. Talismanic art had an uneasy relationship with Orthodox Church, and although it is deeply integrated in its life and traditions, it was often considered idolatry, and while not exactly forbidden, (except in cases of invoking demons etc.) it is often frowned upon. So called “Magic Scrolls” are long rolls of parchment, illuminated by talismanic and figurative images and texts, usually in Ge’ez (Ethiopian liturgical language), of protective prayers, invocations of secret names of God, or sometimes demons. They are produced and used for varied purposes, healing, protection from spells, exorcisms etc. Scrolls are referred to as ya’ branna kitab, “written on skin” in Amharic, asmat or “names” in Ge’ez or ta’lsam, “talisman” in Tigrinya. Scrolls are made for a specific individual by dabtara (an unordained “priest” who studied scriptures, singing and poetry, a practitioner of traditional medicine, magician) and are carried and used by that person extensively. They rarely survive trough few generations of use. The oldest known scroll is recently dated to 16th century, while majority of great surviving scrolls date between late 18th to early 20th century, as do the scrolls in this exhibit.”
The New York Times adds: “Shamans in Ethiopia tried for centuries to cure ailments by naming and ranting against the demons at fault on goatskin scrolls. The calligraphy incantations trailed along vellum strips about six feet long, with illustrations of saints stabbing monsters. The owners would roll up and carry around the protective scrolls, which have turned up in archaeological digs wrapped around corpses. If the spells did appear to have healing effects during the owners’ lifetimes, the vellums sometimes ended up on the market. The original patrons’ names would be scraped away, leaving blanks here and there that suggest censored government documents.”
About 15 of the Ethiopian parchments will remain on display until June 30th 2011 at Milos Simovic’s Elizabeth Street Fine Arts gallery in NoLita.
Above:A scene from hisab, short animation based on Addis'
urban life with animation painted on a single surface canvas.
Tadias Magazine
Art Talk
Updated: Friday, April 22, 2011
New York (Tadias) – In the following video entitled Hisab, Ethiopian American artist Ezra Wube takes a humorous poke at the hustle and bustle of Addis Ababa. The short animated video tells an urban folklore by bringing to life the sights and sounds inside the city’s popular blue and white minibus (a cross between a bus and a taxi). The short film’s main characters are four-legged residents – donkeys, dogs and goats.
“The technique I used to make the animation is called stop-action animation,” Ezra tells us. “The entire frames were painted on a single surface canvas. After painting a scene I take still picture and then paint the next frame on top of it. So its pretty much like watching the same painting changing continuously. The paintings physically no longer exist but only the memories.”
Ezra who moved to the United States at the age of 18 was born and raised in Addis Ababa. In 2003 he was awarded the Massachusetts Annual Black Achievement Award, and held his first one-person show at the Dreams of Freedom Museum in Boston, Massachusetts, curated by Emily Sloat Shaw. In 2004, he received his Bachelor’s of Fine Arts from Massachusetts College of Art. Upon graduation, Ezra was awarded a Dondis and Godine Travel Fellowship to conduct research in Ethiopia on folktales and traditional lore. In 2006, he held his second solo show entitled “Story Telling” at the United Nations in New York. The following year, Ezra was part of the “Ethiopian Millennium” art show at Blackburn Gallery, Howard University in Washington, DC. In 2008, Ezra participated in three exhibitions: “Reflections in Exile – Five Contemporary African Artists Respond to Social Injustice” at the South Shore Art Center in Cohasett, “Here to There” at the South Seattle Community College in Seattle, Washington, and “Abyssinia to Harlem and Back” at the Canvas Paper and Stone Gallery in New York.
Ezra received the Pamela Joseph Art Scholarship in 2009 while working on his Master’s of Fine Arts thesis at Hunter College in New York. And most recently, in 2011, Ezra held his first screening at Addis Atlier, “Memory and Process,” in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, curated by Leo Kosm.
Watch:
Stars of Ethiopia Take Center Stage at NYU’s Kimmel Center – Video
Above:NYT Photographer Chester Higgins, Jr. gives Tadias a
tour of his exhibition featuring 13 portraits of Ethiopian faces.
Tadias Magazine
Events News
Published: Tuesday, March 29, 2011
New York (Tadias) – Near New York City’s Washington Square Park, at NYU’s Windows at Kimmel Center, pedestrians and drivers alike are being treated to 13 exquisite photographs from Ethiopia. The images were captured by New York Times Photographer Chester Higgins, Jr. during his 2007-2010 trip to Ethiopia. The outdoor exhibit, entitled “Stars of Ethiopia,” is organized by the Institute of African American Affairs at NYU and features photos measuring 70″ x 80″ that are visible from the sidewalk. With each portrait, Higgins seeks to create a dialogue with the viewer, revealing his subjects’ diverse homeland through their eyes.
In the following video, Mr. Higgins gives Tadias a tour of his exhibition.
New York (Tadias) – This video features upcoming events in March 2011, as well as a highlight of various programs that took place last month, including clips from Aster Aweke’s NYC concert.
Highlight of Upcoming Events
Chester Higgins Jr., Staff Photographer for the New York Times since 1975, will be exhibiting a series of 13 Ethiopian portraits at NYU’s Kimmel Center. The selection of photographs for the outdoor exhibit were taken by Higgins between 2007 and 2010 in Ethiopia, and will be on 24-hour display at Windows at Kimmel Center from March 1st through May 1st, 2011. An opening reception will be held on Friday, March 11th at the 2nd floor lounge of Kimmel Center from 6:30 to 8:30pm.
Ethiopian Students Association International (ESAI) will hold its 11th annual summit at the University of Pennsylvania, from March 18th to March 19th, 2011. Learn more at ESAI.org.
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If you would like to suggest an event for our consideration, please email us at info@tadias.com.
Chester Higgins Jr Photography Exhibit at NYU Kimmel Center
Chester Higgins' portraits of individuals from Ethiopia will be on display from March 1 through May 1st in New York.
Tadias Magazine
By Tseday Alehegn
Published: Thursday, February 3, 2011
New York (Tadias) – Chester Higgins Jr., Staff Photographer for the New York Times since 1975, will be exhibiting a series of 13 Ethiopian portraits at NYU’s Kimmel Center. The selection of photographs for the outdoor exhibit were taken by Higgins between 2007 and 2010 in Ethiopia, and will be on 24-hour display at Windows at Kimmel Center from March 1st through May 1st, 2011.
The exhibit entitled “Stars of Ethiopia: Photographs by Chester Higgins Jr.” features images measuring 70″ x 80″ on the public sidewalk for pedestrians and vehicular traffic to see. At night the images will be backlit, and Higgins says “so for 24 hours a day during these two months the Washington Square public will be treated to a little of Ethiopia in Greenwich Village.”
The official press release notes that Ethiopia “is a land of contrast and heterogeneity. The northeastern African nation is composed of more than 80 ethnic groups speaking over 80 languages, with cultural practices and traditions dating more than 3,000 years. With each portrait, Higgins seeks to create a dialogue with the viewer, revealing his subjects’ diverse homeland through their eyes.”
Higgins’ work has been printed in several publications including The New York Times, Life, Newsweek, Fortune, Essence, The Village Voice, and The New Yorker magazine. His photography is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. For Higgins, taking pictures has grown “into a life-long mission to show the decency, dignity, and virtuous character of people of African descent.” He has also published books on themes such as the nobility of aging, the experience of Black American women in the seventies, trans-Atlantic communities in the African Diaspora, and an autobiographical journey entitled “Echo of the Spirit,” which recounts his life as a photographer and an artist. Higgins cites Romare Bearden, Cornell Capa, Gordon Parks, P.H. Polk, and Arthur Rothstein as individuals whom he considers to be his mentors.
Higgins’ photographs invoke the power of the collective voice, and he recounts his three decades of traveling across South America, the Caribbean, and the African continent to document the culture, history and daily life of Africans in the Diaspora. “I made more trips in search of the missing pieces to fill in the harmony and add rhythm to make my symphony,” he says. “It came together as my fourth book: Feeling the Spirit: Searching the World for the People of Africa.”
Photographer Chester Higgins Jr. Courtesy Photo.
Solo exhibitions of Higgins’ award-winning work have been displayed at the The Smithsonian Institution, the International Center of Photography, Musée Dapper Paris, The Museum of African Art, The Museum of Photographic Arts, The New-York Historical Society, and The Schomburg Center in Harlem. Emphasizing the presence of a visual language Higgins states that “a camera can’t compose a picture. Only your eye can. Seeing and recording with a camera is a special process that has its own language — a visual language…It takes practice to learn a language. A visual language takes just as much time and commitment. When you become fluent in it, you will be ready to handle the split second decisions necessary to make exceptional photographs.”
An opening reception for the Stars of Ethiopia exhibit will be held on Friday, March 11th at the 2nd floor lounge of Kimmel Center from 6:30 to 8:30pm.
The exhibition is curated by Lydie Diakhaté, Adjunct Curator at Grey Art Gallery, and coordinated in collaboration with the Institute of African American Affairs at NYU.
If You Go:
March 1st through May 1st NYU Kimmel Center
60 Washington Square S
New York, 10012
Above:Award-winning artist Mekbib Gebertsadik speaks with
Washington Post reporter Annie Gowen, re: his new life here.
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Posted: Tuesday, December 28, 2010
New York (Tadias) – The Washington Post’s American Mosaic — an online weekly live Q&A program where reporters talk to local immigrants about their experience in the United States — highlighted Ethiopian artist Mekbib Gebertsadik this past month.
The live video features a discussion with the Arlington, Virginia-based artist regarding his art works, his struggles to re-establish himself as an artist in America and his overall experience as an immigrant.
“Mekbib Gebertsadik is an award-winning artist who immigrated to the U.S. on a diversity visa in 2001 from Ethiopia. He achieved wide-ranging success — living full-time off his art with his own studio — while in his home country, but has had trouble replicating his success here. He now works nights at FedEx,” the show’s introduction notes.
“Mekbib Gebertsadik has created art his entire life. Upon completing his higher education, Mekbib worked as a full-time studio artist, winning an international competition in 2000 in the Netherlands. He moved to the U.S. from Ethiopia with his wife in 2001.”
Above:The Addis Foto Fest is taking place at various venues
throughout Addis Ababa — from Dec. 7th to Dec. 11th, 2010.
Tadias Magazine
Events News
Updated: Wednesday, December 8, 2010
New York (Tadias) – The inaugural Addis Ababa international photography festival, Addis Foto Fest, is underway in Ethiopia this week, and showcases a diverse array of work from local and international photographers and artists using various mediums. The week-long calendar of events includes several exhibitions, film screenings, academic discourses and other workshops.
Directed & curated by Aida Muluneh – winner of the 2010 CRAF’s International Award of Photography - the installations include exhibitions highlighting images by established and emerging international photographers, while bringing to the foreront contemporary talents from the African continent. Participants include Chester Higgins Jr, Antonio Fiorente, Zacharias Abubeker, Rosa Verhoeve, Jean-Baptiste Eczet, Ralf Baecker, Endalkatchew Tesfa Gebreselassie and Petterick Wiggers.
In their press release organizers stated: “The first edition of Addis Foto Fest brings together photographers from Africa and the Diaspora, in order to foster a dialogue through various exhibitions, concerts, panel discussions, residency programs, portfolio reviews, film screenings, slideshow presentations & much more.” According to the group’s web site: “A special tribute will be given to legendary photographer Shemelis Desta, who will come from London for the opening of the show with the support of the British Council.” The former court photographer is credited for his historical treasure-trove capturing official state activity in Ethiopia between 1963 and 1982. Other highlights include screenings of “Mo and Me”, a documentary directed by Salim Amin, “Arrested Development”, a 3 minute video made in 2003 by British artist Grace Ndiritu, “Invisible Borders”, a collective project presented by Emeka Okereke, as well as slideshows entitled “On the Roof” and “The Brooklyn Photo Salon” presented by OTR Project and Regine Romain respectively.
The events take place at various venues throughout Addis Ababa from December 7th to December 11th. The festival is sponsored, among others, by the African Union & the Delegation of the European Union to the African Union, Prince Claus Fund, AECID, Goethe-Institut, British Council, Alliance éthio-française, CulturesFrance, Heinrich Böll Foundation, the Embassy of Canada and the Addis Ababa University.
Above:New work by Tesfaye Tessema. (Symphony in Colors
I, 2010, acrylic on canvas, 42×30 inches) – Skoto Gallery, NY.
Tadias Magazine
Events News
Source: Skoto Gallery
Updated: Thursday, December 9, 2010
New York – Skoto Gallery is pleased to present Symphony in Colors, an exhibition of recent paintings by the Ethiopian-born artist Tesfaye Tessema. This will be his third solo show at the gallery. Reception is on Thursday, December 9th, 6-8pm, the artist will be present.
Tesfaye Tessema’s recent paintings exploits strategies that combine the physicality of paint, whether thin or thick, with an awareness of the role abstraction play as a means of expressing universal human emotions. He employs expressive gestures, deep sensitivity to texture and a mastery of tonality and color that gives his pictures a kind of interior glow where sight, memory and emotion fuse into a texture of vibrations and pulsations that allows the viewer a freedom of imagination, interpretation and emotional response. The question of where the inside and outside worlds meet, the ambiguity of space and surface tension are formally resolved in his pictures by an emphasis on concept and process over end-product while maintaining rigorous affirmative critical propositions about discrete cultural and historical realities.
In Tesfaye Tessema’s pictures, the filter of personal experience of doing, of painting and making art, away from his Ethiopian homeland for over three decades is not just essential to the substance of his creative process, but also bears witness to his ability to embrace a continuum of cultural precedents and influences, creativity with an open-ended improvisational sensibility and an awareness of the crucial links between culture, politics and social agency. The selection in this exhibition evokes the expansive possibilities of life and art in a world of changing realities and ceaseless change, and for an artist who has found a way to look forward, to engage the future and to challenge the present Tesfaye Tessema’s work is a testament to the ability of art to express big ideas about humanity.
Symphony in Colors I, 2010, acrylic on canvas, 42x30 inches
Tesfaye Tessema was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where he studied at the School of Fine Arts before leaving for the United States in the early 1970s. He obtained an MFA in Fine Art at Howard University, Washington DC, where he was exposed to the richness and diversity of the art of Africa, especially the classical art of West Africa where myth, metaphors and legend abound. His extensive travels in the Middle East, Europe, Africa and Mexico over the years have further broadened his perspectives on the commonality in socio-religious forms among various cultures. He has been included in numerous international survey including “Project Rolywholyobei – Circus from the Museum by John Cage”, 1994, Guggeinheim Museum, New York and Radford University Art Museum, Radford, Va, 2008. His work is in several public and private collections.
If You Go:
Symphony in Colors
Tesfaye Tessema, Recent Paintings
December 9th, 2010 – January 22nd, 2011
SKOTO GALLERY 529 West 20th Street, 5FL.
New York, NY 10011 212-352 8058
info@skotogallery.com www.skotogallery.com
NYC Screening of “Left Unsaid” Featuring Tigist Selam
Above:Tigist Selam and Damon Dash at the New York public
screening of the film Left Unsaid. (Photo by Stephen Knight)
Tadias Magazine
Events News
Published: Friday, November 26, 2010
New York (Tadias) – The first public screening of the film Left Unsaid — whose characters utilize Facebook as the networking tool to explore hot-button social issues — took place at the Dash Gallery in Tribeca last week.
Written and directed by Nelson George, Executive Producer of “Good Hair,” Left Unsaid starts with a woman who uses Facebook to invite a group of online friends from her new neighborhood in Brooklyn to her apartment for Sunday brunch. The conversation that unfolds among this multi-cultural group highlights issues of online relationships, parenting, professional ambitions, marriage, sex, race, gentrification and comical relief by way of urban legends. The Huffington Post notes: “As for the roster of talented actresses who grease his web series script, they came into the project after George quaintly bumped into many of them in the neighborhood.”
The film features, among others, writer and actress Tigist Selam, host of Tadias TV, who plays an Ethiopian-German character named “Bethlehem” – a role that reflects the actress’ own cultural background as half-Ethiopian and half-German. “I met Nelson George at his book signing for his new book ‘City Kid’ last year, I had just moved from Los Angeles back to New York,” Tigist says. “It turned out we lived across the street from each other.” According to the actress, this chance encounter led to her role in the movie. “We started talking about our passion for film and travel, and he told me about the idea of Left Unsaid. I immediately was interested in participating and he started to write for my character ‘Bethlehem,’ which is vaguely based on my Ethiopian and German experience. Initially it was a really small project that somehow organically grew into something much bigger. We just went with the flow and saw it beautifully unfold during the summer. I have learned so much and look forward to many more years of collaboration with Nelson.”
The event at Dash Studios on November 15th was hosted by the venue’s owner, hip-hop and media mogul Damon Dash. The evening attracted an eclectic group of guests. “Some of the attendees were my friends for many, many years and it was so beautiful to have shared that experience with them,” Tigist said. “We hope to have a screening of Left Unsaid in Washington D.C. and Los Angeles next year.’
The online series, which garnered good review at the American Black Film Festival in Miami this past summer, is now live on the web at http://www.Leftunsaidseries.com. Tigist Selam is featured in chapters 3, 4, 8, 14 & 18.
Above:Tadias TV spoke with Fendika’s group leader Melaku
Belay (left) & Debo band’s founder Danny Mekonnen (right).
Tadias TV
Events News – Video
Published: Monday, September 20, 2010
New York (Tadias) – The Boston-based Debo band and the Fendika traditional dance troupe from Addis Ababa performed to a sold-out audience in New York.
The American and Ethiopian musicians, who made their first joint international appearance at the 7th Sauti za Busara music festival in Zanzibar earlier this year, launched their U.S. tour on Friday, September 17, 2010.
The fifteen piece cross-cultural jazz collective is scheduled to make upcoming stops at select American cities, including Philadelphia, Boston, Richmond (VA), Chicago, and Milwaukee with expected highlight concert at the Chicago World Music Festival.
Tadias TV caught up with Debo band’s founder and Harvard graduate student Danny Mekonnen as well as Fendika’s group leader Melaku Belay at Joe’s Pub in Manhattan.
Watch: Backstage With Danny Mekonnen and Melaku Belay
Hillary Clinton Greets Winners of 2010 Democracy Video Challenge
Above:Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, center, and
Under Secretary of State Judith McHale, far right, pose with the
six filmmakers who won the 2010 Democracy Video Challenge.
Tadias Magazine
Events News
Updated: Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Washington — The winners of the 2010 Democracy Video Challenge – including the grand finalist from sub-Saharan Africa Yared Shumete of Ethiopia – were greeted by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at a September 10 awards ceremony at the State Department.
The artists were officially acknowledged for the short videos they created about the nature and exercise of democracy. According to America.gov, “Each winner was awarded an all-expenses-paid trip to Los Angeles, New York and Washington and met with members of civic and film organizations in all three cities.”
“The prompt for the Democracy Video Challenge ‘is open-ended,’ Clinton said. As she noted, the winner from Nepal had observed that ‘democracy can exist in all countries and it doesn’t have a fixed shape or size.’ However, ‘the fundamental tenets are non-negotiable,’ said Clinton. ‘The videos we are honoring capture essential truths about democracy across the world: democracy is about fair play, and [it] is a learning process.’”
“In a speech I gave at the Council on Foreign Relations earlier this week, I said democracy needs defending,” Clinton added. “Well, I think we have a good cross section of defenders here. One of our winners, whose beautiful video was inspired by the Green Movement in Iran, said: ‘If I believe I want democracy, I should fight for it. And this is my way of fighting.’ It gives me great hope to see what young people are saying.”
“Here at the State Department, we often talk about the need to use 21st-century diplomacy to solve 21st-century problems,” said Clinton. “This is the heart of that 21st-century diplomacy — connecting directly to people, particularly young people, around the world.”
Moreover, she said, “we are about to kick off the third annual Democracy Video Challenge at the United Nations next week, so I am very eager to see what ideas this [program] continues to generate.”
Participants were challenged to conceptualize and depict in a short video their interpretations of democracy by completing the phrase “Democracy is…” More than 700 filmmakers in 83 countries submitted their videos via YouTube and the winners were selected by an online public vote that closed on June 15.
Yared Shumete of Ethiopia Yared with Hillary Clinton
Yared’s film depicts a childhood game, familiar to many Ethiopians, in which two boys take turns throwing rocks. If the first boy’s rock is hit by the rock of the second boy, the second is entitled to ride on the back of the first boy, who has to run all the way to where the rocks landed. They throw their rocks again, and switch places whenever one boy’s rock hits the rock of the other. In less than three minutes, Yared’s video illustrates the democratic principle of fair play, according to well-understood rules.
–
Cover Image:From left to right, Juan Pablo Patiño Arévalo of Colombia, Yared Shumete of Ethiopia, Adhyatmilka of Indonesia, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Farbod Khoshtinat of Iran, Anup Poudel of Nepal, Joel Marsden of Spain and Under Secretary of State Judith McHale. (America.gov)
Watch video: Democracy is fair play (Yared Shumete, Ethiopia)
LA Premiere Of Teza To Honor The Late UCLA Professor Teshome Gabriel
Above:The late Dr. Teshome H. Gabriel, a long-time Professor
at UCLA and an authority on third world & post-colonial cinema.
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Friday, September 10, 2010
New York (Tadias) – Haile Gerima’s critically acclaimed movie Teza, to be premiered in Los Angeles on Monday, September 13th, will also honor the late Teshome H. Gabriel, a long serving Professor at UCLA and a leading international figure on third world and post-colonial cinema. Dr. Teshome died suddenly from cardiac arrest on June 15, 2010. He was 70 years old.
Dr. Teshome was born in Ethiopia in 1939 and moved to the States in 1962. He began his academic career at UCLA in the early seventies. According to the university’s Newsroom: “A pioneering scholar and activist, Gabriel had taught cinema and media studies at TFT since 1974 and was closely associated with UCLA’s African Studies Center.”
“He was a brilliant, gracious, elegant and generous man,” said Teri Schwartz, Dean of UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television. “Teshome was a consummate professional and a truly beloved faculty member at TFT…he will be greatly missed by all of us.”
Dr. Teshome earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Utah and a Master’s and a Ph.D. from UCLA, where he would eventually became a tenured professor at the world-famous School of Theater, Film and Television.
He also served as the Founder and Editorial Board Member of the Amharic publication Tuwaf (Light), an Ethiopian Fine Arts Journal, from 1987 to 1991. Dr. Teshome is also the co-editor of the 1993 book Otherness and the Media: The Ethnography of the Imagined and the Imaged and most recently the author the book Third Cinema: Exploration of Nomadic Aesthetics & Narrative Communities. He is quoted as describing his work as that of an activist scholar: “What I am seeking to do, I would say, is validate the notion of the academic citizen, by which I mean an academic who has some relationship to the wider communities that surround us and which overlap with other arts and disciplines.”
Nicholas K. Browne, Vice Chair for Cinema and Media Studies was quoted by UCLA Newsroom as stating that: “Teshome’s work had three main themes. He focused on the unique styles of films made in the non-aligned nations of Latin America and Africa (the “Third World”), the issues of relating and representing ‘the other’ (that is, people not like us), and the unique situation of filmmakers and scholars who have left the countries of their birth and occupy and reflect on their marginal, in-between place in the world, a more and more common situation in a global world of the 20th and 21st centuries.”
The event – slated to be held at the Billy Wilder Theater in Westwood Village – is sponsored by UCLA Film & Television Archive and features a discussion with Director Haile Gerima following the screening. The evening’s co-hosts include filmmakers Billy Woodberry, Charles Burnett, Michie Gleason, as well as Ellias Negash – a long-time personal friend of Professor Teshome- among others.
If You Go:
The Los Angeles Premiere Screening of TEZA
in honor of the late UCLA Professor Teshome Gabriel
Discussion with Haile Gerima following the screening
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2010 7:30 pm
Billy Wilder Theater in Westwood Village
courtyard level of the Hammer Museum
10899 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Above:Boku (blue) by Peter Gooch, acrylic on panel, 80 x 12,
on display at B. Deemer Gallery in Louisville, Kentucky, $4500.
Tadias Magazine
Events News
Published: Sunday, August 29, 2010
New York (Tadias) – Two solo exhibitions featuring new paintings inspired by Dayton, Ohio artist Peter Gooch’s recent trip to Ethiopia are taking place through mid-September at the ArtStreet Studio D Gallery at the University of Dayton and at the B. Deemer Gallery in Louisville, Kentucky.
Professor Peter Gooch, a member of the painting faculty in the visual arts department at the University of Dayton, says he was moved to create the abstract works on paper and small panels by his multiple journey to the country and the striking images captured by his photographer wife Sharon Ransom.
“It was an incredibly powerful, visual and physical experience to be in Ethiopia. It has a very rich, complex and idiosyncratic culture,” Gooch told the Dayton Daily News. “It had such a powerful effect on me that I’m just beginning to distill or assimilate all the visual data I gathered.”
According to the paper: “Gooch broke down that experience into three related groups of work: Lalibela paintings, Boku paintings and Mekuamia paintings. He translated the rock-hewn churches and hilltop monasteries surrounding Lalibela into five acrylic paintings reflective of the ancient city’s atmospheric quality. “Lalibela — Yellow” is his recollection and synthesis of a lemon and lime roadside stand. This striking work on paper is characterized by vertical strips of yellows, greens and blues punctuated with exclamations of black on cream. Boku references the ceremonial leadership staffs of the Oromo tribes. The visuals he created include three high, narrow paintings shown together. Tiny horizontal strips of varying hues march upward in a sea of roughly blended colors. The Christian pilgrims of central and northern Ethiopia carry Mekuamia walking staffs. In “Mekuamia — Yellow Wedge,” tiny horizontal strips of yellow, green and blue cross behind a representative staff in a sea of blood red.”
Project Ethiope |Paintings | Aug 23, 2010 to Sep 24, 2010
Professor Peter Gooch will exhibit his works on paper and small panels at ArtStreet Studio D Gallery Aug. 23 through Sept. 24. A free artists’ reception is scheduled for 4-6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 21. The gallery is open Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to midnight; Saturday and Sunday noon to midnight. ArtStreet is located at the intersection of Lawnview Ave. and Kiefaber St. on the University of Dayton campus. For more information, call 937-229-5101 or visit: http://artstreet.udayton.edu.
Location: ArtStreet Studio D Gallery
Cost: Free
For more information, call Adrienne Niess at 937-229-5101 or email niessadl@notes.udayton.edu.
B. Deemer Gallery in Louisville, Kentucky
Peter Gooch “Ethiopian Paintings”, New paintings by Dayton, OH artist.
Ends September 14, 2010
2650 Frankfort Avenue
Louisville, KY 40206 www.bdeemer.com
Above: An exhibition featuring paintings inspired by Ethiopian
artist Tibebe Terffa’s recent visit to Kentuky entitled “Corralling
Colors” opened on Monday in Stanford, where he spent weeks.
Tadias Magazine
Events News
Published: Sunday, August 8, 2010
New York (Tadias) – Renown Ethiopian artist Tibebe Terffa has spent the last two months in Kentucky, where his paintings inspired by local traditions and the states’s famous horse culture, will go on display this week at the Lincoln County Public Library in Stanford.
“It’s mission accomplished, I believe,” Tibebe told the local AM news. “I never thought I could paint all these paintings. It has been very inspiring. I am having a very pleasant time,” he said inside the little home on Mill Street that has been his home and studio. “I didn’t have much stressful times. There’s not much stress reflected in these paintings.”
His ten-week stay in Stanford was sponsored by the First Southern National Bank in partnership with the city’s downtown arts program. As AM News notes, the bank’s President “Jess Correll and wife Angela met Terffa while visiting Ethiopia in February. They visited his studio in the capital city of Addis Ababa, liked his work and bought some of his paintings.”
“Just a coincidence,” Tibebe said of the Corrells’ visit and timely offer.
Per the artist’s website, Tibebe, 62, “was born in the walled city of Harar, Ethiopia in 1948. He studied at the University of Addis Ababa School of Fine Art and Design from where he graduated in painting in 1973. During the school years (1970-1973), Tibebe and his friends formed the Sixteen Young Artist’ Association that aimed at staging exhibitions around the country. Tibebe worked as an art instructor at the Medhane Alem Comprehensive High School in Harar from 1973 until 1980. In 1981 he moved to Addis Ababa, and worked as an Illustrator for Kuraz Publishing House until 1983. Since 1984 he has been working as a studio artist from his residence in Addis Ababa. He has had numerous solo exhibition in Ethiopia, Germany (Berlin), Canada (Winnipeg ,Toronto), USA (Washington), and Spain (Madrid).”
Regarding his recent works, the painter said he initially had to return to recalling scenes from Ethiopia in order to place his new and unfamiliar surroundings into perspective and to get his ‘creative juices flowing.’ “Like a tree, I have roots, a culture, a place where I grew up,” he explained. “When you have roots you can return to, you are not lost. These first paintings were a spring to get to the unknown, to start the engine, to wake up the engine.”
“What goes on inside an artist’s head and then comes out on canvas has been an interesting process to watch,” said Jess Correll, president of First Southern National Bank.
If you go
Ethiopian artist Tibebe Terffa’s “Corralling Colors” exhibit of paintings completed in Stanford will open Monday at Lincoln County Public Library, 310 N. Third St., Stanford. An artist’s reception will be from 6:30-8:30 p.m. More at amnews.com.
Above:Aida Muluneh has been named the winner of the 2010
CRAF International Award of Photography in Italy. (Tadias.com)
Tadias Magazine
By Liben Eabisa
Published: Sunday, July 25, 2010
New York (Tadias) – Ethiopian photographer Aida Muluneh has been named the recipient of the 2010 CRAF’s International Award of Photography at a ceremony in Italy.
The 2010 prize, which was given to Aida by the scientific commission of CRAF, has previously been awarded to notable figures of the international photographic scene, including Charles Henri Favrod, Erich Hartmann, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Peter Galassi, Paolo Gasparini, Josef Koudelka, Joan Fontcuberta, Anne Cartier-Bresson, Naomie Walter Rosenblum, Alain Sayag, Margit Zuckriegl, Erich Lessing and Bernard Plossu.
“Aida Muluneh directs her attention as a photographer in particular towards the women of the African diaspora, concentrating on the bonds and the disagreements between the generations, the joys and the pains of life,” the organization said in explaining its reasons why it chose to honor the Ethiopian photographer. “Her subjects transmit, with a mixture of grace and power, the vicissitudes related to the phenomenon of the dispersion of the African people.”
The prize committee said the accolade is also a recognition of Aida’s continued efforts to establish a photography educational-institution in her native country. “In the year that CRAF has dedicated to Africa with the exhibit ‘Glimpses of Africa’, the International Award of Photography awarded to this young and very accomplished photographer – who is what’s more socially committed to the creation of a school of photography dedicated to young people, in Addis Abeba – is also intended to be in recognition of all of the young and emerging African photographers,” the group said.
In the following interview with Tadias.com, Aida talks about photography, working in Ethiopia, and her new book entitled Ethiopia: Past/Forward.
We note that photos displayed during her discussion of the book are not necessarily included in the book. The film clips and music, which accompany her interview, are part of the artist’s recent documentary movie also entitled Ethiopia: Past/Forward.
WATCH
The interview with Aida Muluneh was taped in New York prior to her most recent award. ( Kidane Films)
Galerie Alternance Features Works By Fikru Gebre Mariam
Above:Featured in exhibition at prestigious Galerie Alternance,
Fikru’s paintings have reached new levels of public recognition.
Tadias Magazine
Art Talk
Published: Friday, July 9, 2010
New York (Tadias) – An exhibition featuring recent works by internationally acclaimed Ethiopian artist Fikru Gebre Mariam will open at the prestigious Galerie Alternance in France this weekend.
In his 2009 profile of Fikru on Tadias Magazine, Donald N. Levine described the works as mostly depicting Ethiopian subjects, but expressed in geometric abstraction. “They convey a blend of rich hues, emotional intensity, immediacy of impact, and a touch of austerity,” Levine writes. “If asked to compare them to European artists, I would say that Fikru’s compositions offer a blend of Modigliani figures in a Giacomettian “Still Ladies” stance presented with Braquean geometric abstraction.”
In fact, the painter – who divides his time between his studios in Paris and Addis Ababa – tells the author that Braque was indeed his favorite artist. “Even so, there is no mistaking the deeply Ethiopian flavor of these paintings,” Levine says.”They display hints of Ethiopian miniatures and church paintings. They are imbued with African earth tones. They use the colored garments of Harari women. They capture the somber mood of much Ethiopian life.”
Levine goes on to describe how Fikru Gebre Mariam’s life in Paris and Addis Ababa influences his work. “The world of Ethiopian painters is, like much else about contemporary Ethiopian life, divided between those who have remained at home and attempted to be true to Ethiopian realities, and those who have emigrated and whose offspring evince a passion to emulate Western styles to a high degree. With studios in Paris and Addis Ababa, where he spends half a year each, Fikru savors all he can of both worlds. He insists that it is essential for his art that he remains close to his Ethiopian roots–and indeed has continued to live in his father’s gibbi (home) until now. At the same time, Fikru finds it no less essential to spend half of each year abroad. As he wrote me, “I believe the freedom of being out of Ethiopia has amazing value in my life and work. Both in Europe and the U.S., especially in Paris . . .visiting museums and art galleries bring dramatic important changes in my work. It is like seeing yourself in the big mirror, even if you think you know yourself.”
Fikru is a graduate of the Addis Ababa School of Fine Arts, founded by the distinguished artist Ale Felege Selam – who introduced modern methods of teaching drawing and painting, which he had studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the 1950s. There, the artist became a protégé of instructor Tadesse Mesfin, who Levine says “not only taught him painterly skills but gave him a graphic theme which he would embrace, struggle with, and grow through, ever since.”
Above:Actress Tigist Selam’s role in Nelson George’s new web
series called “Left Unsaid” reflects her own cultural background.
The film is based on Facebook. – (Photo credit: by Louis Seigal)
Tadias Magazine
By Tseday Alehegn
Published: Wednesday, June 30, 2010
New York (Tadias) – Our own Tigist Selam, host of Tadias TV, is featured in a new film called Left Unsaid where she plays an Ethiopian-German character named “Bethlehem” – a role that reflects the actress’ own cultural background as half-Ethiopian and half-German.
Written and directed by Nelson George, Executive Producer of “Good Hair,” Left Unsaid begins with a woman using Facebook to invite a large group of women to her new Brooklyn apartment for Sunday brunch.
“Marisol, recently separated from her music executive husband, has just landed in the Fort Greene area from Manhattan and seeks out new friends in this trendy, rapidly gentrifying neighborhood. Social networking is the engine that brings this multi-cultural group of women together and it is a thematic link that holds together the various conversations and confrontations that happen on one long afternoon. The women are brought together, pulled a part, and some quietly transformed by the opportunities for communication social networking makes possible,” states the synopsis posted on the film’s official website.
Above:Yared’s winning short film depicts a childhood game,
familiar to many Ethiopians, in which two boys take turns
throwing rocks. Shown at left: Ambassador Donald Booth.
Tadias Magazine
Arts News
Updated: Friday, June 25, 2010
New York (Tadias) – Ethiopian Filmmaker Yared Shumete Desalegne has been named the Grand Finalist for Africa in the 2010 Democracy Video Challenge for his original short video, “Democracy is Fair Play.”
Yared’s film depicts a childhood game, familiar to many Ethiopians, in which two boys take turns throwing rocks. If the first boy’s rock is hit by the rock of the second boy, the second is entitled to ride on the back of the first boy, who has to run all the way to where the rocks landed. They throw their rocks again, and switch places whenever one boy’s rock hits the rock of the other. In less than three minutes, Yared’s video illustrates the democratic principle of fair play, according to well-understood rules. Yared told the Ambassador, “I hope Ethiopians will watch my video and vote for it on YouTube. We Ethiopian filmmakers don’t always have the training we need, so we learn by making mistakes. The Democracy Video Challenge encouraged us to try out our ideas and learn by doing.”
Watch Video: Democracy is fair play by Yared Shumete
Source: U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa
Related: Ethiopia Hosts International Film Festival Above:The critically acclaimed film “Desert Flower”, featuring
supermodel Liya Kebede was screened at the 2010 Ethiopia
International Film Festival —- held June 14-June 19, 2010.
Tadias Magazine
Events News
Updated: Friday, June 25, 2010
New York (Tadias) – Ethiopia played host to an international film festival, the first of its kind to be staged in East Africa.
According to African Press Agency, the festival – which took place in Addis Ababa from June 14 to 19, 2010 – featured 100 short films from various countries.
The five-day gathering – which was inaugurated by President Girma Woldegiorgisse – “aims at encouraging the use of film as a personal, social and economic tool for development; boosting production of short films internationally, in particular the African continent – in the context of unprecedented growth of the African broadcasting area,” said the organizers.
The festival was staged only days after three Ethiopian films won coveted awards at the 7th African Film Festival in Tarifa, Spain, including in the short-film category.
Among the movies shown at the festival include Liya Kebede’s ‘Desert Flower’, a movie based on the true story of a former African supermodel who rose from a nomadic life to the top of the international modeling business.
Watch the Trailer Here Video: Desert Flower Movie Trailer – English
Three Ethiopian Films Win Awards at The 7th Tarifa African Film Festival in Spain
Zelalem Woldemariam, Producer & Director of Lezare (For Today), was among the winners. His film received the “Best Short Film Youth Jury Award” (Courtesy Photo)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Thursday, June 3, 2010
New York (Tadias) – Three Ethiopian films have won coveted awards at the 7th African Film Festival in Tarifa, Spain.
Haile Gerima’s Teza won the “Best Full Length Movie” award, while Atletu, a film about the legendary long distance runner Abebe Bikila produced by Rasselas Lakew & D.Frankel received the “Prize of the Audience” award.
In the Short Film category, Zelalem Woldemariam’s Lezare (For Today), a 12 minute movie which explores the link between environmental degradation and poverty, was the recipient of the “Best Short Film Youth Jury Award.”
The winners were selected from a pool of 15 nominees from over 10 countries by an international jury of experts. They received cash prizes ranging from 2,000 to 15,000 Euro. The competition took place from May 21st to 29th in Spain.
Below is the full list of winners:
7th Tarifa African Film Festival award winners (Photo Courtesy of Zeleman Production)
1. Best Female Actress, IMANI from Uganda, directed by Caroline Kamya
2. Best Actor, FROM A WHISPER from Kenya, directed by Wanari Kahiu
3. Best Director, IMANI from Uganda, directed by Caroline Kamya
4. Best Short Film Young Jury Award, LEZARE, directed by Zelalem Woldemariam
5. Best Short Film RTVA Award, LE ICHA from Tunisia, directed by Walid Taya
6. Best Documentary Film, LES LARMES DE L’EMIGRATION from Senegal, by
Alassane Diago
7. Prize of the Audience, ATLETU from Ethiopia, by Rasselas
Lakew-D.Frankel, and EHKI YA SHAHRAZADE from Egypt, by Yousry Narsrallahr
8. Best Full Length Movie, Teza from Ethiopia, by H. Gerima
–
Above:NPR revisits its March interview with Meklit Hadero.
She is scheduled to perform in New York today, June 1st.
(Photo: Tsehai Poetry Jam – 2009, L.A.’s Little Ethiopia)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Updated: Tuesday, June 1, 2010
New York (Tadias) – NPR’s Allison Keyes revisits her conversation with Ethiopian-born Meklit Hadero, who appeared on the show back in March.
The San Francisco- based songstress, whose voice has been compared to that of the legendary singer Nina Simon, is currently on tour in the East Coast – where she headlined Bernos’ 4th anniversary celebration this past weekend in Washington, D.C. and is scheduled to perform at Le Poisson Rouge in New York on June 1st.
“It is an honor to have Meklit Hadero perform at our 4th year anniversary,” said Beshou Gedamu, business partner at Bernos. “She is an amazing artist with a powerful voice that resonates.”
In her introduction of Hadero, the NPR host says: “Her sound is a unique blend, it’s an infusion of jazz, rich Ethiopian culture, and that artsy San Francisco flavor. It’s also got a spicy dash of visceral poetry that paints pictures in your head as you listen. Hadero’s first musical performance was just five years ago. At her first show she sang songs that were written by other artists, but now she is writing her own music. Her debut album is called On A Day Like This. Back in March Maeklit joined me to talk about her journey and we started out by playing her song Float and Fall. ”
Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 1970, Julie Mehretu was raised in Michigan. She received an MFA in painting and printmaking from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1997.
Tadias Magazine
Events News Source: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Published: Friday, April 30, 2010
NEW YORK, NY — An exhibition of six new large-scale paintings by American artist Julie Mehretu, is presented at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum as part of the Deutsche Bank Series at the Guggenheim, May 14 to October 6, 2010.
Commissioned in 2007 by Deutsche Bank and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, the suite of semiabstract works is inspired by a multitude of sources, including historical photographs, urban planning grids, modern art, and graffiti, and explores the intersections of power, history, dystopia, and the built environment, along with their impact on the formation of personal and communal identities.
Berlin plays a significant role in the investigation of memory and the urban experience in the Grey Area suite, first conceived during a residency by Mehretu at the American Academy in Berlin in 2007. During this residency, the artist was struck by the continuously shifting profile of Berlin, a historically charged city where vestiges of war coexist with new architectural development. For Mehretu, the visible evidence of destruction and recovery on the facades and streetscapes of Berlin also conjures the physical aftermath of war around the world, as in the paintings Believer’s Palace (2008–09), which references the partially destroyed palace that sat atop Saddam Hussein’s Baghdad bunker, and Atlantic Wall (2008–09), which renders the interiors of bunkers built by Germany along the Western European coastline during World War II.
Video: Interview with Julie Mehretu
About Julie Mehretu
Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 1970, Mehretu was raised in Michigan. She studied at Kalamazoo College in Michigan (BA, 1992) and at the Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar in Dakar, Senegal (1990–91). She received an MFA in painting and printmaking from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1997. Mehretu has participated in numerous international exhibitions and biennials and has received international recognition for her work, including, in 2005, the American Art Award from the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, and the prestigious MacArthur Fellow award. She has had residencies at the Core Program at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston (1998–99), the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York (2001), the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota (2003), and the American Academy in Berlin (2007). Mehretu currently lives and works in New York and Berlin.
Exhibition Catalogue
An illustrated 96-page catalogue titled Julie Mehretu: Grey Area accompanies the exhibition and includes essays by Joan Young and Brian Dillon. Designed by Tracey Shiffman, with Alex Kohnke and Summer Shiffman of Tracey Shiffman Design, Los Angeles, and in collaboration with Julie Mehretu, the catalogue features source materials selected by the artist, as well as a selection of photographs by Mark Hanauer tracing the development of the series in the artist’s Berlin studio. Priced at $45 and offered in a hardcover edition, the catalogue may be purchased online at the Guggenheim Store.
Curator’s Eye Guided Tours: Free with museum admission
Guggenheim curator Joan Young leads tours of Julie Mehretu: Grey Area on Fridays, June 4 and August 13, 2 pm.
About The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation
Founded in 1937, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation is dedicated to promoting the understanding and appreciation of art, primarily of the modern and contemporary periods, through exhibitions, education programs, research initiatives, and publications. Currently the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation owns and operates the Guggenheim Museum on Fifth Avenue in New York and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection on the Grand Canal in Venice, and also provides programming and management for two other museums in Europe that bear its name: the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and the Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin. The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, a museum of modern and contemporary art designed by architect Frank Gehry, is scheduled to open in 2013.
Visitor Information Admission: Adults $18, students/seniors (65+) $15, members and children under 12 free. Admission includes an audio tour.
Museum Hours: Sun–Wed, 10 am–5:45 pm; Fri, 10 am–5:45 pm; Sat, 10 am–7:45 pm; closed Thurs. On Saturdays, beginning at 5:45 pm, the museum hosts Pay What You Wish. For general information, call 212 423 3500 or visit guggenheim.org.
At 66, Mulatu is on fire, as his seductive sound wins fans around the world. It’s all down to late nights in the hotels of Addis Ababa.
Source:Telegraph
By Peter Culshaw
Published: 24 Mar 2010
Athe age of 66, Mulatu Astatke is having the time of his life. The jazz composer and performer from Ethiopia is in the midst of a full-blown Indian summer in his career. He received a huge boost when influential film-maker Jim Jarmusch used his music for his 2005 film Broken Flowers, and was also a key figure in the 2007 The Very Best of Ethiopiques compilation, one of the most unlikely best-sellers of the last decade. Once heard, Astatke’s music is not easily forgotten. His signature vibraphone playing style uses the distinctive five-note Ethiopian scale and is like jazz from a parallel universe, by turns haunting, romantic and a touch sleazy, as though the soundtrack to some seductive espionage B-movie. Read more.
Watch: Mulatu Astatke – Ethio Jazz Retrospective (Strut)
Above: Singer-songwriter Meklit Hadero at Tsehai Poetry Jam,
May 31, 2009 @ Messob Restaurant in L.A.’s Little Ethiopia.
NPR Ethiopian Singer: Soul Searching Led To Debut Album
March 24, 2010
Once you hear her smooth and silky voice it will be hard to forget it. Yet, years passed before she realized she wanted to become a singer. Ethiopian native Meklit Hadero went to college to major in political science, but after moving to San Francisco she found her true love: music. Now, only five years after her first public performance, she is out with the new album “On A Day Like This.” Guest host Allison Keyes talks with singer-songwriter Meklit Hadero about her life and finding herself through music.
Listen to the Story Here:
– You can read the transcript of this interview at NPR.ORG.
Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru performed for the first time in 35 years at the Jewish Community Center in DC on July 12, 2008. (Photo: Makeda Amha)
Tadias Magazine
Arts News
Published: Saturday, March 20, 2010
New York (Tadias) – The 85-year-old nun and renowned classical pianist and composer Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru, whose music has been popularized in recent years by the Ethiopiques CD series, is attracting younger audiences.
“Every time I have put this on at least three new conversions occur, where the listeners go on to permanently install this woman’s music on their stereo,” Meara O’Reilly notes in a recent highlight on Boing Boing. “My neighbor even stalked me once just so she could listen to it more, until I just gave her my extra copy.”
Here is the rest of Meara O’Reilly’s post:
Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou is a nun currently living in Jerusalem. She grew up as the daughter of a prominent Ethiopian intellectual, but spent much of her young life in exile, first for schooling, and then again during Mussolini’s occupation of Ethiopia’s capitol city, Addis Ababa, in 1936. Her musical career was often tragically thwarted by class and gender politics, and when the Emperor himself actually went so far as to personally veto an opportunity for Guèbrou to study abroad in England, she sank into a deep depression before fleeing to a monastery in 1948. Today, she spends up to seven hours a day playing the piano in seclusion and even gave a concert to some lucky ducks in Washington D.C. a few years ago. A compilation of her compositions was re-issued on the consistently great Ethiopiques label. You can read more about her life at the Emahoy Music Foundation.
Above:A homemade video by Zewdy, a talented young artist
from New York City is garnering growing attention on YouTube.
Tadias Magazine Arts & Entertainment News
Published: Friday, January 8, 2010
New York (Tadias) – We recently received several emails directing our attention to a music video by a multicultural artist named Zewdy, born in New York City and of Ethiopian and Eritrean heritage.
Partly owing to the young lady’s savvy use of social networking sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, the homemade clip is fast becoming an online sensation. In a sign consistent with viral videos on YouTube, Zewdi has already received over 15, 000 hits in a span of only six days.
“This is the great promise of YouTube: Your video can soar in popularity through sheer word-of mouth—or rather, click-of-mouth—until eventually people are making T-shirts about it,” writes Chris Wilson, who tracked the traffic trends of more than 10,000 YouTube videos for an investigative article published on Slate Magazine. “I crunched the numbers to find out what percentage of YouTube videos hit it big, cracking even 10,000 or 100,000 views. The results: You might have better odds playing the lottery than of becoming a viral video sensation.”
After one month of observation, only twenty five of Wilson’s ten thousand videos made the high mark: “A mere 25, 0.3 percent, had more than 10,000 views,” he observes. “Meanwhile, 65 percent of videos failed to break 50 views; 2.8 percent had zero views.” Slate Magazine’s advice: Don’t bet your career on launching your show biz on YouTube.
But the vibrant Zewdy is beating the odds. Here is the video in which she celebrates her multicultural background through music and dance.
Video: Zewdy – Into the Night
Debo Band Wins BMA’s International Music Act of the Year
Above:From left, alto saxophonist Abye Osman, Debo Band
founder Danny Mekonnen, and vocalist Bruck Tesfaye. (Photo
credit: H. Asrat)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Wednesday, January 6, 2010
New York (Tadias) – The Ethio groove ensemble known as Debo Band, whose signature music explores the unique sounds that filled the dance floors of “Swinging Addis” in the ‘60s and ‘70s, has won the Boston Music Awards’ under the category of “International Music Act of the Year.”
The Boston Music Awards, having recently celebrated its 22nd year, is the most prestigious annual music event in Boston. The BMA website points out that the program pays “tribute to the region’s finest musicians.”
For jazz saxophonist Danny Mekonnen, a PhD candidate in Ethnomusicology at Harvard University and founder of Debo Band, the coveted recognition has garnered excitement.
“It was a huge surprise for us. We really didn’t expect the recognition because there were several great local bands in the category, ‘International Music Act of the Year,’” Danny said. “But somehow we got the attention of the judges (who are Boston-area promoters and music critics) and were also able to garner votes from our fans. I think it will mean more widespread attention for our band throughout Boston, which we’ve already seen at our last few concerts. They have been well attended even in blizzard-like weather!”
The group surfaced from Boston’s underground after playing in major festivals in 2009, including making an appearance at the Ethiopian Music Festival in Addis Ababa. Danny told Tadias Magazine that the band is gearing up to make a return trip to Africa in 2010.
“Yes, we’ve been given the incredible opportunity to bring Ethiopian music for the first time to East Africa’s largest music festival: “Sauti za Busara” on the island of Zanzibar, February 11th-16th, 2010,” he said. “For our performance at the festival we’ll be joined by four brilliant musicians and dancers from Fendika, an azmari bet in the Kazanchis area of Addis Ababa: Selamnesh Zemene (vocalist), Melaku Belay (dancer), Zenash Tsegaye (dancer), and Asrat Ayalew (drummer). Your readers may know Melaku, who was the dancer at the incredible Getachew Mekuria/The Ex concert at the Lincoln Center in August 2008.”
The Debo Band is currently raising funds to cover travel expenses for 15 musicians to attend the Sauti za Busara festival.
Danny also shares one more bit of good news: “My wife and I have a beautiful newborn girl. Life has been very hectic these days, but we feel blessed.”
We congratulate Danny and look forward to Debo Band’s first album.
Above:Tommy T Gobena, one of Tadias Magazine’s Top Ten Notable Ethiopian-Americans of 2009, is the the bass player
for gypsy punk powerhouse Gogol Bordello. (Dayna Smith –
for The Washington Post)
Washington Post
By Chris Richards
Sunday, January 3, 2010
It’s breakfast time at Dukem, the popular Ethiopian restaurant on U Street NW, but Thomas “Tommy T” Gobena orders lunch. In a city of red-eyed, Cinnabon-scarfing frequent fliers, he might be the most jet-lagged man in Washington. Gobena lives in Alexandria but will spend most of this new year in the air and on the road, playing bass for Gogol Bordello, a merry band of self-branded “Gypsy punks” scheduled to hit about 200 stages across the globe in 2010. Days earlier, Gobena was wowing a crowd of 20,000 in Mexico City. In a few days, he’ll be at it again in St. Petersburg, Russia. Read more.
Related from Tadias Interview with Tommy T.
Tommy T (Thomas T. Gobena), bass player for the New York-based multi-ethnic gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello, has released his first solo album entitled The Prestor John Sessions. The album includes collaborations with Gigi, Tommy T’s brother & bassist Henock Temesgen, members of the Abyssinnia Roots Collective, and a bonus remix including Gogol Bordello bandmates Eugene Hütz and Pedro Erazo. Tommy describes The Prestor John Sessions as “an aural travelogue that rages freely through the music and culture of Ethiopia.” His debut album features the diversity of rhythms and sounds of Ethiopian music – as multi-ethnic as has become the Lower East Side Gypsy band that has taken the world by storm. Who else but Tommy would produce an Oromo dub song featuring Ukranian, Ecuadorian, and Ethiopian musicians? We spoke to Tommy T about life as a Gogol Bordello member, the influences on his music, and the story behind The Prestor John Sessions. Normally Tommy T punctuates everything he says with so much humor that it’s difficult not to be immersed in sporadic moments of pure laughter. His message in this interview, however, remains serious: Are you ready to change the way you listen to and classify music? Read more.
Above:Robel Kassa’s recent works “revolve around an idea of
distance: physical, mental, and conceptual. So there are “dark”
concepts that are portrayed in bright and cheery colors. Serious
social taboos presented in utter abandon and humor.”
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Thursday, December 10, 2009
New York (Tadias) – Talented graphic designer and entrepreneur Robel Kassa has some of his most recent works currently displayed at La Carbonara Restaurant in D.C. The display “revolve around an idea of distance: physical, mental, and conceptual. So there are “dark” concepts that are portrayed in bright and cheery colors. Serious social taboos presented in utter abandon and humor,” says Robel. Below are photos from opening night and an entertaining interview with the artist.
Tadias: Please tell us a bit about yourself – where you were born, raised, school, current work, etc.
Robel: I was born and raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where I was circumstantially stationed for residence and schooling procedures until I completed my high school studies. Upon said completion, the forces that be (commonly referred to as “one thing led to another”) decided that I relocate to the the University of Pennsylvania. I’m not sure of the coordinates, but I’m fairly certain it was located in Philadelphia. That’s what the brochure said, anyhow. I managed to acquire a black cap and gown (which I was ultimately forced to return … the bastards!) and a US Letter sized piece of heavy stock paper with elaborate calligraphy that indicated I was now fit to flaunt my ego and fatten my wallet wherever I please … within the realm of creative/digital arts. So in the spirit of economic synchronicity and tongue-in-cheek irony, I now work for the American Bankruptcy Institute, in all manners and shapes and sizes of graphic design and web development … making bankruptcy entirely way too sexy and irresistible. Of course, this being America (the land of mirages and camouflages), I have assuaged my cubicle farm shenanigans by setting up an independent design firm with a few partners: www.paradigm84.com : global domination seems a lofty goal, but we’re taking it one click at a time. (*insert ominous soundtrack here*)
Tadias: Over the years, we have seen your impressive and evolving digital artwork. What other mediums do you use?
Robel: I’ve used and continue to use oils, acrylics, and other mixed media. Everything from razor blades to condom wrappings to pages ripped out of the bible make for legitimate resources.
Tadias: What motivates you?
Robel: Motivation had been elusive for a long time, actually. And whenever it happens, it’s fairly whimsical, egged on by irony, cynicism, music, literature, film, social/political situations, and a healthy dose of humor. I’m not sure what I just said answered your question satisfactorily, but feel free to chalk that up to “artistic quirkiness.”
Tadias: We understand that you have a show of your new artwork in D.C. Could you tell us a bit more about it?
Robel: It’s hosted by the kind ladies of Spirito di Vino, and opened last Wednesday at La Carbonara Restaurant. It will be up for the remainder of the week for general veiwing as well. The works, most of them recent and not seen before, revolve around an idea of distance: physical, mental, and conceptual. So there are “dark” concepts that are portrayed in bright and cheery colors. Serious social taboos presented in utter abandon and humor.
Slideshow: Photos from Robel’s Art Show at La Carbonara
Photos courtesy of the artist’s Facebook Page.
Tadias: Which individuals influence your artwork? philosophy?
Robel: A lot of individuals do. Aesthetically, it ranges from Jackson Pollock to G/Kristos Desta to graffitti artists and comic book illustrations. I try and stay away from what is visually recognizable as typically “ethiopian art” … whether it’s the big googly eyes, or the Tilet-like patterns, or even the nauseatingly melodramatic and self-righteously judaeo-christian iconographies. I feel that’s just a gimmick and selling point that furthers the exotification of non-Western art as something ethnic, tribal, primordial, and other-worldly. It can be limiting, I suppose.
Tadias: If you were given a chance to spend a year to create an original work what would be?
Robel: The ultimate “original work” would probably mean less to me than the year spent trying to create and destroy and re-create and lather, rinse, repeat. Whatever that original work would be though, I feel it probably would either be a book or a film. Something that would purge the world of all its evils … and cure AIDS … and bring about world peace. And I also like walks on the beach.
Tadias: Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?
Robel: Read books; they’re good for you. Never underestimate the beauty of honesty.
Tadias: Thank you Robel and good luck!
Robel: Thank you, Tadias. This has been utterly discomfiting.
Cross-Cultural Music Improvisations: A Conversation with Dan Harper
Tadias Magazine spoke with Dan Harper about his new album "Punt Made in Ethiopia" and his work to create cross-cultural conversations through music. (Courtesy photo).
Tadias Magazine
Interview by Tseday Alehegn
Updated: Monday, November 16, 2009
New York (Tadias) – As an aid worker for a British NGO in Ethiopia, Dan Harper (Invisible System) lived and traveled throughout Ethiopia for three years. He also nurtured his first love: music, and built a studio from scratch to produce and collaborate with Ethiopian musicians. Harper describes his Worm Hole studio equipment as something which “can be setup around scarce resources such as in an outhouse with corrugated iron roofing (interesting in the rainy season), carpets and breeze blocks. It is also now constructed in a more solid form in Frome, Somerset whilst maintaining its nomadic and professional feel and look.” Harper co-wrote and sound engineered Dub Colossus’ album “A Town Called Addis” with Nick Page, and most recently came out with his own album “PUNT Made in Ethiopia” (Harper Diabate Records) featuring an incredibly diverse list of musicians, ranging from talent he spotted at a traditional Azmari joint to sessions with singer Tsedenia and the legendary Mahmoud Ahmed. Harper stresses that the collaboration is not trying to imitate how Ethiopians play music. Rather it’s an entirely improvisational recording. Invisible System has played at the Addis Music Festival as well as several live concerts in the U.K. Proceeds from the album are helping to establish a charity focusing on providing resources to artists and musicians in the developing world, an issue which Harper believes is often neglected by international NGOs.
We spoke with Dan about his first album release on Harper Diabete Records and his work to create genuine cross-cultural conversations through music.
Tadias: Can you tell us a bit about yourself? How you ended up living and working in Ethiopia?
Harper: Before I start, I’d like to say it’s really nice to be involved with Ethiopians and Ethiopian culture and music. I have very fond memories of Addis, and I traveled all around the country. I had volunteers all over the place. I’ve been to Jimma, up to the North, I’ve been to the South, Lake Langano, Awasa. It’s been so long now that I’ve even started to forget the names of all the places… Gonder, Mekele. Fantastic country really.
Okay, so I grew up in England. Mother was born in India, raised in New Zealand and she moved to England when she was 18. My dad comes from a working class coal miner and army background. He later became an academic. I grew up in the southwest of England. I always wanted to go to Africa..always fascinated. Even as a kid, when I was 12 I was listening to bands that infused African rhythm and sound. Something always hit the mark for me. A lot has driven me to Africa. Also, I’ve always had a thing about development and the problems of developing countries and the injustice of it all. And that is ingrained from a young age as well. I used to complain when we had three course meals when I was 11 or 12 saying there were people who can’t eat in the world. It’s just been part of me. So that’s me: I love art, I love music. I’m interested in international culture. I love different ways of talking, and eating, and interacting, and different clothes and hairstyles. I think that’s what’s magical about the world.
I’ve always been fascinated with music since the age of 7. I’m obsessed with it I think. I’ve taught myself to play everything. I’ve taught myself to produce, to sound engineer. I’ve built my own studio. I’ve done it without the equipment being bought for me. I’ve had to work hard for it. And I’ve had to build it bit by bit. And I’ve been in constant debt for it, so it’s an absolute love, and passion, and something I can’t stop doing.
When I left school I bought a camp van and I worked and I drove around Europe and down to Turkey with my girlfriend, and had an interest in international development and culture since then. Since seeing people live in cardboard boxes as I drove around. And at university I changed very quickly from studying computing management to studying environmental management, although I probably should have done, music, technology or both. But there you go. Both things come together. I had wanted to work abroad in NGOs.. I was always quite anti-government. I grew up in Thatcher’s government so plenty of reasons to be upset. And I had to volunteer for years..there was no paid work in Environment. There was no way to go to Africa. You had to pay for yourself. I had no money. I was trying to build a studio that was getting me in debt, and eventually I had to go into business. Didn’t enjoy working in business. Had to cut my hair which was awful and wear a suit which was awful – not me at all. And I ended up working for the Institute of Development Studies at Sussex University in quite a basic, boring admin job. I knew it would springboard me overseas and I took a job up in Mali eventually, which I was very lucky to get after a few years work experience. I learned French and worked for a local environmental NGO. I was in the middle of the desert. It was really hard work, hard conditions, teaching kids about environmental issues. And I met my wife out there, and I worked there for four and half years and I have a daughter.
We could afford to get on as a family there so I thought I better try to get a better paying job, as I wanted to stay overseas. I wanted to stay in Africa. And a job with a British NGO came up and I got it and it was in Ethiopia. And unfortunately Ethiopia, I think, has been spoiled by the media and the problems of the famine. Because everyone thinks about famine and dry, desert conditions including me. I was as guilty, because I thought “I’m going from one desert to another.” And it’s not is it? I mean how green, and lush and beautiful is Addis, Jimma and even some places in the North. Not that barren. I’m not going to get into the history and the problems. Those are things for us to discuss another time. Complicated history and reasons. But sure I was out in Ethiopia for three years, and I have a fair idea of what went on. I have a few Ethiopian friends who I’m still in contact with. But that’s how I ended up living and working in Ethiopia. And it was a three year contract. I had a great time with the Ethiopians I work with. I had volunteers out helping government and non-governmental organizations in HIV/AIDS and small business. I didn’t enjoy working for voluntary service agencies – the British organization. I didn’t like their obsessiveness with bureaucracy and paperwork, and they weren’t getting the volunteers out efficiently as it could have been. I didn’t like the attitude of the country directors who were British. I didn’t think that they treated the Ethiopian staff as well. But Ethiopia was great, Addis was great. I had a fantastic circle of friends. I had a great social life. And I was trying to help in every which way I could through the development work, and bringing as many volunteers as I could out to work with people from all over the world. My idea was to create more volunteer positions, and get volunteers out there and make a change. So that’s how I ended up out there with my family.
Tadias: Can you describe the role of music in your life? When did you start producing music?
Harper: God, without music it would be awful. When I’m listening to and playing music that is my ultimate meaning of the world. Work could get boring everyday, you know, doing things that you don’t always want to be doing. [Music is] escapism in a way, but it’s like my religion, it’s like my spiritual being. It’s my way of releasing all the creativity, the need to make colorful and creative things and sounds, and this is my way of doing it. And without it I would be bored and grey and depressed. There’s more to life than writing paper, for me anyhow. I think everyone’s different. I started producing music when I was about seventeen, and I bought and taught myself how to play an electric guitar, and started playing in a band. I borrowed a friend’s four-track tape recorder and started overlaying guitars like that, and you know it’s gone on ever since. Teaching myself the guitar, drums, bass, keyboard, synthesis, sound engineering production, using the studio.. the full works. It gradually increases. I’ve never had enough time for it. I’ve always worked full time. It always been get in, fighting fatigue from work drinking coffee to write and produce music. And it’s difficult because you never have enough energy, and at the weekend you’ve gotta clean your house, and well now deal with the kid as well, and try to have a social life so. Yeah it’s been going on since I was 17. I am now 37. I should have had an album out years ago. But there you go.
Tadias: And the artwork on your CD cover?
Harper: The art work was a mixture of myself and Bos / Warp (Paul Boswell) a graffiti based artists in Frome who is well known for his work in Bristol, and Moussa from Addis. The painting of the musicians was created by Moussa to say “thank you” to me. Moussa was an orphan and he was lucky enough to make it to study music at Addis University. He is a lovely guy and I sorted him out with a job teaching my neighbour’s child the guitar. My neighbour was English and she had married an Ethiopian in Addis. We forwarded him some salary and when I was in the UK I purchased him an electric guitar that my neighbour brought back to Addis for him. He was so happy he made me that painting. I changed it color and vibrancy-wise to match the feel of the album, but the original is also wonderful and will be published perhaps on the next album.
Punt, Made in Ethiopia album cover.
I love Bos’s humour, it always makes me laugh but with the album, the faces he had painted by chance reminded me of the Ethiopian painted faces you often see with big eyes. I liked the connection due to the fusion nature of the album covering styles of Ethiopian, Pop, Dance, Trance, Rock, Dub, Reggae, Drum and Bass, Punk and Grunge. It all fits! And the other painting of the chap/creature in the suit and tie reminded me of how it feels to be an artist trapped in the office in a suit and tie during the day! Personal! I have always combined aid work, which includes offices and suits and ties with my art.
Bos also plays bass on one track on the album and plays live with me sometimes with the UK Invisible System setup, which has a Jamaican born UK based reggae singer doing the vocals. I am also in another more punk/psycehdelic/jam based band with Bos on bass, me on guitar and Merv Pepler from the Ozrics Tentacles and Eat Static on drums. We have not decided on a name yet but some suggestions have arisen…Flaps, The Mutes and The Coalminers are three!
Tadias: Tell us a bit more about the music scene in Addis and your collaboration with various local and internationally known Ethiopian musicians.
Harper: When I first got to Addis, I found there was a lot of buzz where people would sing in front of electronic keyboards, with electronic drums, which wasn’t quite my kind of thing. And then I found the Azmari bets, which I loved more. The traditional..seeing the masinko, singing and clapping and dancing. I bumped into most of the people that I worked with within odd clubs around Addis, say kind of at two in the morning. That’s where I found Nati on the album, that’s where I found Desta. Just people whose voices I liked. I approached them after. Sometimes I needed translating because my Amharic wasn’t good enough – their English wasn’t good enough just to communicate. I often have my music on an MP3 player, and I’d put headphones on them and say “do you want to come and jam?” And that’s how a lot of it kicked off actually. Tsedenia was introduced to me via my wife’s hairdresser. My wife was having her hair done down the road and saying that I was recording in the studio at home making music. Mahmoud was a chance because I sold a mike to someone who turned out to be a friend to Mahmoud’s saxophone player who came, walked into the studio and loved what I was doing. He told Mahmoud that he has to come down and listen, and Mahmoud came and listened and loved it as well and just asked to be a part of it, which was fantastic. I knew who he was but hadn’t heard that much of his music to be honest. I have cracking cassette of Mahmoud that I bought out in Jimma. A really old one. I love it. I love the old rough sound of it..the scales and just things that wouldn’t come to the Western mind.
We grow up in such different cultures that even the tonalities sound different to us and bring up different emotions – it’s what makes the world go round. I loved working with people over there and I never tried to emulate what the Ethiopians were doing when they played. I think Nick tried to do that with Dub Colossus. But I’d invited everyone over and people were quite reserved. They’d say “What do you want me to play? How do you want me to play?” And I’d just say “Do what you want. Do what you feel.” I played them some music that I put together to improvise what you feel. “Don’t worry about what you think I want.” And that’s the magic of it for me. It all comes from each other’s soul. That nothing’s pre-arranged. It’s just pure music from our hearts and soul and that’s what it’s about at the end of the day. To put those two things together that come from the different languages and culture and feelings for me is what it’s all about.
Tadias: Can you explain the name that you chose (Punt, Made in Ethiopia) for your current CD?
Harper: I chose PUNT because Punt was the name given to that area of land that they believe was Ethiopia and what the Egyptians used to call Punt. The magic land. Where people would come back with artifacts, not just animals such as giraffes or lions but also myrrh and other kinds of incense that were biblical and were apparently from this magical land called Punt. I love the history of Ethiopia and England, and the kind of pre-commercialism culture and the spiritual culture. I like the kind of druids and animists that lived in England and Africa before. I’m sure it was hard in other ways. I do like modern life as well, but to go back to that kind of working Azmari musicians and the Masinko and the kind of traditional human element of it, and the magical way the music that we create was done. It all makes sense to me to call it Punt. So that’s where Punt came from. Looking backwards but moving forward.
PUNT is an album that was improvised, from scratch – all instruments and vocals. We are not into using Ethiopian (or Malian) samples or trying to quickly learn and imitate Ethiopian musicians who have their sounds, modes, scales, feelings and soul from their culture and country else we would be the neo-colonialists. We are into sharing, learning and exchange over time. The music is based on real life experience not from reading. It is played from the heart and soul of everyone involved. Their own interpretation thus tapping the ebbs and flows of our lives.
Tadias: What are your favorite memories of Ethiopia? Africa?
Harper: Wow, you just asked a huge question. My favorite memories of Ethiopia and Africa. They’re so many. I miss going out and eating injera and hot food. And seeing all those beautiful and incredible faces all around. And I miss going to Elsie’s bar – the kind of bohemian culture. And I miss my friends and I miss traveling around. I miss the hot spring pools like Wondogenet. I miss the more openness of a culture of people that are out and about more. It’s cold here. We all live in tiny little houses. It’s cramped in and tiny gardens in England. I’m not saying people don’t in Ethiopia and Africa. You know it depends where you live, but I miss the fact that people are out and walking more, and talking more. And I miss that I can push my daughter down the road and people would kiss her and pick her up and I won’t be scared. I won’t think there’s a problem with a child molester. And I can go to a restaurant and she’ll be off having a tour and the waitresses would take her off to the kitchen and the lack of the excessive rules and regulations we have here in driving and living and existing. I do see Ethiopia as quite bureaucratic also and I suppose especially in Mali I miss the slight element of chaos.
When I went back to play at the Addis Music Festival last year, and we were in the car and I just realized that all the cars were worming their way through a massive non-road of road. I miss all that. I hate all these straight lines and everything here. So there are so many things. There really are so many things. And I miss being in a foreign culture. It’s boring being in England all the time. Everything gets a bit grey and even the language and clothes and too many people are in mono-culture. I like being dropped in what appears to me a more exotic place because I don’t come from there. If someone came from Ethiopia and they were here for three years it would be exotic for them. I got married and had a kid so there are other good memories and I’d like my daughter to keep coming back to Africa. She loves Ethiopia. She used to understand Amharic and she was only three years old when we left and unfortunately she’s forgotten that now. So there are so many [memories] I couldn’t even put them down so I’ll move on.
Tadias: What are the highs and lows of independent music production?
Harper: The highs are: you can create what you want, when you want it, how you want it. You don’t have to argue with someone that a song should sound differently or needs to be more commercial or what order they run on the CD or what art goes on the CD. It’s a great freedom. The need to be an artist for me is to have the freedom of expression, whereas at work you have to curtail how you do things and what you write and how you present yourself. Art for me is about being you, being genuinely you, and doing it independently with your own studio, label and your friends and musicians around you..that you have a common desire together. And it’s fantastic. And also feeling and creating something off your own back..that you had a vision that became a reality and developed into something real.
Now the downsides of it are, well, money because I don’t have any. I’ve had no money to back this and it’s done on credit. There’s no money for getting visas and passports to bring Ethiopians over to play. You know it’d have to be backed by someone. The promotion is really difficult, because I’ve got no one to pay to do the PR. So on top of a full-time job and a family and trying to finish CDs and write more music, you’re trying to get your CD out there and contact people and journalists and send them copies – it’s endless. It goes on an on. It’s fantastic, it’s nice to be able to do it but I’m constantly tired, obviously. So you haven’t got any help is what I’m trying to say. And you haven’t got any resources. And the distribution is quite tricky as well even, because unless you’ve got a lot of money to pay a distribution company that’s hard as well as organizing gigs.
If you are signed to a contract with a major label you can be able to say “okay I can take two years off work” because I guaranteed that income. But I wouldn’t want it to have been any other way. I’ve loved the way it has happened. You can get professional sounds with your studio at home, the only problem is space. Sometimes you can work as loud as you need to, because you’re disturbing your kid’s sleep. We’ve got a tiny house here and my garage is my live room. It would be nice to have more space. When I worked in Peter Gabriel’s studio with Dub Colossus I could get the same sound here. I don’t think you need that expensive equipment. You need good equipment but not that expensive. But the space was nice.
I wouldn’t mind one day for someone to say to me “we’ll give you this much money” so you can concentrate on it properly for a year or two, and I wouldn’t mind some help getting Ethiopians over here to play with me and touring the world of course. It would be absolutely amazing.
Tadias: Anything else that you’d like to tell Tadias readers?
Harper: I just want to say that I loved being in Ethiopia and I loved going back to play at the Addis Music Festival, and I know I’ll go back again and I can’t wait to go back again. My daughter so wants to go back, because she remembers it and we have videos of her being there. And I really hope to get to America someday. I’ve never been to America and I’d love to play a concert with some Ethiopians. It would be wild. It would be fantastic. I really hope that you get to see us play live. I don’t know how it’s gonna happen but I hope. And I hope you all enjoy the album. I know Ethiopia may be different once you’ve been out but it’s a very strong country and it’s very proud, which I think is great. It’s never been colonized and Amharic is still the first language. But this album could be quite a shift in style and way of listening and thinking. I know that they don’t particularly like Dub Colossus over there yet. Tsedenia says they just kind of go “oh yeah it’s interesting,” but they prefer the traditional, but I’ve had fantastic feedback from people in Addis actually for the album which thrilled me because you’re always worried when you’re not fluent in Amharic. You think you might have chopped a sentence at a bad point because it sounds good to you, but if you’re not sure what they’re saying you might have ended it at the wrong place. I just hope you guys get something out of it and enjoy it and please buy it. Don’t pirate it because we’re setting up a charity here and it can help us with good hard work. Real work. And I want to keep this growing so please don’t pirate it. That’s the only other thing that I’d like to say. And get in touch. I’d love to hear from you all. Give me your thoughts. I miss speaking to you all out there. Thanks for the interview. Take care.
Tadias: Thank you Dan! We enjoy your album and look forward to seeing you in concert in North America sometime.
Dan Harper can reached at Dan@harperdiabate.com. Harper Diabate, 1 River Walk, Frome, Somerset, BA11 5HU: myspace, facebook.
About the Author: Tseday Alehegn is the Editor-in-Chief of Tadias Magazine.
About the Album: PUNT (Made in Ethiopia) by Invisible System
Invisible System present a 12 track fusion album of Ethiopian, Dub, Dance, Rock, Drum & Bass, Psychedelia, Trance, Electronica & live music. Traditional vocals / instruments meet the modern, electronic and brass. Live Europeans meet live Ethiopians. Our guests include:
Mahmoud Ahmed & Bahta Gebrehiwot (Ethiopiques)
Hilaire Chabby (Baba Maal)
Justin Adams (Robert Plant & Strange Sensation, ex Jah Wobble’s Invaders)
Tsedenia, Mimi, Tarmeg & Sami (now signed to Realworld Records)
Joie Hinton (ex-Eat Static & Ozric Tentacles / Here and Now / IGV)
Martin Cradick (Baka Beyond/ex-Outback)
Captain Sensible (The Damned)
Ed Wynne (Ozric Tentacles / Noden Inctus)
Simon Hinkler (ex-The Mission)
Dubulah (ex-Transglobal Underground, Temple of Sound, Natasha Atlas etc)
Perch (Zion Train)
Juldeh (Justin Adams, Realworld etc)
Elmer Thudd (ex-Loop Guru)
Gary Woodhouse (The Rhythmites)
Bos (ex-Junk Waffle and Warp Graf/Eat Static Artist)
Above:Painting by Tesfaye Negusse (36X76, Oil on Canvas).
Tadias Magazine
Events News
Published: Monday, October 26, 2009
New York (Tadias) – A new gallery specializing in emerging and established Ethiopian artists will open this weekend in Atlanta on the historic Bennett Street, the city’s vibrant antiques and arts district.
Hanatzeb Ethiopian Art Gallery will celebrate its opening with an inaugural exhibition featuring artist Tesfaye Negusse.
The owners hope to grow their gallery in a spirit of collaboration with the artist community:
“While this is just a beginning we hope will be well received by the community at large, we have lined up a number of incredibly talented artists who live here in the U.S. as well as in Ethiopia to come and display their beautiful work of art,” Hanatzeb notes on its website.
“We invite all to help us in this endeavor and be part in the task of painting Ethiopia…”
– The opening reception is scheduled for Saturday, October 31,
from 6-10pm and Sunday, November 1, from 2 -6pm.
If You Go: Hanatzeb
Ethiopian Art Gallery
49-B Bennett Street NW.
Atlanta, GA 30309
Phone: 404.352.4373 or 404.808.8946
Related Art Talk Video: Catch Julie Mehretu on PBS- Watch the episode on October 28
at 10pm (ET) on PBS (check local listings).
Above: Ethiopia-born Grammy-nominated singer Wayna pays
tribute to Billie Holiday at Blues Alley in Washington, DC. The
artist is also preparing to release a new EP called ‘Soul and
The City’. Stay tuned for Tadias’ interview with Wayna about
her new extended play.
Watch: Preview performance on FOX News
About Billie Holiday Billie Holiday
Source: PBS
Considered by many to be the greatest jazz vocalist of all time, Billie Holiday lived a tempestuous and difficult life. Her singing expressed an incredible depth of emotion that spoke of hard times and injustice as well as triumph. Though her career was relatively short and often erratic, she left behind a body of work as great as any vocalist before or since.
Born Eleanora Fagan in 1915, Billie Holiday spent much of her young life in Baltimore, Maryland. Raised primarily by her mother, Holiday had only a tenuous connection with her father, who was a jazz guitarist in Fletcher Henderson’s band. Living in extreme poverty, Holiday dropped out of school in the fifth grade and found a job running errands in a brothel. When she was twelve, Holiday moved with her mother to Harlem, where she was eventually arrested for prostitution.
Desperate for money, Holiday looked for work as a dancer at a Harlem speakeasy. When there wasn’t an opening for a dancer, she auditioned as a singer. Long interested in both jazz and blues, Holiday wowed the owner and found herself singing at the popular Pod and Jerry’s Log Cabin. This led to a number of other jobs in Harlem jazz clubs, and by 1933 she had her first major breakthrough. She was only twenty when the well-connected jazz writer and producer John Hammond heard her fill in for a better-known performer. Soon after, he reported that she was the greatest singer he had ever heard. Her bluesy vocal style brought a slow and rough quality to the jazz standards that were often upbeat and light. This combination made for poignant and distinctive renditions of songs that were already standards. By slowing the tone with emotive vocals that reset the timing and rhythm, she added a new dimension to jazz singing. Read more.
Above:A Taste for Words by Wosene Worke Kosrof , 2008,
acrylic on canvas, 44×41 inches.
Events News
Published: Monday, October 19, 2009
New York – Skoto Gallery is pleased to present WordPlay, an exhibition of recent paintings by the Ethiopian-born artist Wosene Worke Kosrof. This will be his fourth solo exhibition at the gallery. The reception is on Thursday, October 22nd, 6-8pm and the artist will be present.
Wosene Worke Kosrof’s recent work continues his long-standing inventive exploration of the interplay between language, identity, aesthetic beauty and material, using the language symbols of Amharic – one of the few ancient written systems in Africa – as a core compositional element. He is a prolific artist who has consistently employed a vocabulary of signs and symbols, a rigorous compositional organization and uncompromising ability to fuse form and concept with the narrative power of his work in his encounters with history and global transformations over the past three decades. He elongates, distorts, disassembles and re-configures the language characters in a wide-ranging palette, moving beyond literal conventions of words, to create a visual language that deftly incorporates sounds, textures and rhythms of jazz, but that also speaks boldly and clearly to a universal audience.
Wosene’s work draws upon an individual reserve of personal and collective memories to activate a meaningful form of engagement that celebrates the richness of his homeland’s graphic systems, textiles, architectural forms, language and music. He employs the textured and improvisational qualities in his work, imbued with a poetic amalgam of abstraction and reality in his search for symbols and metaphors that explore ideas of spirituality, space and motion, expanding the boundaries of art and consciousness. There is a resonance of personal truth, vision, circumstances and tradition embedded in his work that make us simply believe in the power of art to speak to us in purely human terms.
Wosene Kosrof
Wosene Worke Kosrof was born 1950 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and received a BFA from The School of Fine Art, Addis Ababa and a MFA from Howard University, Washington DC in 1980. He is an artist of international reputation, widely exhibited in Africa, Europe, Japan, the US and the Caribbean. Recent exhibitions include Transformations: Recent Contemporary African Art Acquisitions, Fowler Museum, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, 2009, Mexican Heritage Plaza Museum, San Jose, California 2006, Neuberger Museum, Purchase, NY 2003; Newark Museum, Newark, NJ 2004; Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pa 2004, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC 2004; and Seven Stories about Modern Art in Africa, Whitechapel Gallery, London 1995. Collections include the National Museum, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; The National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, The Newark Museum, NJ; The Neuberger Museum at Purchase, NY; Birmingham Museum of Art, AL; Indianapolis Museum of Art, IN, the Fowler Museum, UCLA, Ca; Samuel P. Harn Museum, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fl; and The Voelkerkunde Museum, Zurich, Switzerland as well as many international private and corporate collections.
– If you go:
Skoto Gallery
529 West 20th Street
5thFL
New York, NY 10011
Phone Number
212.352.8058 www.skotogallery.com
Above:Ethiopian painter Dawit Abebe stands in front of one
of his paintings.
AFP
By Aaron Maasho
ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopian art, which for centuries has been synonymous with portraits of saints and political figures, now has a new breed of “bohemian” painters tackling bolder subjects, including sex-themed works. In a studio littered with squeezed paint tubes and drab canvases, Dawit Abebe, one of the artists spearheading the revolution, gazes intently at his latest paintings that include nude portraits. “You know, years back they would have been way too extreme,” he said. “Now Ethiopians have begun to understand that they’re just art, and not meant to encourage sex.” In the olden days under the patronage of Ethiopian emperors, clerics and feudal lords, artists illustrated manuscripts, painted icons and adorned the country’s remote monasteries with depictions of doe-eyed saints and angels as their main profession. Read more.
In her art, we are used to seeing Supermatist derived, large scale works with layers of freehand curvilinear forms often juxtaposed against structured forms such as the facades of Bauhaus-like edifice. Some of her drawings depart from the Supermatist heritage in a virtuoso display of biomorphic shapes. In one drawing done in a calligraphic hand (shown at the Project Gallery in 2005 and covered in our print issue), a fanciful fishing eagle of a bird hovers over spiraling surf and beach flotsam and jetsam.
Julie Mehretu, Immanence, 2004, ink and synthetic polymer on canvas, 72 x 96
inches, Mehretu-Rankin Collection, Courtesy of the artist and The Project, NYC.
Photo by Christian Capurro..
Julie Mehretu was born in 1970 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and raised in East Lansing, Michigan. She holds an undergraduate degree from Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan and a Master of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design. She lives and works in New York.
Video: Excerpt from the show – Catch the episode on October 28
at 10pm (ET) on PBS (check local listings).
Spotlight on Danny Mekonnen: Founder of Debo Band (Video)
New York (Tadias) – Ethiopian-American jazz saxophonist Danny Mekonnen, a PhD candidate in Ethnomusicology at Harvard University, founded Debo band in 2006. The band, which has been cultivating a small but enthusiastic following in the loft spaces, neighborhood bars, and church basements of Boston, explores the unique sounds that filled the dance floors of “Swinging Addis” – a period of prolific Ethiopian jazz recordings in the 1960s and 70s. Addis Ababa’s nightlife was buzzing with live Afro-pop, Swing, and Blues performances rivaling those in Paris or New York. The sounds of that era have been showcased on the Ethiopiques Buda CD series. The 60′s and 70′s also witnessed the rise of legendary stars such as Tilahun Gessesse, Mahmoud Ahmed, Alemayehu Eshete, Mulatu Astatke, and saxophonist Getatchew Mekuria, among others – some of whom Danny credits as his source of inspiration. He pays tribute to Menelik Wossenachew, a member of the Haile Sellasie Theatre Orchestra, led by the famous Armenian composer Nerses Nalbandian. Debo began making appearances outside of Boston this year, including shows in New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. We spoke with Danny prior to the band’s concert at L’Orange Bleue in New York City.
Above:Photo by Award-winning Photographer Aida Muluneh –
whose upcoming book “explores (her) country through, identity,
personal journey and family nostalgia after a 30-year absence –
established an NGO in 2008 to train a new generation of African
photographers to compete in the global media industry while
reshaping the image of Africa to reflect their personal
experiences.
Aida Muluneh is an award-winning photographer based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In her photography book Ethiopia: Past/Forward (Africalila, 2009,) Aida explores the country through, identity, personal journey and family nostalgia after a 30-year absence. The photographs are a collection of images that show cases a return to a society juxtaposed between past, present and future.
Aida is founder of D.E.S.T.A FOR AFRICA, a non-profit cultural organization in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. D.E.S.T.A FOR AFRICA stands for Developing and Educating Society Through Art, it also means “happiness” in the Ethiopian language Amharic. D.E.S.T.A FOR AFRICA promotes cultural development through the use of photography by providing workshops, exhibitions and creative exchanges.
Follow her on Twitter @aidamuluneh. Read the interview at Dodge & Burn
Related past article from Tadias archives Reshaping our global image through photography
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Thursday, December 18, 2008
New York (Tadias) – Desta, the Amharic word for happiness, is the name of a popular candy brand in Ethiopia. It’s also the acronym of choice for Photographer Aida Muluneh’s ambitious new project to reform the African continent’s long history with negative imagery.
Through photography, Muluneh has found a medium of transformation. Incorporating natural light from a crisp, dawn Ethiopian morning, or that of a sentimental sunny afternoon, Muluneh projects inspiration captured in moments of daily life – portraits of cab riders, priests, and street children in bustling Ethiopian cities and towns.
Her new organization, appropriately named DESTA for Africa, is a local NGO based in Addis Ababa. Muluneh (pictured above) hopes to encourage a new generation of African Photographers who are able to compete in the global media industry while reshaping the image of Africa reflecting their personal experiences.
“I have spent most of my artistic career promoting alternative images of Africa. DESTA For Africa was born out of my belief that we have to be accountable for how the world perceives us. Even though Africa is ever growing and rapidly changing, the images that we see in the mass media are not reflective of that, ” Muluneh says in a recent interview with Tadias Magazine.
“I feel that African artists have a responsibility to manage how the continent’s image is portrayed, and we can do that by actually providing the necessary education and resources to those who are interested in documenting their own realities.”
School is over for the day. These boys enjoy their time-off playing in their
neighborhood streets in Addis. (Photo by Aida Muluneh. Image featured on BBC)
BBC: A dignified Ethiopia – Aida Muluneh living in New York sent these images
depicting life in Ethiopia. She hopes these photos will show her country in a
different perspective.
Timkat (Epiphany) is the most colourful event in Ethiopia when churches parade
their Tabots (Replica of the. Ark of the Covenant) to a nearby body of water. Here
priests and deacons begin the religious procession from their individual churches and
walk, carrying flags, to Meskel Square where they all assemble.
(Photo by Aida Muluneh. This image was also featured on BBC).
The organization’s first batch of trainees is from Addis Ababa University, which lacks a permanent department of photography. ” We offer our workshop to undergraduates and graduates of the Addis Ababa School of Fine Arts and Design, with the aim to provide them with viable and self-sustainable opportunities in the photography industry,” Muluneh explains.
Yet the giving is reciprocal. Muluneh is learning from her students as they receive training. “My students are an example of what can happen when countries invest in cultural production, and support efforts to reshape Africa’s image. And they also give me strength and inspiration to continue on this mission,” she says.
Muluneh’s biggest stumbling block is lack of basic teaching resources. “You won’t believe how much of a difference it makes to have one photography book or art book,” she says. “I have been teaching with three cameras shared among 13 students, yet the students have been with me since February 2008 with the same enthusiasm and passion as on their first day.”
And what can the Diaspora do to help?
“We are continuously looking for photography books, cameras, film…the list goes on, but the first thing I would like to stress to the Ethiopian American community is the importance of cultural preservation, and managing cultural production, she says. “Culture determines not only how we experience daily life, but how we transmit vital information about our history, health, and general economic and political development.”
For those who are interested, Muluneh will be hosting a fundraiser and introduction of DFA at Almaz Restaurant tonight in Washington D.C. (The event took place on Thursday, December 18th, 2008). “We will be showcasing the works of the students and also selling prints to help continue our work in Ethiopia, and beyond,” she says. “For those who are not able to attend, it is possible to make donations through our website at www.destaforafrica.org.”
Here are few recent images from Muluneh’s students in Ethiopia.
New York (Tadias) – We first featured Ethiopian-American artist Yonie in our May 2003 issue as he single-handedly and successfully promoted his music on Seattle’s KUBE 93 FM and X104.5 FM radio stations. Citing Michael Jackson as his childhood music hero, Yonie didn’t wait for large labels to pick him up. Instead, he worked alongside some of the industry’s best mixing engineers to produce his own songs.
Yonie caught up with us recently and let us know that he’s still on the fast track. “Since we last spoke I’ve been up to lot,” he said. ” I moved to LA in 2005 to pursue acting. ”
Within three months of moving from Seattle to Hollywood he earned himself a position as a Music Video Casting Director and found himself “engulfed in a world of pretty women, million-dollar mansions and A-list celebrities like Mariah Carey, 50 Cent, Lil Wayne and more.” Not surprisingly, Yonie caught the attention of producers who approached him about having a TV show based on his new life in Hollywood. The trailer for the film, Sunset, was recently released online and the producers are currently in negotiations with Viacom, owners of MTV, as well a few other networks. The show is expected to begin airing in January 2010.
In addition to the TV show, Yonie has also produced a film entitled ‘The Heart Specialist’ featuring stars such as Zoe Saldana (Star Trek), Wood Harris (The Wire), Brian White (Stomp the Yard) and R & B Singer Mya. The film won ‘Best Film’ award at the 2008 BET Urban World Film Festival in New York.
Yonie’s new show features Lil Wayne, T-Pain, Pharrell, Bow Wow and several other artists. We’re looking forward to the premiere!
Lucy's fossils made a stop in New York today as part of its six-year tour of the United States. (Photo: Tadias Magazine)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Wednesday, June 24, 2009
New York (Tadias) – In continuation of the six-year tour of the United States, Lucy’s Legacy: The Hidden Treasures of Ethiopia opened today at the Discovery Times Square Exposition in New York.
Organizers held a press preview in mid-town Manhattan this morning and unveiled a multi-media exhibition of Lucy’s fossils – one of the earliest human ancestors discovered in Ethiopia. Additional items including ancient Ethiopian Orthodox bibles, biblical manuscripts, copies of the Holy Koran from the Harar region, and other historical materials conveying Ethiopia’s ancient Abrahamic heritage and diverse cultures were shown.
A replica of the Axum obelisk and the Lalibela church, designed by American artists for the exhibition, were also on display.
Donald Johanson, who made the landmark discovery of Lucy in 1974, told Tadias Magazine that the famous bones are a very important reminder of our origins in Ethiopia. “She reminds us that all of us began in Africa,” the Arizona State University Professor said during an interview at the museum. “Ethiopians should be very proud of that fact, that our ancient ancestor has been found in Ethiopia, and it is a rare opportunity for the country to share these antiquities with the rest of the world.”
Donald Johanson, the man who discovered Lucy, at the Discovery Times Square
Exposition in New York ———— –(Photo by Tadias Magazine – June 24, 2009)
There have been many versions of how Lucy got her name. Johanson shared its origins with us. “I was there with my girlfriend Pamela, and the Beatles song ‘Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds’ was playing on a small radio…that’s how she was named.” According to Johanson, an official at the Ministry of Culture, Bekele Negussie, gave Lucy her Ethiopian name Dinkenesh, which in amharic means ‘you are wonderful.’
“I hope this exhibition will encourage people to travel to Ethiopia and experience this great nation,” Johanson said.
However, several scientists have shared their concern and disapproval of the exhibition citing that Lucy’s remains are too fragile for touring and travel. The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. has refused to display Lucy amidst such concerns.
Mamitu Yilma, Manger of the National Museum of Ethiopia, who attended the NYC opening, says she understands the controversy. “Although the concerns are legitimate, we have done a lot of work and professional due diligence before Lucy was allowed to leave Ethiopia,” she says. ” At the end, it is about sharing Ethiopia’s rich history, diverse culture, and our tremendous contribution to world civilization.” And “What better place to do it than in New York City, the capital of multiculturalism.”
Dirk Van Tuerenhout, Curator of the show, hopes that the exhibition will serve as an ‘Ethiopia 101′ course for the American public. “My greatest joy is when people say: “Wow, I had no idea that the Queen of Sheba was Ethiopian or that Rastafarianism is related to the Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie. I hope the show inspires young children to become anthropologists or archaeologists or researchers”.
The show will remain open in New York until October 24th, 2009
Here are more photos:
NYT Photographer Chester Higgins, Jr. and Mamitu Yilma, Manger of the National
Museum of Ethiopia. — — — — — (Photo by Tadias Magazine – June 24, 2009)
A video exibtion of the life and times of Emperor Haile Selassie is also on display.
Outside the Discovery Times Square Exposition (Photo by Tadias Magazine)
A large poster detailing the relationship between Rastafarianism and Ethiopia.
The show will remain open in New York until October 24th, 2009.
Jazz Photo Show: Chester Higgins, Frank Stewart, Gediyon Kifle
ART NEWS
The Gallery at AYN Studio Presents Stop Time: Jazz & Pictures
Posted: Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Featuring Chester Higgins Jr., Frank Stewart and Gediyon Kifle
The Gallery at AYN Studio is pleased to announce the jazz photo show featuring artists Chester Higgins Jr., Frank Stewart, and Gediyon Kifle. Stop Time refers to a musical device frequently used in jazz, in which the forward movement of the rhythm seemingly stops to allow a soloist space to improvise and continue the forward flow of the music. Contrary to suggestion, however, the rhythm never stops…quite like the history of Jazz.
Stop Time is a collection of works by these three award-winning photographers who documented jazz legends from the 20th century into the 21st Century. Each photographer brings his own narrative twist to the great history of jazz icons. Higgins (New York Times and African-American heritage photographer) begins the show with a proud portrait of Duke Ellington to set the “rhythm” of the show. Stewart (NY Foundation for the Arts Fellows and Jazz heritage photographer) brings the uncanny intimacy the musicians have with their music as well as his own intimacy with the musicians, like in his photographs, Miles in the Green Room 1981, and in 1992 Sir Roland Hannah. Kifle documents the excitement of proximity and performance of the musicians. In works like Tommy Flanagan I, II, and III and Solitude (Wynton Marsalis) one can visually hear the soul of the musician and the energy of the audience.
Above:On April 19, 2009, Ethiopians lost the greatest popular
musician the country has ever produced. The following is an
“appreciation and reminisence by Charles Sutton about his
friend, the supremely gifted singer, Tilahun Gessesse…”
Charles Sutton — usually known as Charlie — came to Ethiopia with the Peace Corps in 1996. He was a musician, and even before he arrived, Charlie had discovered Ethiopian music through his Amharic language instructors. He describes the impact of that discovery, which directed his life toward a deep and lasting relationship with Ethiopia, its people — particularly musicians, and its language, in which his fluency and elegance continue to astonish.
Charlie needs only a brief introduction from me since he will provide the rest himself. His friends and acquaintances know Charlie to be a gracious, warm and generous man, thoughtful and polite to a fault. He is still a working musician both as a teacher and a performer. In his jazz, Charlie’s improvisations reveal the depth to which Ethiopia has entered his soul. In a recent recording, Charlie played masinko and sang, in Amharic, naturally, with two long-time Ethiopian musician friends. Characteristically, Charlie often directs the proceeds from his CD sales to the Institute for Ethiopian Studies or another deserving beneficiary.
This is the first of a three-part appreciation and reminisence by Charles Sutton about his friend, the supremely gifted singer, Tilahun Gessesse, who passed away on April 19, 2009 in Addis Ababa. All of Ethiopia, and music lovers around the world, are in mourning.
Sutton’s Tribute to Tilahun Gessesse – Part II – Ye Muzika Metsihet
Part I of my tribute to Tilahun Gessesse concluded on a late summer evening in 1966, when staff Amharic teachers and I performed his beautiful song “Oo-oota Ayaskeffam” in a music show during Peace Corps training at the University of Utah. As I begin writing again on the 40th-day memorial of Tilahun’s death, I feel privileged to join you once more in commemorating this great, iconic singer. In Part II, I will attempt to thank Tilahun in a more personal way, by acknowledging how profoundly he affected me during the years I spent as a Peace Corps Volunteer–and musical performer–in Ethiopia . Perhaps I can best do this by inviting you to revisit with me a second musical event. It occurred almost exactly two years after the Utah show. The date was September 11, 1968 (Meskerem 1, 1961), and the occasion was the Grand New Year’s Music Festival at the Ambassador Theater in Addis Ababa .
It was early, a little past eleven o’clock in the morning, when I arrived outside the Theater on that long-ago New Year’s Day. Already there was a large, animated crowd of music fans clustered around the box office, basking in the warm spring sunshine as they waited to purchase their tickets for the annual marathon show that would begin at one in the afternoon and continue until late into the night. I paused for a moment near the main entrance to gaze at a large advertising poster on which I saw my name and photograph included along with those of Tilahun and other popular vocalists whose appearances were promised.
As I made my way through the throng toward the stage entrance at the rear of the building, a newspaper boy ran after me. Under one arm he clutched a large stack of orange-colored magazines.”Mister Charles! Mister Charles!” he cried. Music Magazine! Published today! Hot off the press! Limited edition just for the Festival! Great pictures and write-ups of Tilahun, Bizunesh Bekkele, Alemayehu Eshete–all the big stars! And you, Mister Charles! You! You are in it too! Look!” With a flourish, he opened a copy and held it up for my inspection.
“Mister Charles!” he continued. “This fantastic souvenir edition costs only one birr! Get yours now, before they are all gone! “I didn’t need any more persuading. Fishing in the single, narrow pocket of my suri, I extracted the few coins necessary to make up the price. By this time, we were surrounded by several more newsboys clamoring for me to buy their copies too. Leaving the sunlight, I escaped with my purchase through the stage door into the cavernous theater’s backstage gloom.
For the equivalent of U.S. 40 cents, Ye Muzika Metsihet (“Music Magazine”, as I have translated it; the text, except for a few English words added for effect to its advertisements, is entirely in Amharic) was undoubtedly one of the best bargains I have ever encountered. Much more than a playbill, the metsihet contains in its 70 pages detailed descriptions of all the contemporary artists, groups, musical directors, and technicians; magnificent photographs and collages; and thoughtful essays covering a variety of musical subjects. There is even a section devoted to English and American pop luminaries of the day like Tom Jones, Elvis Presley, and Ray Charles. The attractive cover of Music Magazine features a young, beautiful Asnakech Worku seated amidst spring flowers, plucking the strings of her krar.
All this was the work of Shawul Baminew, a presenter of popular music on Radio Ethiopia . Music Magazine was obviously a labor of love, which I doubt has been equaled before or since. Once inside the theater, I became so absorbed in the magazine–which today remains one of my most treasured possessions–that I almost missed my cue.
Page 48 of Music Magazine features Charles and Almaz Getachew, the vivacious
singer-dancer from Wolayita, performing with Orchestra Ethiopia.
As I had done for the first time in Utah , once again I was going before an audience to sing in Amharic, but now as the veteran of dozens of television, concert, and wedding performances during the preceding year and a half with Orchestra Ethiopia , a 15-member traditional folkloric troupe. Long gone were the incongruous button-down shirt, striped tie, and slacks of my stateside initiation, replaced by the white cheesecloth cape, long white tunic, and white riding pants that constitute the Ethiopian national dress. Suspended on a leather thong from my left shoulder was a mesenko, which I had spent many laborious hours learning to play.
Even though I dressed in Ethiopian costume, sang Ethiopian songs, and made a fair attempt at performing on an Ethiopian musical instrument, you might well wonder how an amateur mesenko player–an American newcomer to the ancient land where the Peace Corps assigned him to be a teacher of English–could so rapidly have penetrated the ranks of its seasoned professional entertainers and musicians.
The paradoxical explanation is that I owed my improbable career in Ethiopian traditional music directly to the transcendent popularity of Tilahun Gessese.
The most quintessentially Ethiopian of all Ethiopian singers, but simultaneously the undisputed avatar of what was then called “modern music” (“zemenawi muzika”–Western-tinged Ethiopian pop performed on Western musical instruments), Tilahun, and his cohorts in the Imperial Bodyguard (the Army and Police Bands followed close on their heels), seemed in those days to sweep all before them, taking the world of Ethiopian music by storm. Some commentators confidently predicted that Ethiopian traditional music and musical instruments would soon face extinction as a result.
Page 25 of Music Magazine is devoted to Tilahun Gessesse, 26-year-old star
vocalist of the Imperial Bodyguard Orchestra
Orchestra Ethiopia , the group with which I had become associated, was founded under the auspices of the Creative Arts Centre of Haile Selassie I University in 1963 by the Egyptian-American composer and ethnomusicologist Halim El-Dabh, specifically to counter this trend. As Shawul Baminew wrote about Orchestra Ethiopia in Music Magazine, “In order to prevent Ethiopia’s great cultural heritage from being swallowed up by Western civilization and know-how, and with the goal of keeping the country’s native arts alive and to defend against their being swept away in a flood of foreign influences…, one branch of the Creative Arts Centre was dedicated to the preservation of traditional music and given the name ‘Orchestra Ethiopia’…[The Orchestra] would incorporate all the varied instruments characteristic of different Ethiopian ethnic groups, so that these instruments would not molder as displays in a museum, but would play on together in group performance and so be given new life and the chance to expand their musical scope.”
Ato Shawul goes on to say that the then director of the Orchestra, a gifted twenty-year old composer and poet named Tesfaye Lemma, by means of his attractive, innovative compositions and his skilled supervision of the ensemble, had not only brought it a long way toward achieving the goals that had been set for it, but had in the process also won for traditional music an unexpected resurgence in popularity.
Nonetheless, traditional music still faced an uphill fight. Tesfaye told me that the first time Orchestra Ethiopia participated in the New Year’s Festival, before he became director, an impatient audience hooted the musicians off the stage. Things had improved since then, but Tesfaye was still looking for new approaches and special attractions to help Orchestra Ethiopia hold its own against the glitz and glamor of the military bands.
That was where I came in.
Thirty years later, Tesfaye explained in an interview the genesis of his plan for me to join the Orchestra: “It was a new experience for Ethiopians when they saw a foreigner appreciating and performing their music. This brought good attention to the Orchestra, especially in those days. Many people were not conscious of their culture. They didn’t see their music and instruments as valuable. The younger people were more interested in rock music and in learning the guitar and keyboard. When I invited Charles to perform with the Orchestra, it was unusual and they woke up and said, ‘This is good music. An American is playing our music! ‘They came to have more respect for their music as a result.”
At the 1968 New Year’s Festival at the Ambassador Theater, Orchestra Ethiopia finally came into its own. Tesfaye had spent months preparing an all-new program that was greeted with unprecedented enthusiasm by the capacity crowd. The song he wrote for me then–it has been a staple of my repertoire ever since–was called “Mesenko”. The audience liked “Mesenko” so much that I had to sing it twice.
Considered by the organizers to be the least exciting attraction, Orchestra Ethiopia was always first on the bill at the New Year’s Festival, presenting a one-hour program. Next came the Police and Army Bands, each playing for two hours. The grand finale was the Bodyguard’s presentation, with Tilahun’s performance as its climax. As each group finished its job at the Ambassador, it left immediately for the Ras Theater in the mercato, where the New Year’s show was repeated in its entirety at half-price for a young, rough, more boisterous crowd.
Charles was proud when he saw his photograph positioned directly below Tilahun’s
at the center of this poster advertising a music show in 1968.
I can remember clearly the shock of the transition from the relative decorum of the Ambassador to the rough-and-tumble holiday hubbub of the Ras. We descended from our minibus at twilight into the midst of a disorderly mob through which we had to push our way to the Theater’s back entrance. Once safely inside the dimly lit stage area, we found a scene that seemed to border on chaos, with many people running about and no one apparently in charge. But there was hidden method to this apparent madness; presently we were ushered into the wings and hurriedly prepared to march out on stage. I peeked through a tear in the curtain and felt butterflies in my stomach as I glimpsed a vast, restive multitude standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the darkened, fully packed house.
If a Ras audience found fault with you, their yells, insults, hoots, and catcalls would begin immediately and make it virtually impossible for you to continue your performance. But if you won them over and they liked you, they were equally uninhibited in demonstrating their approbation–nay, love–which you could feel wash over you like a warm wave. At the Ambassador, the rhymes in my new song “Mesenko” had been greeted with polite applause; at the Ras, they elicited roars of delight. The audience began to sway and sing along. A young woman emerged from their midst, climbed a staircase at the side of the stage, and, like a lovely apparition, came dancing toward me. When she kissed me on both cheeks and pasted a 10-birr note to my forehead, the crowd went wild. She was followed by several others who stuffed money into my pockets, the collar of my tunic, under the strap of my mesenko, and even in my shoes–always to uproarious applause.
Orchestra Ethiopia ‘s entire program was very warmly received.
The bus was waiting outside to take us at last to our homes. I unwound by reading some more in Music Magazine, turning now to Shawul Baminew’s appraisal of Tilahun (whose performance that day I was sorry to have missed): “Most of you know already that Tilahun holds the first place among our country’s vocalists. Tilahun is a young man who has a pleasant disposition, is disciplined, strives to please all of his listeners whoever they may be, always has a smile on his face, and, in accordance with Ethiopian custom, respects his fellow man. Because he is like this, everyone who knows Tilahun admires and praises him. If you think I’m lying, approach him. Try him, and you will see.”
Unfortunately, 32 years would pass before I was lucky enough to discover for myself the accuracy of that pronouncement. I was a co-participant with Tilahun in four successive New Year’s festivals, but because Orchestra Ethiopia always appeared at the beginning of the show and the Bodyguard Orchestra at the end, we never met.
However, I did at least get close to Tilahun–in a manner of speaking. Two weeks after Orchestra Ethiopia ‘s success at the Festival of ’68, the entire New Year’s show was staged again by popular demand. A new advertisement posted all over town displayed the photographs of ten star performers. As always, Tilahun occupied the central position. But this time, for once–it was one of the proudest moments of my life–I joined him there.
—- I look forward to recounting to you in the third and concluding part of my tribute how I eventually did enjoy the good fortune not only to watch on two occasions from the best seat in the house as Tilahun performed, but also to meet him, express to him my admiration, hear his opinion of my singing and mesenko playing, spend some happy times with him, and become his friend.
Charles Sutton
Old Saybrook , Connecticut
June 9, 2009
Remembering Tilahun Gesesse
Meklit Hadero and Todd Brown at the de Young Museum in San Francisco
Art News
Source: San Francisco Sentinel.com
10 June 2009
The de Young Museum hosts Meklit Hadero and Todd Brown: Light, Shadow, and the Quiet Song Between through June 27th as part of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Artist-in-Residence Program in the Kimball Education Gallery. Read more at San Francisco Sentinel.com.
Ethiopia native MEKLIT HADERO is a singer, musician, cultural activist, and previous director of the Red Poppy Art House in San Francisco. Meklit has lived in twelve cities, on three continents, and her musical explorations span cultural influences and genres. In December of 2007, Meklit released her first recording, titled Eight Songs. She is the recipient of a 2008 Individual Grant from the Belle Foundation for Arts and Culture. Currently, she is organizing a group of Ethiopian Diaspora artists from across North America to return to Ethiopia for a festival of traditional music at the end of this year. Meklit was selected as a 2009 TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Global Fellow. The TED conference is a large gathering of artists, scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, and designers who are at the cutting edge of their fields. Along with Brown, she is a central composer, lyricist and co-founder of the musical ensemble Nefasha Ayer. Listen to Meklit’s work: MEKLIT HADERO.
Photos from L.A.’s Little Ethiopia Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Updated: Wednesday, June 10, 2009
New York (Tadias) – An intergenerational poetry reading and panel discussion examining four decades of Ethiopian immigrant’s life in the U.S was held earlier this month in Los Angeles.
The Tsehai Poetry Jam, which was presented in cooperation with PEN USA, the Ethiopian Heritage Foundation and Tsehai Publishers, was held at Messob Restaurant & Lounge, located in the official neighborhood of Little Ethiopia on Fairfax Avenue.
A similar event in Chicago is scheduled for early July in conjunction with the The Fourth Annual Tsehai conference.
Below are photo highlights from the L.A. event courtesy of Tsehai Publishers.
Photos by Richard Beban
Conversations Between Generations: The Lives of Two Ethiopian Ceramicists
Above:“Porcelain bowl,” teapot, and vase, ceramic.
By Tessema, Mamo (Photo credit – National Archives,
Contemporary African Art from the Harmon Foundation, select
list number 236).
Tadias Magazine
By Lydia Gobena
Updated: June 1, 2009
New York (Tadias) – Pottery has traditionally played a functional role in Ethiopian society, and ceramists have generally been seen in a less than favorable light. In fact, in certain areas, ceramics was even associated with witchcraft. Ato Mamo Tessema impacted Ethiopians’ perceptions of ceramics and ceramicist. His work became seen and continues to be seen as an art form rather than a product with a utilitarian function. Ato Mamo’s artwork and career as the founder and curator of the National Museum of Ethiopia has also had a lasting legacy on Ethiopian artists, including Sofia Temesgien Gobena.
This article will discuss Ato Mamo’s influence on changing the perception of ceramists and ceramic art in Ethiopia, as well as his influence on the career of his cousin Sofia T. Gobena, who passed away in 2003. This article will further discuss how Sofia’s family is seeking to promote the notion of ceramics as an art form in Ethiopia.
Mamo Tessema was born on August 24, 1935 in Nekemet, Wollega, Ethiopia. He graduated from Teacher’s Training School at His Imperial Majesty’s Handicraft School in Addis Ababa. After studying in Ethiopia, he went to the U.S., where he attended the Alfred University, and the New York College of Ceramics. He received his Bachelor’s of Fine Arts and Masters of Fine Arts from Alfred. At Alfred, Ato Mamo’s studies were not limited to ceramic design, he also studied wood carving, painting, sculpture, welding, graphics, lithography, photography, furniture design, and history of art, among other things. Thus, Ato Mamo’s studies provided him with a well-rounded background in art, which is reflected by his artwork.
Above Left: “Warrior,” welded steel sculpture by Mamo Tessema (Photo credit – National Archives, Contemporary African Art from the Harmon Foundation, select list
number 239).
Above Right: “Welded Bird,” welded steel sculpture by Mamo Tessema
(Photo credit – National Archives,Contemporary African Art from the Harmon
Foundation, select list number 240).
Ato Mamo’s work has been exhibited in a number of locations including at the: Alfred Guild at the State College of Ceramics; 1961 UNESCO exhibit; Temple Emanu-El in Yonkers, New York; Washington Heights branch of the New York Public Library; Hampton Institute and Commercial Museum in Philadelphia. The latter five exhibitions were done through the assistance and/or sponsorship of Harmon Foundation, which during its existence from 1922 to 1967, played an instrumental role in promoting the awareness of African art in the U.S. Ato Mamo has also exhibited his work in other countries, including in Ethiopia.
“The Capture,” woodcut. By Tessema, Mamo (Photo credit – National
Archives,Contemporary African Art from the Harmon Foundation, select
list number 237.
After returning from studying in the U.S., Ato Mamo became well-known as a ceramist. This resulted in Ethiopians beginning to appreciate ceramics as an art form. To this day, when Ethiopians think of ceramics as an art form, Ato Mamo immediately comes to mind.
Ato Mamo also taught at the Handicraft School after his return to Ethiopia. Ato Mamo further embarked on the ambitious and worthy project of establishing the Ethiopian National Museum, the first museum in the country. Among the purposes of the Museum were to demonstrate the illustrious art and culture of Ethiopia to visitors, and to educate Ethiopian children about their rich history. As the founder and curator of the museum, Ato Mamo traveled throughout the globe, presenting Ethiopian artifacts to the world.
It can be said that his influence is felt by many now, when one travels through the bustling art scene in Ethiopia. There seems to be a greater appreciation of artwork as new private galleries are opened. Ato Mamo saw the importance of Ethiopian art and history, and the need to archive it. For this Ethiopians should be grateful.
Sofia T. Gobena Sofia at her Masters of Arts Show
Sofia Temesgien Gobena was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on August 18, 1964. She came to the United States of America in July 1972 with her parents, Abebetch B. and Temesgien Gobena. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Antioch College in Ohio, and a Master of Arts in ceramics and glass from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She also completed her work for her Master of Fine Arts at the University of Wisconsin. Sofia unexpectedly passed away at the age of 38, though in her short life she was a prolific creator. Here are but few samples of her work.
To learn about ceramics in Ethiopia, Sofia visited one of the traditional ceramics producing stations. Sofia’s art professors and colleagues described her artistic abilities as transcendent and the kind of talent that comes around perhaps once a decade.
During Sofia’s visit to a traditional ceramics station
in Ethiopia.
Although Sofia’s life was brief, she was a prodigious artist, leaving behind numerous paintings, sculptures, glasswork, and ceramic pieces that are testaments to the beauty of her creative spirit. While some of this work had previously been seen during her Master of Arts show that was held in Madison, Wisconsin, her artwork received greater exposure at an art show that was held on June 18-20, 2004, in Washington, D.C. at the WorldSpace Corporation. The art show was put together by her family, with the assistance of Mamo Tessema.
Sofia’s influences in ceramics were the well-known U.S. ceramicists Peter Voulkos and Daniel Rhodes. Mamo Tessema was also an important influence in Sofia’s art. The Sofia T. Gobena Foundation was established in Sofia’s memory. The purpose of the foundation is to distribute funds to educational institutions in the United States and abroad that support and encourage the promotion of ceramic arts. Contributions have already been made to the Addis Ababa University Art Department to develop a ceramics department.
In sum, Mamo Tessema’s art work and legacy as the founder of the Ethiopian National Museum has had a significant influence on Ethiopia and artists. One such artist was Sofi a T. Gobena, in whose name a foundation was established to promote the ceramic arts.
— About the Author: Lydia Gobena, sister of Sofia T. Gobena and a cousin to Ato Mamo Tessema, is a trademark attorney and partner at Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu, one of the top intellectual property law firms in the world. She is also a jewelry artist based in New York City.
Addis Journal: Stencil Paintings for the Ethiopian Music Festival
The picture above is a stenciled portrait of Alemayehu Eshete, a renowned Ethiopian vocalist, being displayed at an exhibition in Addis at Alliance Ethio-Francaise’s gallery starting from Friday, May 15 as a part of the 8th Ethiopian Music Festival.
The work by French painter, Pierr Dumond, (known by his artistic name Artiste-Ouvrier) is based on a photograph from Abyssinia Swing, showing Alemayehu in his youth as a nineteen-year old obscure singer.
The second portrait based on a photo taken six months later illustrates the
singer’s stunning transformation that came with his new-found fame and an
Elvis Presley look.
The acrylics works are highly detailed stencils and silk screened on canvass. Artist-Ouvrier’s technical skill in combining emphatic brushstrokes with photographic imagery has captivated viewers.
The artist has also displayed other portraits of Ethiopian musicians such as Tilahun Gessesse and a group portrait of Tilahun Gessesse, Mahamoud Ahmed, Bizunesh Bekele.
The collections are among the 600 works that Artist-Ouvrier has been doing since
March 1, 2009 in preparation for the Music Festival.
The Festival which opened on Friday this year has chosen to honour two composers and arrangers, Sahle Degago and Lemma Demissew, two prevalent figures of “Swinging Addis “,”unfairly erased from collective memory”, according organizers.
Sahle Degago has spent his whole musical career among the Imperial Bodyguard Orchestra. An inspired melodist, a delicate songwriter and above all an arranger as sophisticated as prolific, he was the main architect of the successes of other members of the Orchestra such as Tilahoun Gessesse, Bezunesh Bekele or Mahmoud Ahmed, according to the promotional brochures.
The career of Lemma Demissew bloomed in the shade of the Army Band. Contrary to Sahle Degago, who was strongly Ethiopian in his approach, Lemma Demissew was often a feverish modernist, deeply inspired by the electric wave born on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. A pianist, a composer, a singer, he will also remain, for our music lovers’ soft little hearts, the beloved arranger of many of Mahmoud Ahmed’s or Alemayehu Eshete’s anthological vinyl records.
——–
Publisher’s note: This piece is re-posted from the Visual Poets Society’s blog with permission.
Ethiopian-born artist Yadesa Bojia is the designer of the current flag of the African Union that was adopted in 2010. (Courtesy photo)
