Now, though, artists are in a better position to share their aesthetics and narratives with the world. And as Ethiopia opens up, a fledgling collector base is developing. “We have been telling people ‘You guys have a goldmine here and you need to take notice’ because once the world gets a hold of this, it is going to be unaffordable here,” said Rakeb Sile, co-founder of Addis Fine Arts, iwhich has galleries in both Addis and London, over the phone.
Work by Elias Sime, a multidisciplinary artist known for his relief sculptures — and another Ale alumnus — has already found a global audience. Last year he was one of two artists to win the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art Award, and this year he has been shortlisted for the Guggenheim Museum’s Hugo Boss Prize. Back in 2002, he co-founded the Zoma Contemporary Art Center (ZCAC) in Addis, with curator Meskerem Assegued, and last year the duo opened the Zoma Museum, a privately-run museum and arts space. They also recently completed sculptures for the Unity Park sculpture garden within the National Palace compound in Addis Ababa, on invitation from Prime Minister Ahmed.
“Artists do not have the intention to leave the country as much as they used to because they can do well by being positioned here,” said Assegued. “The last few years, artists have been motivated to experiment with different work and they have been mobilizing, which is very good news.”
Yinka Shonibare’s colorful artworks subvert colonial narratives
Recent examples include the communal space Mount Entoto Studio, atop a mountain overlooking the capital city, which was set up by artists Henok Melkamzer Yihun and Eyob Kitaba, and the artistic collective Gize, which was recently launched by a group of artists and educators, including multimedia artist Robel Temesgen. “Gize has been established to be an alternative space in the city,” he wrote in an email. “We are currently planning and developing projects for later this year.”
