Events News

New York – The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival 2009 will take
place on June 18th, 19th and 20th. Events include a
retrospective photo exhibit of the first four years, a kick
off party, Family Day, The Main Day, and the Official After
Party.

Bernos will be there with T-shirts.

This is a free event
Family Day and Main Day are June 20th at Empire Fulton Ferry State Park, 1
Main Street, in DUMBO Brooklyn from 12p.m. – 8 p.m.

On June 20th, 2009, babies, toddlers, young teens and families are encouraged to head down to beautiful Empire Fulton Ferry State Park for an afternoon of Hip-Hop, community building, and fun. Children, families, teenagers, and kids are all welcome all day to this all ages event. Family Day will feature music, performances, demonstrations, and seminars from a host of organizations including Black Girls Rock, Metropolitan Hospital, The Beacon Program, The League of Young Voters, CityYear, Brooklyn Crescents Youth Lacrosse Team, and SohNup Industries NYC to name a few.

————–
The official After Party will take place at Southpaw 125 Fifth Ave. in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
Lineup TBA.

The Photo Exhibit will be held at Galapagos Art Space
16 Main Street, in DUMBO, Brooklyn
June 18th
Galapagos Art Space

Check www.brooklynbodega.com for tickets and more info.

Events News
Source: Brooklyn International Film Festival
Category: Documentary
Director: Moritz Siebert
(a freelance journalist, a medical doctor and a filmmaker)
Showtime: 2:00 pm | Saturday June 13 | Brooklyn Heights Cinema

Synopsis
Abiyot is one of several African long distance runners, trying to make a living and career in the US. Once he was a promising member of the Ethiopian national team, but two years ago he left his country to start a new life. Weekend after weekend, he races with fellow African athletes in road races, competing over a few hundred dollars of prize money. The film follows Abiyot as he prepares for an important race. Every morning at break of dawn he tirelessly trains in the empty streets of his Bronx neighborhood. With every aspect of his daily routine centered on his training, his footsteps not only dictate the rhythm of his life, but also become the pervasive rhythm of the film. In phone calls with his family back home, Abiyot tries to convince them and himself, that the running will pay off in the long term… A film about endurance, migration and the American Dream.

WATCH TRAILER

The Charleston Gazette

April 22, 2009

The Ethiopian Student Association at West Virginia State University will host its third annual “Taste of Ethiopia” from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday in the Student Union Grand Hall.

Community will have the opportunity to taste injera (Ethiopian bread), doro wat (chicken stew), siga wat (beef stew), teqele gomen (cabbage) and other dishes, while enjoying fashion, music and other elements of Ethiopian culture. Read More.

Above: Child holding a model of the Aksum Obelisk by Hiwot
Gebre Geziabeher (9 years old) for UNESCO

UNESCO

Monday, April 20, 2009

An exhibition – photographs and a video installation – at UNESCO will celebrate the reinstallation of the Aksum obelisk. The show will give visitors a chance to learn about the history of the Ethiopian site and to view the key stages of reinstalling the monument, 24 metres high and weighing 150 tons.

Open to the public from 4 to 15 May (9 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.), the exhibition will be inaugurated on 23 April by Koïchiro Matsuura, the Director-General of UNESCO, in the presence of the Ethiopian and Italian ambassadors to UNESCO, Adelech Haile Mikael and Giuseppe Moscato.

The artists in the show, who are from Ethiopia, Belgium, France and Italy, were invited by UNESCO to visit Aksum and to express their vision of the restoration of the obelisk, a symbol of Ethiopian culture.

Their works highlight the uniqueness and magnitude of the project. The monument’s history has been eventful: erected in the 4th century then vandalized in the 7th, the obelisk was hauled off to Rome at Mussolini’s orders and set up near the Circus Maximus, finally returning to Aksum in 2005.

The artists – Tito Dupret, Theo Eshetu, Hiwot Gebre Geziabeher, Michael Tsegaye and Paola Viesi – give their personal interpretations of these events. The gigantic, 15-screen video installation by Theo Eshetu benefits from the dual perspective of the artist, born in Ethiopia and living in Rome. Hiwot Gebre Geziabeher, a schoolgirl from Aksum who learned photography from Michael Tsegaye, takes the local inhabitants’ point of view. Included in the show are films and photos depicting the extraordinary reinstallation work and Aksum’s lifestyle and culture. For an even better sense of the project’s scope, a 360°* projection offers visitors a simulated tour of the Aksum archaeological site and works.

With this exhibition, UNESCO is celebrating the successful reinstallation and showing how a cultural project can help bring about reconciliation between two countries with conflict in their past.

This project and this exhibition were made possible thanks to the generous contribution of the Italian Government.

From 4 to 15 May, individuals and school groups may reserve guided visits organized by UNESCO, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.

Contact for inauguration accreditation:

Djibril Kébé, tel. + 33 (0)1 45 68 17 41 / d.kebe@unesco.org

*Website with 360° images : http://www.1001merveilles.org/15

Related: Royal Monuments Recall the Lost Glory of an African Empire

Source: Archaeology:
A publication of the Archaeological Institute of America
Of Obelisks and Empire
By Mark Rose
Photographs by Chester Higgins, Jr.

Royal monuments and ancient accounts recall the lost
glory of an African kingdom

In the first century A.D., an unknown merchant recorded details of the Red Sea trade, and mentioned Adulis, the harbor of “the city of the people called Aksumites” to which “all the ivory is brought from the country beyond the Nile.” The ruler of Aksum, he wrote, was Zoskales, who was “miserly in his ways and always striving for more, but otherwise upright, and acquainted with Greek literature.” Just two centuries later, the philosopher Mani (ca. A.D. 210-276) included Aksum as one of the four great empires, along with Rome, Persia, and Sileos (possibly China). And in 274, envoys from Aksum took part in the triumphal procession staged by the emperor Aurelian when he paraded the captured Queen Zenobia of Palmyra, fettered with gold chains, through Rome.

Today, Aksum is a dusty, regional market town of about 50,000 in northern Ethiopia. If people have heard of it, perhaps it is on account of another queen: the Biblical Sheba. According to the Kebra Nagast (Book of the Glory of the Kings), an early-14th-century compilation that chronicles Ethiopia’s rulers, Solomon and Sheba had a son, Menelik, who brought the Ark of the Covenant from Jerusalem to Aksum. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church maintains that the Ark is still kept within the precinct walls of the Church of Tsion (Mary of Zion) in Aksum. Read more.

Recap: K’Naan at The Annex
Madison Decider
by Scott Gordon February 11, 2009

K’Naan played hip-hop, several styles of African music, and lavish pop hooks Tuesday at The Annex, and his stage presence didn’t recall a typical MC. Even when he told the crowd, “I’ll be quite honest with you, I’m not feeling the energy in here,” he didn’t sound like a rapper trying to bark his audience into an exaggerated frenzy. “We don’t make imposition music,” he explained. He emphasizes musical variety over all that tiresome “Lemme hear ya say HO-OOO!” business. The Somali-Canadian singer-rapper and band had a lot of territory to cover, from songs of freedom to rapped boasts about making “50 Cent look like Limp Bizkit” (probably nothing Fiddy couldn’t do for himself, but witty all the same), from old African-music samples to triumphantly over-the-top guitar solos. Read more.

Seven Generations:
Photos and Video by Avishai Mekonen

New York – These stunning works explore the past and future of Ethiopians in Israel. The exhibition juxtaposes what is being lost with the passing of older generations, and what new twists the younger generations are bringing to Ethiopian Israeli culture. Seven Generations presents a rare view of Ethiopian Jews from an artist within the community who is engaged in the struggle for a new identity.

If you go:
On View Feb 12 – Apr 30 -FREE
Opening Events: Thu, Feb 12
6-7 pm: Meet the Artist Talk with Avishai Mekonen
7-8 pm: Reception in the Gallery

Location: The JCC in Manhattan, 334 Amsterdam Ave. at 76th St. (Program room assignments will be available at the JCC Customer Service Desk, in the lobby of the Samuel Priest Rose Building.)

The Guardian
Chris Michael
Friday 6 February 2009

The first music that greets every visitor to northern Ethiopia is called Tigrinya. It’s a mix of James Brown-style horn riffs, loud vocal trilling, and the same beat – da-DUM (pause), da-DUM (pause) – on every single song. Tigrinya is an acquired taste, and arguably best experienced on blown speakers, at tinnitus-inducing volume, in a bus that smells vaguely of vomit.

It is just such a bus that makes the 16-hour journey from Addis to Arba Minch, home to the Thousand Stars festival. Billed as Ethiopia’s Glastonbury, Thousand Stars is three days of music in the heart of the Rift Valley. It would not, I was assured, involve any Tigrinya. Indeed, it seemed safe to assume your standard world-music lineup: a healthy contingent of Tourés, Diabatés and maybe a wailing guest kora solo from Damon Albarn.

I could hardly have been more wrong. Not only were there no stars at Thousand Stars, there were no food stalls, no DJs, no Peter-Gabriel approved “world music” artists noodling on the ngoni ba. No bands perform here. Instead, once a year, the organisers scrounge a few vans and drive around Ethiopia’s remote Omo region with letters of invitation to tribespeople, asking if they want to play at the festival, held at Arba Minch’s football arena. The tribes who agree – 55 this year, including two from Kenya – pile into the vans and head for the festival. And then, for the benefit of the other tribes, 50 or so western faranji tourists and a few thousand middle-class Ethiopians, they pick up a cordless microphone, walk on stage and perform songs and dances few people have ever seen. Read more.

Assistance with Film Translation:

Our film is an independent documentary that follows one girl as she is adopted from an orphanage in Addis Ababa by a (white) American family. Weynshet, the main subject of the film, is 12 when we meet her in Addis, 13 when she meets her adoptive parents and comes to America with them. We document her transition and transformation over the next 2 years and end with her first return trip to Ethiopia for a visit,at 16. It’s a film that ultimately deals with many of the experiences of international adoptees, as well as extending into the experiences of immigrants to the US. We filmed in Addis a number of
times over the last 3 years and much of our material is in Amharic.

For the moment we are looking for a good translator: someone who knows both Amharic and English well. And who understands the cultural nuances of both worlds, especially of contemporary Ethiopia/Addis Ababa. It can be difficult work to translate as the material is documentary video – not interviews – but real scenes unfolding, sometimes with questionable microphone coverage. It can also be very satisfying for someone with an interest in documentary film or journalism and also in teenagers or immigration, etc. It’s short- term, periodic, paid work.

People who are interested should send a note to my email address: susan@jumbofilm.com.

ZRUBAVEL

New York Premiere!

Winner of Best Film Award – 2008 Haifa International Film Festival

The first Israeli film by a team of Ethiopian Israelis. Itzhak, soon to be a bar mitzvah, dreams of becoming the Spike Lee of Israel and films a documentary about the neighborhood’s residents. He comes from an Ethiopian immigrant family led by his grandfather Gita. Gita, a janitor, insists on sending his son to a pretentious school despite the principal’s refusal to accept the boy. His dream is that his son will become an Israeli Air Force pilot, even though another son was killed while serving in the Israeli Defense Forces. The daughter is romantically involved with a distant relative in violation of Ethiopian tradition, and another son becomes religious. A chain of events ignites a clash of generations – the Ethiopian traditions cherished by Gita and his wife, and the younger generation’s desire to assimilate to Israeli life.

Followed by Q & A with director Shmuel Beru,
performance with Ethiopian artist, Meskie Shibru-Sivan,
and Opening Night Reception.

Presented in cooperation with Be’chol Lashon and Bina Cultural Foundation, Inc.
Please RSVP to NewYork@BecholLashon.org or via phone at 212-217-0178

Above: Tewolde Habtemicael speaks to a group of
government students at Carson High School in
Nevada on Wednesday. Habtemicael told students
that the election of Barack Obama proved to the native
of Ethiopia that anything is possible in America.
(Cathleen Allison/Nevada Appeal)

Nevada Appeal

By Teri Vance

In a small cement high school in Ethiopia, Tewolde Habtemicael heard for the first time the concept of democracy.

“What is this?” he wondered as American Peace Corps volunteers taught him and his classmates about a government run by the people.

“We had no concept of democracy before that because we had one king and he did whatever he wanted,” Habtemicael, 60, told Blair Roman’s sophomore government class at Carson High School on Wednesday.

The visiting Americans also helped prepare them for entrance exams for the country’s only university, which accepted just 560 students each year. Habtemicael passed. In college, he ran for vice president of the student union.

“Because I attentively listened to what my American teachers taught me, I was elected,” he said.

Invigorated by the idea of democracy, Habtemicael led demonstrations calling on the government to hold elections. Instead, he and three classmates were arrested and sentenced to five years in prison.

A student boycott led to their release a year later. On probation, Habtemicael was forbidden from participating in political activities, a condition he couldn’t uphold.

Three years later, protesting a military takeover, he was arrested again.

“This time, they do not take you to court, they kill you,” he said. “We were on the verge of being executed. They killed our king. We were next.” Read more at the Nevada Appeal.

Above: Mahmoud Ahmed at Damrosch’s Park in NYC on
Wednesday, August 20, 2008 (Trent Wolbe/Tadias File).

Source: YebboEvents

On Jan. 3, 2009 , the legendary Mahamud Ahmed will be in San Diego at a benefit concert organized by St. Gabriel Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Ticket are sold in San Diego at local Ethiopian restaurants, shops and cafes.

(For those of you who are out of state or may not make it for this event but want to help St. Gabriel Independent Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church, you can send your donation to the church and Mahamud Ahmed will announce your name during the concert. Church address is: 4808 Trojan Avenue, San diego, CA 92115).

Above: Michael Ince, River Bird Landing, 2008, black locust
wood, southern yellow pine, stone, glass, 84x96x36 inches.
(Photo: Zabby Scott).

Source: Skoto Gallery

New York – Skoto Gallery will present Visionaries and Outcasts, an exhibition of recent works by Michael Ince (USA), Olalekan B. Jeyifous (USA/Nigeria) and Pefura (France/Cameroon). The reception is Thursday, December 4th, 6-8pm and the artists will be present.

Despite their varied traditions and personal cultural backgrounds the three artists in this show respond to the challenges of developing strategies of survival and resistance in emerging societies, and in the process create aesthetic forms that respond to the consequences of political, economic and social crisis caused by policies of international financial organizations such as the IMF and the World Bank. Each of the artists explore issues such as the deterioration in standard of living, environmental degradation, renewable energy, unemployment and migration that are likely related to the contradictory result of globalization due to policies that force these societies to devalue their currencies against the dollar; lift import and export restrictions; balance their budgets and not overspend; and remove price controls and state subsidies. This has led to the formation of mass movements and protests in every continent as people organize to combat the pillaging of lands, resources and livelihood.

Michael Ince has always been motivated by a deep connection to nature, but over the years, the ability of social and economic policies to impact the natural world and its endangered state have become central to his practice. His sculpture installation River Bird Landing, 2008 is elegant in its poetic evocation of the fragility of our ecosystem as a result of the undermining of environmental rules and regulations. His forms, reduced to its essences are derived from nature and culture, and still suggest the actual objects to which they refer. They are the product of much thought and simple design that are meticulously crafted. He grew up in Brookhaven, Long Island where, when not in Paris, he lives with his family on a small farm surrounded by buildings of his making, planting carrots, rearing chickens, making prints and drawings, and birding. A 1964 graduate of Bowdoin College, he traveled to India as a Peace Corps, and has subsequently returned on a major pilgrimage. He is widely exhibited in galleries around the US and in Paris; and in several collections.

Olalekan B. Jeyifous draws from his background as an architect to create works in digital media that are expressive of architectural considerations and the vicissitudes of life that continue to shape and reflect the changing contours of urban landscapes such as the favelas of Brazil, overpopulated cities such as Lagos, Mexico City or Mumbai, as well as areas such as the oil-rich Niger Delta of Nigeria.

Above: Olalekan B. Jeyifous, The Outer-City Settlement, digital media on
paper, 40×60 inches.

His work does not seek to assert formal solutions to spatial problems, but instead exists as a vehicle for social critique and establishing unique visual languages, ultimately striking the balance between design informed by the notion of industrial production and design informed by the practical and psychological needs of the inhabitants of “contested” spaces. He was born 1977 in Ibadan, Nigeria, and graduated from Cornell University School of Architecture, Art and Planning, Ithaca, New York in 2000. Recent exhibitions include Studio Museum in Harlem and The Kitchen, NYC 2008, The Drawing Center, NYC 2006, International Architecture Biennale, Rotterdam, Netherlands 2005, and the New Museum of Contemporary Art, NYC 2003.

Pefura’s portraits of African immigrants living in the Parisian suburb of Montreuil are pleasingly complicated, and merge themes of race, migration and social identity with personal experience and art-historical references. They are layered with profound sociopolitical subtexts, combine painterly gestures of expressionism with the critical distance of conceptual art and provide insightful understanding of the human condition. Pefura was born 1967 in Paris to Cameroonian parents and obtained a diploma in Architecture from Ecole d’Architecture, Paris-Tolbiac in 1999. He has actively practiced as an artist since the early 1990s and is widely exhibited in Africa, Europe and USA. Residencies include Cite des Arts Internatiionale, Paris in 1999 and La Source – Atelier V. Guerolde in France. Collections include Fondation Guerlain, Paris and Conseil General de l’Europe, France.

Learn more about the gallery at : skotogallery.com

Above: Reverend Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III, current
head of the Abyssinia Baptist Church in Harlem, led a delegation of
150 to Ethiopia in 2007 as part of the church’s bicentennial
celebration and in honor of the Ethiopian Millennium.
(At Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem on Sunday,
November 4, 2007. Tadias File).

PRNewswire

WASHINGTON, Nov 12, 2008 — The Abyssinian Baptist Church yesterday celebrated its 200th anniversary and its deep ties of friendship with Ethiopia. At a white-tie dinner gala at the uptown Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, Ethiopia’s Ambassador to the United States Samuel Assefa was recognized as a special guest by Abyssinian Baptist Church Leader Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III.

“I was thrilled to join the Abyssinian Baptist Church to celebrate its 200th anniversary,” said Ethiopian Ambassador to the United States Samuel Assefa. “For two centuries the Abyssinian Baptist Church has played an integral role in helping strengthen Ethiopia’s relations with the United States and with the African-American community.”

The 200th Anniversary of the Abyssinian Baptist Church coincides with the celebration of the Ethiopian Millennium. The gala affair drew an impressive roster of political and civic leaders and celebrities. Former President Bill Clinton, Senator Hillary Clinton and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg joined Rev. Butts at the podium as speakers. President-Elect Barack Obama sent his greetings, which were delivered on his behalf by Sen. Clinton.

President Clinton spoke passionately about America’s strong relationship with Ethiopia, calling for the two countries to continue working closely together. He talked about Ethiopia’s rich history and described the glories of ancient and modern Ethiopia, pointing to the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela as a fitting example of Ethiopia’s timeless treasures and living monuments.

Honorary and event chairs and members of the benefit committee included actor/comedian Chris Rock, his philanthropist wife Malaak Compton-Rock, American Express CEO Ken Chenault and his philanthropist wife Kathryn Chenault, actors Latanya R. and Samuel L. Jackson and Vogue editor-at-large Andre Leon Talley. Emmy Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated actress Cicely Tyson and accomplished stage, television and film actor Avery Brooks served as the gala’s emcees.

The bicentennial celebration — Abyssinian 200: True to Our God, True to Our Native Land — marked the Abyssinian Baptist Church’s distinction as one of the oldest and most prominent African-American institutions in America. The 18-month bicentennial commemoration included a pilgrimage to Ethiopia to meet with senior Ethiopian officials.

SOURCE: Embassy of Ethiopia

Source: Harvard

“Capturing a Moment in Time”
A presentation by Kay Kaufman Shelemay (pictured above).

Kay Kaufman Shelemay is a professor of music and African and African American Studies at Harvard. She is author of A Song of Longing: An Ethiopian Journey (University of Illinois Press, 1991).

In “Capturing a Moment in Time,” Kay Kaufman Shelemay will use images and recordings to introduce Ethiopian musical styles and the musicians behind them.

Religion, culture, and history intertwine in Ethiopia, which was a Christian empire from the fourth century until 1974. Since 1974, an extraordinary number of Ethiopian musicians have migrated to the United States, bringing with them an array of musical styles.

During her 2007-2008 fellowship year at Radcliffe, Shelemay explored musical performance as a creative process through which the Ethiopian immigrant community negotiates ethnic, religious, and social boundaries. Her presentation will draw on this research, which has become the foundation of a new collection established in the Library of Congress.

Shelemay, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. She is a past president of the Society for Ethnomusicology and a former chair of the board of trustees of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

Date: Nov 20, 2008
Time: 6:30PM ET
Location: Thursday, November 20, 2008
6:30 PM
Harvard Club of New York City
Cambridge Room
27 West 44th Street
New York, New York

Source: Chris Flaherty, Producer

The Refugee Experience Series is proud to present the premiere of Migration of Beauty with DC producer Chris Flaherty (pictured above), community organizer Abdulazziz Kamus, and distinguished audience members. The DC area is home to one of the largest populations of Ethiopians outside of Africa. Many came to escape political oppression and human rights violations. Now as US citizens, they exercise Constitutional rights without fear of death or persecution.

Enjoy an Ethiopian reception after the discussion and inspirational reggae by Fasimpas African Dub Sound.

Friday, Nov. 21 at 6 pm

The Goethe-Institut, 812 Seventh St., NW, Washington, DC 20001 One block from Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro.

$10 Requested donation.

Related:

By Tadias Staff

Published: Monday, November 10, 2008

New York (Tadias) – The Worldwide Orphans Foundation, dedicated to transforming the lives of orphans around the world (with work in several countries, including Ethiopia), held it’s fourth annual benefit gala at Cipriani Wall Street on Monday, November 3.

The organization raised more than $1.3 million at the gala, according to a press release sent to Tadias Magazine. In addition: “In a surprise announcement that evening, an anonymous donor pledged to match all donations made at the benefit gala – raising the pre-gala donations by approximately $240,000 that evening.”

Brooke Smith, star of Grey’s Anatomy presented an award to Ethiopian Ambassador Dr. Samuel Assefa (pictured above) for Ethiopia’s support of WWO programs and services. In accepting the award, the Ambassador said: “A decade ago, a child born with HIV/AIDS had no future. Today, thanks to the commitment of the Worldwide Orphans Foundation, hundreds of Ethiopian children with HIV/AIDS are not just surviving but living full lives.”

According to the press release, Mary-Louise Parker, Tony-award winning actress and star of TV’s Weeds, presented another award to RBC Dexia Investor Services, which was recognized as WWO’s first Corporate Honoree for its financial support that helped to launch WWO Canada, the organization’s first chapter outside the United States. The event also honored Lois Whitman for her work as Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, Children’s Rights Division, in advocating for the rights of vulnerable children.

The press release also noted that Actress Naomi Watts was in attendance at the benefit gala. Actor Liev Schrieber narrated the WWO film highlighting programs and the children served.

The WWO founder invited supporters to become more engaged with the organization by volunteering their time, energy and skills as “Service Rangers” to help children living in orphanages worldwide. “We are responsible for these children and must keep our promises,” proclaimed Dr. Jane Aronson, who emphasized that WWO is committed to ensuring that no child is forgotten.

The 2008 Gala theme was “Every Child Ought to Know: What Love Is, What Health Is, What Childhood Is,” and the event was co-chaired by Janet Kagan, WWO’s Board Chair, and Brittany Levinson.

Children from the National Dance Institute presented an electrifying African dance performance. Vocal selections by performance artist Sasha Lazard and the musical duo John Pizzarelli and Jessical Molaskey entertained gala guests. Tony-award winning director Kathleen Marshall served as Entertainment Chair.

Related: Hot shots: WWO honores Liya Kebede

Source: Ethiopia Reads

Denver, CO — Yohannes Gebregeorgis, a native of Ethiopia and children’s literacy advocate, has been named a Top 10 Hero of the Year by CNN. Mr. Gebregeorgis was selected from more than 3,000 individuals nominated by viewers throughout the year. Finalists were selected by a Blue Ribbon panel of judges that includes Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Jane Goodall and Deepak Chopra. The Top 10 Heroes will be recognized in CNN’s “All-Star Tribute” to air on Thanksgiving.

Yohannes was first recognized as a “hero” by CNN in May for his work championing children in Ethiopia. A former political refugee who worked as a librarian at San Francisco Public Library, Yohannes is the co-founder of Ethiopia Reads, a non-profit organization that works to create a reading culture in Ethiopia by connecting children with books. In a country where 99% of schools have no libraries, Yohannes and Ethiopia Reads are improving lives, one book at a time.

We share this amazing moment with you — our wonderful supporters and friends across the world.

Lear more at: ethiopiareads.org

Addis Fortune

A Thursday night at Club Alize represents Addis Abeba’s successful, prosperous side. Classy and civilized, with lights dimmed and maroon drapes floating overhead, the atmosphere is completed, rather than created, by the elegant live music.

A long L-shaped bar takes up one side of the room with booths on the opposite side, two of them featuring large murals by noted Ethiopian artist, Daniel Taye. Art is a theme at Alize, with paintings by other well-known artists Tibebe Terffa, Behailu Bezabih and Dawit Abebe serving as further decoration.

But the attractive interior is not why the club is standing room only most Thursday nights. Instead, the seven strong group playing the fusion of pop, jazz and folk music is very much the focus of the well-heeled audience’s attention.

The Addis Acoustic Renaissance Group is led by Girum Mezmur on guitar and is made up of Henock Temesgen on double bass; Natnael Tessema on drums; Ayele Mamo playing the Mandolin, as he has done for the last 50 years; Shaleka Melaku Tegegn on accordion; clarinet player Dawit Ferew; and another percussionist, Mesale Legesse.

The group’s reinventions of Ethiopian songs from the fifties and sixties by artists such as Buzenesh Bekele are short and melodious, with the different components complementing each other and never competing for centre song. A rustic, folksy edge is added to the performance by the presence of the clarinet and accordion, producing a lilting sound and a mood that is uplifting and never mournful.

The set lacks the self indulgence of jazz, but does contain that genre’s dedication to serious musicianship. Clearly, the performers enjoy themselves, but their pleasure comes from playing as an intense, technically accomplished unit to an appreciative crowd, not through showmanship, or audience interaction.

While the Renaissance Group may not turn Club Alize into the writhing mass of bodies that can be found at other nightspots around town, each of their innovative instrumental interpretations receives an enthusiastic response from the audience – although for the members of Addis’ foreign community present, the most familiar adaptation was possibly of the ‘Happy Birthday’ tune.

Girzum, 34, has been around a while on the Addis music scene and started off one of the first jazz clubs in the city ten years ago at the Coffee House in Siddist Kilo. The jam session has been going strong ever since, although for the last few months it has not taken place as the venue is being renovated.

The musician used this opportunity to create the Renaissance Group, which in its first couple of months of performances at Alize has been similarly successful.

The organizer explained the concept behind the group: “The mandolin, accordion and clarinet were much more extensively used back in the 50s and 60s. A big part of pop music recorded then had that sound.”

Read the whole story here.

By Tadias Staff

Updated: Friday, September 12, 2008

New York (Tadias) – The Sounds of Brazil (SOB’s) in New York City has played host to African Music since it opened in 1982. And, over the years, it has featured its share of Ethiopian artists, including big names such as Aster Aweke and Kuku Sebsibe.

Tonight, SOB’s will continue the tradition with an Ethiopian New Year 2001 celebration featuring the Mehari Brothers with Zeritu Kebede & Abenet Agonafer (direct from Ethiopia) in their first-ever performance in the U.S.

———–
Friday, September 12, 11:00pm at SOB’s (204 Varick St. New York, NY, 212-243-4940).
Price: $30. For more info., call Mengie at 201.220.3442 or Mickey Dread at 917.821.9213.

Above: L.A.-based artist Shepard Fairey created the
now-ubiquitous graphic of Obama, who wrote to him,
“Your images have a profound effect on people.”
(Photo: Jay L. Clendenin, LAT)

By Tadias Staff

Published: Saturday, September 6, 2008

New York (Tadias) – Some of the most striking posters of the 2008 elections are homemade by artists who embrace Barack Obama’s quest for the White House. And now comes a fundraising group exhibition featuring 28 Artists for Obama. The show takes place at the International Visions Gallery in Washington D.C. from September 3 to September 27. Opening reception is scheduled for Saturday, September 6 (6:30 – 9PM).

According to its website, International Visions Art Gallery is designed to advance cultural understanding through art: “Our mission is to exhibit and promote multi-cultural original work by national and international artists, International Visions presents visual art exhibitions and special cultural traditions in dance, music, theater and the literary arts. The Gallery’s goal is to become a link between people, cultures and beliefs.”

The following artists will participate in the show:
ALEX BAY, ADAM ABDALLA, ADGER COWANS, ALONZO DAVIS, BETTY MURCHISON, BILL DORSEY, CLAIRE MCARDLE, DAVID CARLSON, FRANK SMITH, GEORGE KOTCHEV, HELEN ZUGHAIB, JAMES PHILLIPS, JOE RUFFIN, KEVIN COLE, LEONARD DAWSON, LISA WILLIAMSON, LOUIS DELSARTE, MICHAEL PLATT, OTIS MOTLEY, PETER ROBINSON, PRESTON SAMPSON, RICHARD DANA, RON WALTON, SHELLEY MILLER, TAFA, TIM DAVIS, ULYSSES MARSHALL, and VICTOR HOLT.

For more information contact: Juliana Takaki, gallery assistant, 2629 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington DC 20008, 202.234.5112, www.inter-visions.com

By Tadias Staff

Published: Friday, September 5, 2008

New York (Tadias) – The Sounds of Brazil (SOB’s) has been the host of African Music and a gift to Afro-Latino diaspora in New York since it opened in 1982. And, over the years, it has featured its share of Ethiopian artists, including big names such as Aster Aweke and Kuku Sebsibe.

On Friday September 12, 2008, SOB’s will continue the tradition with an Ethiopian New Year 2001 celebration featuring the Mehari Brothers with Zeritu Kebede & Abenet Agonafer (direct from Ethiopia) in their first-ever performance in the U.S.

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Friday, September 12, 11:00pm at SOB’s (204 Varick St. New York, NY, 212-243-4940).
Price: $30. For more info., call Mengie at 201.220.3442 or Mickey Dread at 917.821.9213.

The Gazette
By Jeremy Arias | Staff Writer
Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008

Visitors to the Long Branch Library will have the unique opportunity to take a trip around the world this year, all without having to leave the library. Ethiopia will be the first stop in the library’s world culture festival, which plans to explore the traditions of seven international cultures.

The event kicks off 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday with a showcase of Ethiopian food, music and culture in a festival inspired by past library cultural celebrations, according to librarian Sue Unger, who organized the event.

“We had this idea blossom from something last year when we had some people come from Ghana and they helped everyone explore West African culture and traditions. … We were just overwhelmed!” Unger said. “I thought about that and I said, well, we can do that for all of our cultures.”

Long Branch Library, located at 8800 Garland Ave. in Silver Spring, obtained a grant from the Friends of the Library foundation to host a multipart celebration of world culture.

Unger expects the kick-off festival to be a success, and hopes the food donated by the Langano Ethiopian Restaurant in Silver Spring will help draw the crowd. Yohannis Yibass, a manager at Langano, says the restaurant is no stranger to community involvement.

“We owe it to the community, we have a large community in this area; the Wheaton area, Silver Spring, Takoma Park … so we reach out to the community.” Yibass said. “We believe in the beauty of the diversity of the area.”

Yibass, who is originally from Ethiopia, has lived in the area with his family since 1971. He says that by introducing attendees to the food of his home country, important aspects of Ethiopian culture become evident, such as the strong community and social practice of the coffee ceremony. Read More.

Source: Ethiopians for Obama
Photo Credit: Richard A. Lipski (WaPo)

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Ethiopians for Obama, in conjunction with DC for Obama, will be holding a convention watch party on Thursday, August 28th starting at 7:00 PM. We will be celebrating the nomination of Senator Obama and a major milestone in the efforts of Ethiopians for Obama to help elect Senator Barack Obama our next President.

The Bohemian Cavern is located in the heart of what many call “Little Ethiopia in DC”.

Located on U Street, Senator Obama’s acceptance speech will be televised live with multiple big screen televisions and a premium sound system. Additionally, special invited bands and DJ’s will help kick-start the party as we celebrate this momentous occasion. We are expecting a large turnout, so come early and celebrate with friends and family.

Event Details:
Location: Bohemian Cavern
Address: 2001 11th St. NW Washington, DC
Date: Thursday, August 28th
Start time: 7:00 PM

For more information, email ethiopiansforobama@gmail.com

By Tadias Staff

Published: Tuesday, August 26, 2008

New York (TADIAS) – The Gemini Health Care Group, a non-profit established to provide health care to Ethiopian children, has announced it will be hosting its first annual fundraiser in Atlanta to benefit the building of children’s hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

“One of our first projects is to help build and support a 50 bed pediatric hospital in Addis Ababa. We are going to support the hospital with three fully equipped pediatric mobile clinics to undertake the public health initiatives”, Dr. Ebba Ebba of GHCG, told Tadias Magazine in a recent interview. “I encourage those interested to visit our website to learn about the organization, the projects and how you can be part of it. You may visit us at www.ghcg.org. Finally, we are well aware that what we are attempting to do is like a drop in a bucket; but we hope that drop will create a ripple effect to inspire others to join in the effort to find solutions.”

The event, which includes a dinner reception and entertainment, will take place on Saturday, October 4th, 2008, at Sheraton Atlanta (165 Courtland Street, Atlanta, GA, 30303).

To RSVP, please call 404-593-6446 or visit: ghcg.org

Related: Ethiopian Health Care Forum in D.C. (Tadias)