Los Angeles (TADIAS) – Long before Ethiopian fashion became vogue in the U.S., California resident Henock Abey, also known as Henock Arada, 26, has been producing innovative apparel designs that incorporate elements of Ethiopian culture with western style. He started his Arada Fashion collection in 2001 to meet the growing demand, especially among young people in the Ethiopian community and beyond, of merging traditional patterns and symbols into elegantly casual, trendy street styles.
Born and raised in the Arat Kilo neighborhood of Addis Ababa, Henock says he “learned how to hustle” at a young age. That explains why it did not take him very long to dive into his art and business after immigrating with his family to Los Angeles as a teenager in 1999. Henock attended Westchester High School, where he says his interest in design, fashion and video communication was sparked.
“I wanted to combine our culture with a modern look to give people something they have never seen before,” Henock says, speaking of his work that includes a popular mini-dress.
He started-out with branded t-shirts depicting the Arada logo and humorous captions such as “I am Arada” and iconic Ethiopian crosses, mostly marketed to a niche customer base at various festivals, online, as well as in stores targeting the African Diaspora community. More recently he has expanded his portfolio to include skirts and bags.
As to his parents’ reaction to pursue his entrepreneurial ambitions at such an early age? Henock laughs before he answers: “My parents are used to me coming up with new ideas, so they weren’t that surprised.”
What started out as a hobby selling graphic t-shirts soon began to grow into a full-time work. By 2002 Henock had staged his first fashion show in Los Angeles to a widely positive reception in the community.
And soon afterwards he took his Made in Arada collection on the road showing in Washington D.C., Chicago, Phoenix, Atlanta, and Dallas. His designs proved to be a hit garnering a following, which includes over five thousand on Facebook. He says his next fashion show will be at the 2013 Ethiopian soccer tournament in Washington D.C. in July.
Henock’s future plans include opening his own store in the U.S. and Addis Ababa as well as giving back to charity and church. “Set yourself apart and don’t listen to the negativity,” he said.
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.
New York (TADIAS) – Novelist and writer Dinaw Mengestu, winner of the 2012 MacArthur Foundation’s “genius grant,” is one of several Ethiopian-Americans highlighted in an upcoming coffee table book by California-based Tsehai Publishers. The publication documents the professional success of first and second generation Ethiopians in the United States and the Diaspora.
Additional features include entrepreneurs, artists, authors, musicians, and scientists such as Dr. Sossina M. Haile, Professor of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering at California Institute of Technology and an expert in materials science and fuel cells; Dr. Zeresenay Alemseged, Director and Curator of the Department of Anthropology at the California Academy of Sciences and the paleoanthropologist who discovered the 3-year-old Selam (nicknamed Lucy’s baby), which lived 3.3 million years ago in Ethiopia and is considered the earliest known such fossil excavated in the history of Paleontology; Dr. Dagmawi Woubshet, Assistant Professor of English Literature at Cornell University; as well as chef Marcus Samuelsson, artist Julie Mehretu, Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Wayna (Woyneab Miraf Wondwossen), and Grammy-nominated musician and philanthropist Kenna (né Kenna Zemedkun), who in 2010 led a group of celebrity friends to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in order to raise awareness about the international clean water crisis.
“The book is an attempt to change global perception of Ethiopia by focusing on the many accomplishments of successful younger Ethiopians living throughout North America and Ethiopia today,” said Elias Wondimu, the book’s Publisher and Editorial Director. “These individuals are the sons and daughters, and younger siblings of those who lived through the 1970s Ethiopian political turmoil. By focusing on these individuals, we want to tell their parents’ story of resilience and share with the world the proud heritage that they commonly inherit as Ethiopians.”
Elias said the book’s working title, Yezare Abebawoch: Yenege Frewoch, is borrowed from the famous line by the former Ethiopian television children show host Tesfaye Sahlu. “In his infinite wisdom each time before telling a story, Ababa Tesfaye used to address his captive television audience — the children of yesteryear’s — as ‘flowers of today, seeds of tomorrow,’” he said. “The book focuses on these individuals who are doing beautiful work today, creating seeds for an even more wonderful future. It is the flowers of today that create the seeds of tomorrow. We are also trying to inspire Ethiopian children with these stories.”
— Tsehai Publishers is seeking public funding for the book via Kickstarter, an online funding platform. Click here to learn more and support the project.
New York (TADIAS) – The growing and vibrant African Diaspora media in the United States is helping to disseminate the ‘hopeful’ and in some ways more nuanced stories about Africa. The new trend is receiving steadily increasing coverage. In a recent article entitled Ethiopian Diaspora Media Compete Over Message, VOA featured radio and satellite TV shows based in Washington, D.C. metro area including The Nunu Wako Show on EBS and Abebe Belew’s Addis Dimts radio. Nico Colombant at VOA noted that during the much publicized G8 meeting at Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland last week, several media crew including “citizen-journalists” taking photos and videos of demonstrations in nearby towns were members of the Ethiopian Diaspora.
A post entitled Generations of East African Diasporas in Cyberspace on Focus on the Horn — a website run by graduate students at Oxford University — also highlights the growing Africa-focused new-media organizations.
“As a new generation emerges from the offspring of East African migrants, they too have created online spaces to negotiate their relationships to their countries of heritage,” writes Alpha Abebe, a PhD student at Oxford. “In many respects, they have entered into this scene far more equipped –- more access to resources, more tech savvy, and more platforms.” She adds: “However, their social, political and economic ties to these countries would appear to be less direct, begging the question –- what does their web presence look like?”
“As you would imagine, it is quite diverse,” Alpha says. “There is Bernos.com, where one can buy a stylish Horn-of-Afro-centric tshirt and share dating advice on the same website.” She continues: “Then there is OPride.com, an aggregator of Oromo and regionally related news stories. Tadias.com is an online magazine often profiling the stories of Ethiopian-Americans who have found mainstream success. Abesha.com (currently on hiatus) was a pioneer in many respects, and created platforms for political debate, showcasing of art, and building community among young Ethiopians and Eritreans in the diaspora. Add to this the vast number of virtual spaces, including websites, facebook pages, twitter feeds, etc. that mobilized a rapid humanitarian response to the recent famine in Somalia, among a generation of people in the Somali diaspora – many of whom have never stepped foot on the continent. Finally, there is HornLight.org, a new player on scene, created to challenge mainstream narratives about the Horn through the stories and contributions from people in the diaspora.”
Social media networks are also playing an important role. The Twitter handle @afritwit with over 3,700 followers, for example, publishes stories that portray the complexities of the African continent by “pooling African Twitter users.” This trend in ‘tweeting from an African perspective’ and curating a pool of African Twitters has also caught the attention of international news agencies such as France 24, which claimed to have published the first Twitter map of Africa. The technology news site, Siliconafrica.com, also published its research online focusing on how Africans are utilizing Twitter, and found that “60% of the continent’s most active Twitter users are aged 21 to 29.”
Diaspora Africans are adopting the idea of press freedom and have developed organizations for African journalists. The Association of African Journalists and Writers (AAJW) on Facebook is one such organization that is newly minted in New York. AAJW describes its role as developing “a unified platform for African media and writers to connect, network, collaborate, and promote better reporting and understanding of Africa and African communities.”
It seems that the old post-colonial tinged discourse on Africa is on its way out as mass media embraces the diversity of voices from the African continent and among Diaspora Africans.
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Above: Empowering Women conference, hosted by the non
profit organization People to People is set for May 21 in VA.
Tadias Magazine
Events News
Published: Friday, May 20, 2011
New York (Tadias) – People to People, a U.S. based non-profit organization comprised of Ethiopian Diaspora professionals, will hold its second annual conference this weekend in Arlington, Virginia. The conference theme is “Empowering Women is Empowering a Nation.”
The program, which aims to bring together professionals from various sectors, explores the role of the Ethiopian Diaspora in empowering women. According to the event’s website, the conference will also honor three inspiring women: Captain Amsale Gualu, whom last year became the first female captain at Ethiopian Airlines; W/o Assegedech Assefa, one the first Ethiopian female pilots, as well as artist Alemtsehay Wodajo.
This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. Musimbi Kanyaro, Director of Population and Reproductive Health Programs at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
Other presenters include CNN hero Alfa Demmellash, Co-founder and CEO of Rising Tide Capital, Meskerem Tadesse, President & CEO of the Optimize Group, Judge Mahdere Paulos, Former Director of Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association, and Melat Tekletsadik, Former National General Secretary for the YWCA, among others.
If You Go:
“Empowering Women is Empowering a Nation”
The Role of the Ethiopian Diaspora
Sheraton National Hotel
900 S. Orme St. Arlington, VA 22204
Saturday May 21, 2011
8:00am – 6:00pm
Registration begins at 8:00 a.m.
Entrance: $20.
More info at www.peoplepeople.org/conference
New York (TADIAS) – I am a resident of the beautiful city of Montreal, Canada, but I consider myself a citizen of the world. My first travel journal, My Humanitarian Journey to Africa, appeared in Tadias in 2003 and my last entry was about couchsurfing posted in August of 2008.
When receiving emails these days the subject lines usually read: “Where are you now?” And lately it’s been “Are you done?” or even “Were you able to find yourself?” For which I humorously reply: “I left a piece of me everywhere, which I need to go back to collect!”
I have been on the road for as long as I can remember. I started traveling through books, stories and simply staring at world maps and daydreaming before I could understand what traveling is all about.
As a child my dream for traveling was bigger than life itself. I wanted nothing but to discover the mystery of this beautiful world that we live in. I started out as a young and fearless traveler, openly bargaining my life with the universe, willingly surrendering my life. I wanted my heart and mind to open to new learning, to be tolerant and respectful, to explore and to appreciate the world as it is. Somehow deep inside I knew that I was going to embark on a journey that would forever change my life. A quest of a lifetime served by the beautiful world which I called my Open University!
Once I was on the road I found myself in different countries, towns, villages, churches, temples, mosques and synagogues. I ate rice noodles for breakfast, crocodile for dinner, snacked on Kudu Biltong on safari in Africa. I attended weddings, funerals, Candomble (religious ritual), birthdays and holidays with complete strangers that opened up their heart and homes to me. I shared my deepest thoughts, fears, and dreams with fellow travelers on long bus rides, airport waiting rooms, endless couchsurfing nights, countless coffee meetings and sightseeing around the world.
Mostly, people are curious to know why and how I am traveling, but the one question that made me actually write this article today was this: “What am I getting out of it?” I didn’t start traveling looking for something nor did I know what to look for. I simply showed up in most places armed with guidebooks, the desire to learn and to experience life.
The truth is that it is not really hard to stay on the road when you have passion for nature, culture and above all people. I happen to have them all, but the one thing that kept me going was the countless generous people that crossed my path who humbly opened their hearts and homes. They inspired me to see that there is more to life.
You can view more photos & journal of my recent trip to South America at www. maskarm.tumblr.com.
Below are few sample stories from my travels that are etched in my memory forever:
Starting with Africa, where I was born and to where I keep going back for more, the Ethiopian Ambassador to Ghana ran into me on the streets of Accra while I was searching for a hotel and took me to his wife and kids without hesitation just because I was Ethiopian.
In Gisenyi, Rwanda a tour operator overheard my conversation in the hostel about crossing the border to Goma, DRC the next day. Tired of trying to convince me that it wasn’t the safest place to go on my own, he decided to escort me to the border himself, where after making sure that I was safe, he returned to Rwanda.
In Khartoum, Sudan a man, whom my fellow travelers and I met at the bus station, welcomed us as if we were his old lost friends. He offered us a place to stay and truly showed us Sudanese hospitality. Of course I never forget the Sudanese camel merchant who was so concerned about my status in society and who offered to marry me to spare me from the humiliation of being not married as he put it!
In Israel a man in Haifa, who felt responsible for my life, stopped driving his car to lecture me on the dangers of hitchhiking, and ended up driving me to a bus station, paid my bus fare and made sure I boarded the bus to Jerusalem.
In Beirut, Lebanon a university professor offered his couch for a week (a camping bed he set up in his living room) and embraced my way of traveling by becoming an active local couchsurfer.
In Australia a simple ride request that I posted on the internet led me to traveling with a complete stranger from Melbourne, Victoria to Fraser Island in Queensland for three insanely beautiful weeks of camping, wine tasting and visiting national parks.
In India after attending a Hindu festival in Southern Tamil Nadu, I happily followed a family to the small village where I spent the best time of my life. The humble family had nothing except a table which they insisted to convert into a make-shift bed with a thin mattress. Although they didn’t speak English and I didn’t speak their language, their hospitality touched my core. They fed me some amazing vegetarian food. And YES I did sleep on the table!!
In La Paz, Bolivia a Somali-Dutch individual that I met at a market, introduced me to a whole new world of Afro-Bolivian culture where I was welcomed for three days of conference, fun, cultural shows and visiting the coffee and coca farms owned by Afro-Bolivians. I even met their king!
It is these endless stories that keep me on the road, maintain my sanity and make me appreciate my life, even when I found myself under a door frame in Mendoza, Argentina during an earthquake. At the time I felt as if I was having my last conversation with God. All I had to say was “Thank you for all the blessings I have received.”
Met with the oldest woman in the mostly Afro-Bolivian community of Tocaña, Bolivia.
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New York (TADIAS) – As we wrap up the year and review the contributions in the area of literature, fine arts, film, music and enterprunership, I can’t help but notice that it has been a year of rejuvenation for arts and popular culture among the Ethiopian Diaspora — from the publication of Dinaw Mengestu’s How To Read The Air, to Julie Mehretu’s Grey Area, and from Kenna’s Summit on the Summit to Dawit Kebede’s Press Freedom Award, this year was packed with big achievements and new beginnings. As you may notice, there are many other great stories that are not noted here. It was a tough list to choose from. As always, I welcome your comments and feedback.
The award-winning Ethiopian American novelist and writer Dinaw Mengestu, whose work has become a voice for his generation, has given us a new gem by way of his book entitled How To Read The Air. As The New York Times notes, the young writer – who was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – populates his novels “by exiles, refugees, émigrés and children of the African diaspora…” This book, of course, goes far beyond the Ethiopian American experience, even though Dinaw does extremely well in this regard as well. As he put it succinctly during a recent interview, “It’s less about trying to figure out how you occupy these two cultural or racial boundaries and more about what it’s like when you are not particularly attached to either of these two communities.” The new book follows the author’s highly successful début novel The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears, described by Bethonie Butler in the Washingtonian magazine as “a poignant novel set in DC about immigration, gentrification, and assimilating to the new amid memories of the past.” The reason why I love this New York Times bestseller is because the substance of the book mirrors my own feelings and reflection about my own generation.
2. Julie Mehretu’s ‘Grey Area’
Artist Julie Mehretu
I couldn’t help but lose and find myself in each of Julie’s Mehretu’s paintings at the Guggenheim Museum earlier this year. She is not only one of the most admired American female artists, but also the most high-priced Ethiopian born artists of all time. Her work ‘Untitled 1’ sold for $US1,0022,500 at Sotheby’s in 2010. Her collection of semiabstract works displayed at the Guggenheim was 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.”
3. Davey and Rasselas’ Atletu (The Athlete)
Abebe Bikila (SBCC Film Reviews)
I have my fingers crossed this will be the first Ethiopian film that will win the Oscars. But either way, the story of Abebe Bekila – the barefooted Ethiopian man who stunned the world by winning Olympic gold in Marathon at the 1960 games in Rome – is one to be told and in this regard the movie is doing a superb job. I really hope it will get the recognition it deserves in the coming year.
(Meklit, Tsehai Poetry Jam – L.A.’s Little Ethiopia)
This sweet and amazingly talented singer/song-writer takes me on a musical journey to the heart of the Bay Area and Brooklyn, as well as to the countryside of Ethiopia. I have never heard such a sincere, poetic and soulful blend of American and Ethiopian music. Reviewers have compared Meklit’s voice to that of the legendary singer Nina Simone. “Once you hear her smooth and silky voice it will be hard to forget it,” NPR’s Allison Keyes reported. Meklit obtained a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Yale University before moving to San Francisco to pursue her true love – music. NPR’s guest host described Hadero’s sound as “a unique blend of jazz, Ethiopia, the San Francisco art scene and visceral poetry…It paints pictures in your head as you listen,” she said. I can’t agree more.
5. Haile Gerima’s Film ‘Teza’
Mypheduh Films
Haile Gerima’s award winning film ‘Teza’ continues to draw crowds at special screenings around the country. The most notable in 2010 was the film’s premiere in Los Angeles on Monday, September 13th, honoring the late Teshome H. Gabriel, a long serving Professor at UCLA and a leading international figure on third world and post-colonial cinema. The director himself is a professor of film studies in the East Coast. Per NYT: “Among the courses Haile Gerima teaches at Howard University is one called ‘Film and Social Change.’ But for Mr. Gerima, an Ethiopian director and screenwriter who has lived here since the 1970s in what he calls self-exile, that subject is not just an academic concern: it is also what motivates him to make films with African and African-American themes.” Personally for me though, there has never been such an accurate, honest, insightful and simply well-made film about the Ethiopian experience abroad and in the homeland. This film continues to influence my professional, but more importantly, personal life.
6. Marcus Samuelsson’s ‘Red Rooster’
Marcus Samuelsson at the Red Rooster Harlem
I hope Marcus’ long awaited restaurant brings together artists, musicians, writers, and alike from the Ethiopian Diaspora and beyond right into the heart of Harlem. From the menu to the décor, I am certain that I won’t have to drag my downtown friends to hangout uptown. But for Marcus, it is clear that the aim is much bigger than fine dining. In a way, it is a contribution to the revitalization of this historic neighbourhood and we salute him for that.
7. Mulatu Astatke Still on The Move
Mulatu Astatke (Source:Telegraph)
The father of Ethiopian Jazz doesn’t seem to stop. As Peter Culshaw wrote of him on the UK paper Telegraph earlier this year, “At the 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.” Enjoy the following video.
8. First Addis Foto Fest
Curated by the exceptionally talented and award-winning photographer Aida Muluneh, this festival showcased works by notable visual artists from around the world at venues throughout Addis Ababa for the very first time. My hope is that, with events such as Addis Foto Fest, local artists continue to network with international artists from all disciplines. Here is an interview with Aida Muluneh about photography.
9. Dawit Kebede’s ‘Press Freedom Award
Dawit Kebede at CPJ Awards 2010, NYC
As the editor of Awramba Times, an independent and local Ethiopian newspaper, he spent almost two years in prison after reporting on the Ethiopian election in 2005. Five years later he receives an international award, encouraging others to write without fear. He is an inspiration to many around the world, particularly to those in our profession.
Inspired by his father’s water-borne disease, Ethiopian born Academy Award-nominated Hip Hop artist Kenna climbed the Kilimanjaro to raise awareness about the global water crisis. He was followed by an MTV crew. I salute Kenna on his artistry, as well as dedication to educate the youth on global issues affecting all of us. Watch Kenna talk about the project.
— About the Author: Tigist Selam is host of TADIAS TV. She is a writer and actress based in New York and Germany. (Tigist’s photograph by Ingrid Hertfelder).
