Amadou and Mariam to perform in Addis

The Grammy Award-nominated musical duo from Mali, Amadou & Mariam will perform at an outdoor concert in Addis Ababa’s Alliance Alliance éthio-française on March 19, 2014 as part of the Francophonie week.
The blind husband-and-wife whose last album, ‘Folila’ (which means “music” in their country’s Bambara language) released on April 2012, are coming to Addis for the first time to perform in Ethiopia. On March 20, they would also be playing at Hilton Hotel hall.
Amadou and Mariam have been playing together since the 1970s, rising through the African and European music scenes to become one of the hottest world music acts today, sharing the stage with artists including Coldplay, U2, Alicia Keys and Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour. The piece Dimanche à Bamako was a global hit.

A book on photography and Emperor Menelik to be launched

A new book chronicling the use of photography as communication and propaganda medium in Emperor Menelik II’s palace is set to launch next week here in Addis Ababa. The book entirely written in French and entitled, ‘Le Roi des rois et la photographie. Politique de l’image et pouvoir royal en Ethiopie sous le règne de Ménélik II’ is the offering from the French scholar, Estelle Sohier.The author said her book is about the history of the creation of photographs by the court, their uses, and their political stakes. “These documents bring a new perspective to the history of Ethiopian royalty at the beginning of the 20th century and its relations with the outside world,” she said.
Estelle received her PhD in history from the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and the University of Naples in 2007. She is now a lecturer at the Department of Geography of the University of Geneva. Her current research focuses on the history of photography and its political uses between 1880 and 1930.
The book would be launched on 14 May at two different venues, one at the French Center for Ethiopian Studies (CFEE) at 12.30 pm and at the Alliance Ethio-française at at 6.30 pm.

Major Tibebe Terffa exhibition to open in Addis

A major new exhibition showcasing one of Ethiopia’s most exciting contemporary artists is to open at Lela Art Gallery, Addis Ababa on Saturday May 5th. Curated by Leo Lefort and supported by Castel Beer, the exhibition includes a collection of works by the prominent professional studio artist living and working in Addis Ababa.
Over the years, Tibebe has exhibited at various galleries and institutes in Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa and Harar. His work has also been exhibited internationally in Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Spain and the U.S.A. In Canada, he gained popularity during many residency programs he participated in at St Norbert’s Art Center in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Sultan to be crowned in Afar

Hanfare Ali mirah

A ceremony to celebrate a new sultan’s accession to the throne will be held in Afar Region in a week’s time. Hanfareh Ali Mirah will succeed his late father, Sultan Ali Mirah as the spiritual chief of the Afars. The new sultan will be crowned at an outdoor coronation ceremony to be held in Asayta, capital of the Afar region on November 10, 2011.
Both spiritual and traditional leader to the two million Afar people who live in a triangle shape region between Eritrea, Ethiopia and Djibouti, the sultan will assume important responsibilities at both regional and national levels, Aramis Houmed, advisor to the new sultan, told Addis Journal. The move follows the death last April of Sultan Ali Mirah.Aramis said the appointment will make the process of succession smoother and more orderly.While traditional leaders hold few constitutional powers, they continue to exert significant influence, the advisor said.They are seen as custodians of both religion and tradition.

Young artist to present debut show

Wendimagegn Gashaw, an emerging artist who makes his solo debut at Alliance Ethio-Française, recreates images of people in a realist style. After graduating from Entoto College last year, the 26-year-old artist has been creating portraiture, intimate close-ups of people that have spoken to him in some way. He says he is drawn to the unique features of faces and the story he glimpses behind them. Children working as shoeshine boy, lottery seller, schoolboys on their way back home, most of them from his neighborhood Ferensay Legasion, have been featured in his works.

Art of Ethiopia exhibition coming

The fourth edition of Art of Ethiopia exhibition will take place next month. The exhibition will open in Addis on 26th August at Sheraton Addis, the hotel announced. It will go on till 28th August.
More than 43 Ethiopian artists selected by a jury, will present a comprehensive panorama of contemporary art. Each individual work not only speaks for itself but also creates new perspectives when seen juxtaposed against the unique backdrop offered by the Sheraton’s Addis Lalibela Grand Ballroom, it was said. More than 400 new works created specifically for the occasion covering a wide range of subjects in a variety of media, including painting, drawing, sculpture bronze castings and wood carvings will be showcased.

ICES to be held in Addis

The 17th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies (ICES) will be held at the Addis Ababa University from November 2 to 6, 2009.Shiferaw Bekele, a teacher at Department of History and Heritage Management of Addis Ababa University, has written a long article about the event and its background in October 25th edition of the Ethiopian Herald.The article isn’t available online. So I am publishing an excerpt here.
The 17th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies will be held in the Akaki campus of Addis Ababa University from November 2 to 6, 2009.A few hundred scholars-Ethiopians and foreigners-are expected to take part in the proceedings: Scholars will come from Japan; Europe; the US, Israel, Russia and some other countries. Ethiopians will constitute a formidable presence. By any standard, this is a large gathering of scholars. The current congress marks the golden jubilee celebration because the first was held in Rome from 2 to 4 April 1959.

Girma to give a piano recital

How about this for classical music lovers? The renowned Ethiopian pianist, Girma Yifrashewa will give a piano recital at Sheraton Addis on 19 February, it has been announced. The event, organized by the Alliance Ethio-Francaise in partnership with Sheraton Addis, is one of the most important musical events of the season.

Grima who has made many great records like “The Shepherd with the Flute” “Meleya Kelem” and “Elilata” will be performing some newer compositions and interpretation of French composers, Debussy and Ravel. The harmonic innovations of Claude Debussy (1862-1918) and Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) helped pave the way for the musical upheavals of the twenty century.

Girma who is venturing the interpretation of those musical giants has been introduced to the piano at the age of 16, marking turning point in his life. He studied at the Yared School of Music in Addis for four years and graduated with a diploma in piano. He then received a five-year scholar ship from the Ethiopian government to study at the Sofia State Conservatory of Music and graduated with a Masters in piano. Girma has held many concerts and tours in Africa and in Europe.

For more biographical information, go to Girma’s website.

Photo by Wondi.

Art show at Lela Gallery

An art exhibition is opening at Lela Art gallery tomorrow, October 4^th 2008. The exhibition gives visitors an opportunity to see a wide range of original artwork and would feature five artists from Nubia Studio, Dereje Demissie, Kerima Ahmed, Merikokeb Berahun, Samuel Endalalmaw and Yonas Sahele.An e-mail dispatch from the Gallery explains, this is part of Lela gallery’s effort to encourage the artist’s future development and experimentation.Composed of 2002 graduates of the Addis Ababa School of Fine Arts & Design, the Nubia Studio played a distinct & marked role in the Addis art scene for the past six years. Actively working & organizing art shows in their own studio they defined a relevant alternative to the lack of art dedicated venues, the statment states. In a group or individually, they have traveled and exhibited in Ethiopia, Germany, Uganda, Sudan and Djibouti.  Nubia Studio has made great efforts to achieve their goal of depicting beauty in a contemporary urban landscape, which stands out as a fabric woven from the buildings of so-called modern culture and their antithesis – the aged constructions of corrugated iron sheets encrusted with rust and decay-. Gleaned over the city eucalyptus scaffolding, wrapped buildings, blurred faces, architectural patterns, masked sweepers, ghostlike silhouettes, white and blue taxis are waiting to be discovered by visitors to the  exhibition… Duration of the show:  October 4th – 26th, 2008 

Opening Hours:         Tuesday to Saturday: 10:30am – 6:30pm 

                             Sundays 2:00pm – 6:00pm & by appointment 

A Phiosophical Conference in Addis

The Embassy of Mexico in association with the Addis Ababa University is organizing a conference on “Theology, philosophy, Thought, Ethics and Responsibilitiy” on Tuesday March 11, 2008 at 4,00 PM at Social Sciences Faculty room G-17.

The lectutre would be given by Gerardo Martinez Cristerna, Mexican writer and essayist.  

It is interesting and heartwarming to have this conference here in Addis.