BLEN ANNUAL ART SHOW: Ethiopian Artists in America Of all the cultural activities and expressions, the visual arts are the most accurate to illustrate the direction an expatriate community is heading in an alien land and culture. To have comfort and stability in an alien land and culture, economic and social assimilation must always be a possibility. Cultural assimilation, however, is not always easy to attain for several reasons. One major concern is the question of race. Even where there are haziness and ambivalence in contemporary art, race still plays an important role in creativity. African or other non-Western contemporary artists residing in America manifest these concerns daily thousands of times. These artists describe their work as communicating to others their own awareness of the rich and great culture of their people, their past and present, and their struggle for the future. They react as if there is a force that requires them to show or express their affection and consciousness to their cultural heritage. This kind of manifestation is in a way a creative strategy and a conscious move to recreate their own sense of identity and pride. Their tasks in such circumstances have always been to uphold the ideal and the purpose of the society and strengthen the confidence in that society, ever elevating it to a higher standard. That is one of the reasons why artists in every society are revered, cherished, considered as distinguished cultural achievers and sometimes ironically curiously looked upon as a nuisance. However far in time and space from their society and people, racially committed artists remain cultural heroes and significant players in shaping people’s minds and perceptions. The Ethiopian/Ethiopian American artists movement in America and particularly the Annual Blen Art Show is a specific trend/moment in time that will reflect the conditions and desires of the Ethiopian community in America. The participants in the last two Blen Annual Art shows, except one were all born in Ethiopia. Their struggle to create their own form and symbol and their constant flux in terms of art and identity were evident. (Visit their website at http://www.blenartshow.com). The question of race and identity in art was raised and reflected in their works. Like the last two shows, the upcoming 3rd Annual Blen Art show at the Reverend Martin Luther King Library, in Washington D. C., from January through February 2005 will be significant because there will be even more participants from the best and brightest expatriate Ethiopian artists. However, the nature of the 3rd Annual Blen Art show will make it even more significant. First, the show will celebrate the African American struggle and Black History month. Second by celebrating the life of Skunder Boghossian, one of the titans of African modernists, the show will affirm the solidarity and determination of Ethiopian and Ethiopian American artists to uphold the African modernist artistic heritage. Third, the Blen group will inaugurate its art magazine-- BLEN-- the first magazine of its kind. As has always been the case, the purpose and value of art is first defined on a local, regional and national level. The racial or ethnic backgrounds of artists and their vital cultural heritages have always been the moving force behind all artistic creativity/endeavor, pride, and self-confidence. For example, in the United States, where segregation and race played a decisive role in the transformation of the society, major successful African American artists developed a philosophy regarding art and the role that it must play in addressing social issues, particularly those concerning race. African American thinkers and artists nourished by their heritage, created their own symbols out of their own experience. They maintained the indigenous values of their vital cultural heritage - which otherwise could have been lost forever. In short, these artists were able to maintain their ancestral legacy and avoid being totally absorbed by the dominant culture in which they worked. Thanks to these many heroic and creative African American artists, the African Arts have flourished in America now more than anywhere else in the world and more than any time in the country’s history. As African American artists are proud of the achievements of Africans and are determined to maintain their ancestral legacy through their arts, expatriate African artists too have always shown great pride in their artistic culture. One among these distinguished African modernists, Skunder Boghossian to whom the 3rd Annual Blen Art show is dedicated, was most admired and appreciated for reclaiming his African cultural heritage. Other expatriate Ethiopian filmmakers, painters, and musicians, gained international recognition and appreciation, not only because they were successful in their creativity, but because they were totally and sincerely part of the African American struggle and African artistic heritage. The dynamic and the underlining reason for choosing Rev. Martin Luther King Library for the upcoming 3rd Annual Blen Art show might have originated in the tension between the ways in which Ethiopian American artists have worked to become wholly a part of the African American community and their genuine efforts to display to African Americans the creative culture of Ethiopia. There is also this lingering tendency and desire among expatriate Ethiopian artists to end the conditional circumstances inherent in the concept of exile. Not made necessarily by only adhering to American national characteristics and shedding the peculiarities brought over from Ethiopia, but by being part of the African American community and proudly maintaining their African/Ethiopian uniqueness and heritage. Skunder’s clever remark a couple of days before he passed away reflects that philosophy. The words, “It is nice to be an Ethiopian in America" are enlightening. Endowed with a resourceful background of creativity, Ethiopian artists in America have a certain authority, an outlet or even freedom to be different in matters related to creativity. Debre Hayq Ethiopian Art Gallery salutes the coordinator and the organizing group of the Annual Blen Art show and congratulates the participating artists and wishes them all future success. By: Esseye Medhin, October 10, 2004