The State of Ethiopian Art in the Diaspora and its impact in the future Currently, it is no exaggeration to say that Ethiopian Art is more visible in the Diaspora than in the country. One reason among several for this is that the best and the brightest artists are exiting the country in unprecedented numbers. Many of them stay in the Diaspora indefinitely. This has changed the ways that Ethiopian Art is publicized. Whereas Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo church paintings, religious folk art or Ethiopian folk art exhibitions once were the major representations of Ethiopian Art, nowadays it is examples of Contemporary Ethiopian Art that are exhibited in the Diaspora. However, Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo church painting, religious folk or Ethiopian folk art exhibitions do remain of interest and are still favored by foreign institutions. In the last couple of years alone there have been several shows organized along those lines, including one at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C., and at The Fowler Museum of Cultural History, UCLA. But there is no doubt that in the last five years alone, Contemporary Ethiopian Art has been given a much more important and significant place in the art world. Many talented artists have been featured regularly in important galleries and museums and exhibits throughout North America and Western Europe. For example, in 2003 the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art in Washington, DC presented works of contemporary Ethiopian artists, “Ethiopian Passage: Dialogues in the Diaspora.” Again, in 2003, “My Ethiopia”, Wosene Worke Kosrof show was jointly organized by the Newark Museum and the Neuberger Museum of Art. Likewise, Most accomplished “exit generation” artists residing in the country were given the chance to exhibit their work regularly, while others were able to obtain artists’ residency at different venues across the Diaspora. The ZOMA Contemporary Art Center in Addis Ababa, for example, arranged for talented young artists to participate in Dak’Art Biennial of Contemporary African Art. The Makush Art Gallery, Addis Ababa, also sponsored a show featuring contemporary Ethiopian artists at the International Art Expo in New York City in 2004. And just last month, in June 2006, the Chelsea Art Museum in New York exhibited the sculpture works of Bekele Mekonnen. As contemporary Ethiopian art began to enjoy increasing acknowledgement at home for its diversity and modern cultural achievements, it also enjoyed increasing admiration and acceptance in the Diaspora as well. We used to see only two or three names of contemporary Ethiopian artists featured in the international art arena. But nowadays, we see a dozen or more names of contemporary Ethiopian artists. What was once an average of perhaps one Ethiopian artists’ show in the Diaspora every one or two years is now about a dozen. One-man shows, in the Diaspora, have become progressively more common, yet the younger generation of Ethiopian and Ethiopian American artists in the United States has continued the tradition of group shows established in the 1970s by Achamyeleh Debla and his friends. For example, the annual Blen Art show has successfully entered its third year in Washington D.C. — organized and coordinated by Ephrem Giram and his passionate friends. Members of this group also exhibit their work individually in various American East Coast cities. Another recent addition to this state of Ethiopian Art in the Diaspora is the opening of the Addis Art Gallery by Mesai Haileleul in Los Angeles. Alitash Kebede had started off in the 1980s in Los Angeles with a collection of African American artists’ and was followed by the Addis Art Gallery in 2005. The Addis Art Gallery is the first of its kind in the U.S. to display and purchase works by young Ethiopian artists from across the Diaspora. The opening of Addis Art Gallery was soon followed by Artful Gallery in Washington, D.C. In yet another growing trend and encouraging phenomenon for Ethiopian art, Ethiopian professionals in the Diaspora are organizing contemporary Ethiopian art show in their residences. Collaborating with important sponsors has been critical to the success of Ethiopian art in the Diaspora. In this day and age, as with everything else in life, commercial success in the visual arts is as important as artistic success. The growing number of Ethiopian art collectors and the opening of more art galleries will help overcome the single greatest obstacle to Ethiopian art exposure in the Diaspora. Contemporary Ethiopian Art that has so far been limited to the community will eventually get the opportunity to reach the international art market. So far, only a handful of Ethiopian artists in the Diaspora — such as the acclaimed Wosene Kosrof, Julie Mehretu, Girmay H Hiwet, Tesfaye Tessema, Kinfe Michael Bethe Selassie, Elizabeth Atnafu, Mulugeta Tafesse and Daniel Taye — have achieved acceptance in the international mainstream art world while maintaining the dynamics of Ethiopian Art. At this point in time, one of the few effective avenues for the artists and Ethiopian art collectors in the Diaspora is cyberspace. A good example is the EthioArtists, an art-topia email group forum, the most effective means of spreading Ethioart news and promoting Ethiopian art in the Diaspora. As with dissident bodies of all kinds, Ethiopian artists in the Diaspora have found in the Internet a practical way of publicizing and showcasing themselves. There once used to be only three websites of Ethiopian art and Ethiopian artists. In 2006, we counted over 50 of these websites. Many of us in the Diaspora — who for one reason or another are not able to view the original work of these artists — have become more familiar with their achievements from what we read and see online. From these younger generation artists, a few outstanding examples who have come out with a signature style and gained both artistic and commercial success in the Diaspora include: Fikri G Mariam, Ezra Wube, Helina Metaferia, Shiferwa Girma, Engdaget Legesse and Mulugeta Gebrekidan. Other talented artists who made their mark while exhibiting both at home and in the Diaspora are Solomon Assefa, Yohaness Tesfay, Dawit Abebe, Naizgi Tewolde, Girma Kifle Meskel, Merid Tizazu, Wondwossen Beyene, Yosef Kebede, Debebe Tesfaye, Nebyou Tesfaye, Tamrat Fekadu, Teferi Teshome, Tesfaye Legesse, Matiyas Lulu, Bharu Jemal, Yared Wondwossen and Zerihun Seyoum. These and many other young generation artists have shaped an unmistakable consistency and uniformity born of inner necessity and a certain artistic approach. Even if they cling to what seems no longer new in the contemporary art world, they are nevertheless out there to advance their art in a ‘stylish’ way. An interesting and somewhat troubling trend seen with some of these artists, however, is their tendency to associate ethnic minorities or women with sensuality or primitive motifs. These artists do not necessarily hold the glorious image of the country that their predecessors have. They do not intend to erect monuments and memorials. In their moods, artistic sentiments and passion, rather than in any national and patriotic zeal, these artists pursue the best of the artistic tradition of Zemenay, of 1960s modernists, and to a certain extent the New Masters of the ‘80s. The trends of simplification and decorative styles wielded by the pioneers were aimed at the creation of a lyrical and slightly nostalgic world to evade cruel reality. In the hands of the Diaspora Ethiopian artists, however, these techniques have become a medium for confronting reality in a more forceful, brutal and dramatic manner. Their paintings of a gruesome, cruel and unbearable reality are not necessarily intended to inspire any action or evoke the nature of the situation, but to demonize the demon itself and exorcize their own fear and discontent. They are forceful to look at, and disturbing to contemplate. Although they are constantly aware of their home country’s social and political situations, any attempt to change or improve societal conditions through their art seems to them unattainable. These artists don’t pretend to be moralists or even activists in their art, nor do they think first of the community. The self — the ultimate desire of modernist artists — is probably perused to its utmost, more so by this generation of Diaspora Ethiopian artists than their predecessors. At this point in time, coming to terms and dealing with the Ethiopian condition has become the single most important raison d’etre of all Ethiopians in the Diaspora. As such, it will be unimaginable for these artists to ignore the ongoing events that dominate the concerns of all Ethiopians. It is hoped that these artists will get involved out of a sense of moral conviction to help alter and reform Ethiopia’s horrendous conditions. No matter what happens, the state of much Ethiopian Diaspora artwork will reflect the conditions of Ethiopia — as did the works of those anonymous painters of yesteryear and of the recognized and affluent artists of the last century. However gruesome and depressing, however subjective, personal and entertaining it may be, the work of Ethiopian artists from across the Diaspora will represent Ethiopia in the mainstream art world at least for the first quarter of the 21st century. With the help of digital technology, the “exit generation” artists will be the new Qine Tibebet , maestros of the nation. The global migratory movements will forcefully spread the nation’s artwork and sway the Ethiopian public to accept the unstated, but long held, principle of the postmodern theory of pluralistic approaches to art. This article was prepared for The 2006 Tsehai Conferences on The State of Ethiopian Affairs and the Diaspora. Debre Hayq congratulates Elias Wondimu for organizing The 2006 Tsehai conferences on the State of Ethiopian Affairs and the Diaspora. By: Esseye Medhin, July 17, 2006