b. 1947, Ethiopia
Achamyeleh Debela graduated from the Addis Ababa School of Fine Arts in 1967 and completed additional training at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Nigeria, in 1972. A few years later, he relocated to Baltimore, Maryland, where he earned masters degrees from Morgan State University and the Maryland Institute College of Art. He also pursued doctoral studies in computer graphics and art education at Ohio State University. Achamyeleh teaches at North Carolina Central University, where he is professor of art and computer graphics. He recently spent a year as a Fulbright Scholar in Ghana and Ethiopia.
Recommended web sites for further study
(not affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution)
http://www.ethiopians.com/acha.html
http://www.t0.or.at/~ccc/art/debela.html
http://www.contempafricanart.com/html/3.html
On April 30, on the occasion of the opening of Ethiopian Passages: Dialogues in the Diaspora, curator Elizabeth Harney asked Achamyeleh to comment on his work in relation to the exhibition's theme of relocation and diaspora.
Go to the Video Interview section.
Spirit at the Door
1992
Digital image cibachrome print
68.5 x 48 cm. (27 x 19 in.)
Collection of the artist;
courtesy Contemporary African Art Gallery,
New York
Scarification II
1991
Digital image cibachrome print
48 x 66 cm. (19 x 26 in.)
Collection of the artist;
courtesy Contemporary African Art Gallery,
New York
Song for Africa
No date
Digital image cibachrome print
100 x 74.5 cm. (39 x 29 in.)
Collection of the artist;
courtesy Contemporary African Art Gallery,
New York
The Priest
1990-91
Digital image cibachrome print
40.5 x 50.8 cm. (16 x 20 in.)
Collection of the artist