Migrancy and Placemaking | Ethiopian Passages: Dialogues in the Diaspora


Alexander "Skunder" Boghossian b. 1937, Ethiopia d. 2003	Kebedech Tekleab b. 1958, Ethiopia	Elisabeth Atnafu b. Ethiopia

As artists cross frontiers, they bring with them their memories and stories--their ties to "home." Like many in diasporas throughout the globe, Ethiopian contemporary artists have actively, innovatively and consistently used memory as a tool to situate themselves and their artistry within a broader context.

Skunder Boghossian has been masterful at imagining aspects of Ethiopia's and Africa's cultural heritage within his works. His skill derives from the insightful manner in which he is able to recall broad-ranging visual motifs, myths and calligraphic forms. He shifts them into a textured universe that is purely his own, and yet one that can be experienced by Ethiopian and global audiences alike.

Kebedech Tekleab's engagement with issues of memory is visceral. She exorcises the demons of the past through the visual expression of memories, unveiling the frailties of the human soul and entreating us to learn from history.

Like her compatriots, Elisabeth Atnafu subtly mines the art history of the home she left behind and places its features in dialogue with a diverse range of cultural traditions. While providing a means of artistic and personal inspiration, the power of memory is, for Atnafu, grounded in the way in which it is shared. Thus her works are invitations to tell stories, to honor the oral histories of those who move across the globe with little but their memories to help them place themselves in the world.