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As part of the first country-focused season, “Ethiopia: Modern Nation-Ancient Roots,” a two-part exhibition was presented. The first part, “Aïda Muluneh’s Homebound: A Journey in Photography,” co-curated by Salah M. Hassan and Sataan Al-Hassan, chronicled Aida Muluneh’s journey as an artist and a photojournalist, along with her multiple contributions to imaging and image-making in photographic-based works. This exhibition explored her experiences since returning to her homeland, Ethiopia, after years of living, studying, and practicing in North America.
The second part, “Addis Foto Fest: Nine Years Survey,” curated by the artist herself, reflected on her journey as the founder and director of Addis Foto Fest (AFF), established in 2010 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The festival, organized by Desta for Africa Creative Consulting PLC, is a biennial international photography festival, the first and only of its kind in East Africa, held in Addis Ababa. The exhibition featured a selection of photographs reflecting on the history and evolution of modern and contemporary Ethiopian photography. Additionally, it included works from other African contemporary photographers exhibited and/or commissioned as part of AFF’s activities.
Born in Ethiopia in 1974, Aïda Muluneh left the country at a young age and spent an itinerant childhood between Yemen and England. After several years in a boarding school in Cyprus, she finally settled in Canada in 1985. In 2000, she graduated with a degree from the Communication Department with a major in Film from Howard University in Washington D.C. After graduation she worked as a photojournalist at the Washington Post, however, her work can be found in several international publications. Also, as an exhibiting artist, Aida’s work has been shown in South Africa, Mali, Senegal, Egypt, Canada, United States of America, France, Germany, England, China, to name a few countries. A collection of her images can be found in the permanent collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art, Hood Museum and the Museum of Biblical Art in the United States. She is the 2007 recipient of the European Union Prize in the Rencontres Africaines de la Photographie, in Bamako, Mali, the 2010 winner of the CRAF International Award of Photography in Spilimbergo, Italy, and a 2018 CatchLight Fellow in San Francisco, USA. As one of the leading experts on photography from Africa, she has been a jury member on several photography competitions, most notably the Sony World Photography Awards 2017 and the World Press Photo Contest 2017. She has also been on various panel discussions on photography in events such as African Union cultural summit, Art Basel and TEDx Johannesburg. Moreover, she currently serves as a Canon Ambassador. Aida is the founder and director of the Addis Foto Fest (AFF), the first international photography festival in East Africa hosted since 2010 in the city of Addis Ababa. She continues to educate, curate, and develop cultural projects with local and international institutions through her company DESTA (Developing and Educating Society Through Art) For Africa Creative Consulting PLC (DFA) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Salah M. Hassan is the Director of The Africa Institute, Sharjah, UAE. He also holds the position of Distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences in Africana Studies, Director of the Institute for Comparative Modernities (ICM), and Professor of Art History and Visual Culture at the Africana Studies and Research Center, and the Department of History of Art and Visual Studies, Cornell University. Read more.
Sataan Al-Hassan is the Associate Director Administration & Operations at The Africa Institute. He joined the Institute in 2019 as the Head of Publications, Programming and Research Department. Sataan has a BA majoring in Mass Communication and a minor in Film Studies from the American University of Sharjah and an MSc in Political Theory from the University of Edinburgh.
As part of the first country-focused season, “Ethiopia: Modern Nation-Ancient Roots,” a two-part exhibition was presented. The first part, “Aïda Muluneh’s Homebound: A Journey in Photography,” co-curated by Salah M. Hassan and Sataan Al-Hassan, chronicled Aida Muluneh’s journey as an artist and a photojournalist, along with her multiple contributions to imaging and image-making in photographic-based works. This exhibition explored her experiences since returning to her homeland, Ethiopia, after years of living, studying, and practicing in North America.
As part of the first country-focused season, “Ethiopia: Modern Nation-Ancient Roots,” a two-part exhibition was presented. The first part, “Aïda Muluneh’s Homebound: A Journey in Photography,” co-curated by Salah M. Hassan and Sataan Al-Hassan, chronicled Aida Muluneh’s journey as an artist and a photojournalist, along with her multiple contributions to imaging and image-making in photographic-based works. This exhibition explored her experiences since returning to her homeland, Ethiopia, after years of living, studying, and practicing in North America.
The second part, “Addis Foto Fest: Nine Years Survey,” curated by the artist herself, reflected on her journey as the founder and director of Addis Foto Fest (AFF), established in 2010 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The festival, organized by Desta for Africa Creative Consulting PLC, is a biennial international photography festival, the first and only of its kind in East Africa, held in Addis Ababa. The exhibition featured a selection of photographs reflecting on the history and evolution of modern and contemporary Ethiopian photography. Additionally, it included works from other African contemporary photographers exhibited and/or commissioned as part of AFF’s activities.
Born in Ethiopia in 1974, Aïda Muluneh left the country at a young age and spent an itinerant childhood between Yemen and England. After several years in a boarding school in Cyprus, she finally settled in Canada in 1985. In 2000, she graduated with a degree from the Communication Department with a major in Film from Howard University in Washington D.C. After graduation she worked as a photojournalist at the Washington Post, however, her work can be found in several international publications. Also, as an exhibiting artist, Aida’s work has been shown in South Africa, Mali, Senegal, Egypt, Canada, United States of America, France, Germany, England, China, to name a few countries. A collection of her images can be found in the permanent collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art, Hood Museum and the Museum of Biblical Art in the United States. She is the 2007 recipient of the European Union Prize in the Rencontres Africaines de la Photographie, in Bamako, Mali, the 2010 winner of the CRAF International Award of Photography in Spilimbergo, Italy, and a 2018 CatchLight Fellow in San Francisco, USA. As one of the leading experts on photography from Africa, she has been a jury member on several photography competitions, most notably the Sony World Photography Awards 2017 and the World Press Photo Contest 2017. She has also been on various panel discussions on photography in events such as African Union cultural summit, Art Basel and TEDx Johannesburg. Moreover, she currently serves as a Canon Ambassador. Aida is the founder and director of the Addis Foto Fest (AFF), the first international photography festival in East Africa hosted since 2010 in the city of Addis Ababa. She continues to educate, curate, and develop cultural projects with local and international institutions through her company DESTA (Developing and Educating Society Through Art) For Africa Creative Consulting PLC (DFA) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Salah M. Hassan is the Director of The Africa Institute, Sharjah, UAE. He also holds the position of Distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences in Africana Studies, Director of the Institute for Comparative Modernities (ICM), and Professor of Art History and Visual Culture at the Africana Studies and Research Center, and the Department of History of Art and Visual Studies, Cornell University. Read more.
Sataan Al-Hassan is the Associate Director Administration & Operations at The Africa Institute. He joined the Institute in 2019 as the Head of Publications, Programming and Research Department. Sataan has a BA majoring in Mass Communication and a minor in Film Studies from the American University of Sharjah and an MSc in Political Theory from the University of Edinburgh.
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