Experiencing Art in Addis Ababa

‘By a Thread’ by Tsion Mehari

Onlooking the light traffic outside Studio 11 in Bole, Addis Ababa; Photograph taken by the author.

I had some time after a work meeting this Tuesday, so I took a minibus to the intersection in front of Medhanealem Church, wished the redaat a good day, and walked by a long row of embassies to reach the building with Studio 11. My sister recommended that I see Tsion Mehari’s debut exhibition there, and if you’re in Addis Ababa until late November 2024, I suggest you take a look too.

Tsion Mehari is an architect who graduated from the university I went to, but I only got to meet her through her work so far. Here is a young lady who opened her palms, effectively saying, ‘Here’s something about me’ in a place where we don’t have many examples of people sharing their indescribable sentiments and thought processes like this. Most of her characters don’t look at you unless they’re giving you a challenging side-eye.

All the other characters are looking away. Their eyes have no spark; they’re dejected and tired. I later found that word–tired–in one of the questions she wrote in her sketchbook: ‘are you not tired?’

Several of her paintings immediately brought Picasso’s Blue Period works to mind, but…