Category: Articles

Articles

Wayna | Representing Ethiopia on an International Stage

Wayna is an Ethiopian-born, GRAMMY-nominated singer, former White House writer, and actress, who celebrates the cultural influences of her background through her performances on screen and on stage.

Articles

among us women

among us women tells the story of 3 powerful women doing their best to navigate along patriarchal structures. Set in Megendi Gojam, among us women, has for its central character, Huluager, a woman that’s about to have her fourth child.

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Representing Ethiopia: Marketing that works!

Advertising agencies in Africa take a unique approach to community promotion known as community marketing. Community marketing can be defined as “a form of marketing that seeks to build long-term relationships with customers by engaging with them in two-way communication.”

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Creative Entrepreneurship: Resilience

Art has a long history of being used to speak truth to power as a potent weapon for social transformation, serving as a voice for the oppressed, political propaganda, and a rope in a tug of war between classes. Therefore, naturally, challenges analogous to their surroundings and community emerge.

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We can’t eat art but it feeds us

By Besufekade Mulu If there is something that remains constant about art; for the most part, is that it’s seen as a luxury. A lazy man’s pursuit. The reasons for this though, are unclear. For some, it might be because

Articles

Comic Books: The Art of Cultural Inspiration

Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe took the world’s attention with giant blockbusters, comic book culture was very popular in the West in the 1930s and 40s. The phenomenon in Ethiopia, although still existing in certain niche groups, became a trend in the early 2000s. By the time The Avengers Endgame movie came out in 2019, the potential for storytelling of the medium had made its case worldwide and quite a few Ethiopian creators were coming out with their own comic books.

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Playconomics

Gaming as a societal practice dates back thousands of years. Not only was it a recreational experience, but the conceptual construct behind it has also become a capsule that transfers and preserves ideologies and customs across generations. Some contemporary gamers view ancient illusionists, magicians and storytellers as forebears of gaming as we know it today. Because they represented a deep understanding of human psychology and how it can be influenced.

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ETHIOPIAN BEZALEM ESHETU YIRDAW AWARDED AT

ETHIOPIAN BEZALEM ESHETU YIRDAW AWARDED AT 2022 L’ORÉAL-UNESCO FOR  WOMEN IN  SCIENCESUB-SAHARAN  AFRICA YOUNG TALENTS AWARDS: Paris, November 8th, 2022  – The Fondation L’Oréal and UNESCO unveil the winners of the 13th edition  of the For Women in Science Young

Articles

Anis Gabi’s Haadhi Mikii Album Launch 

Anis Gabi, a passionate musician, primarily active in Afaan Oromo, is releasing his first album Haadhi Mikii.  A storytelling piece, centered on the place women have in the Oromo culture.  It also aims to highlight the indigenous system put in place for women by women, the Sinqee. The Sinqee is a stick given to women by their mothers once they got married. It symbolizes, fertility, productivity and prosperity but also, it was a way to ensure their rights were not eroded and as a warning for husbands that sought dominance over their wives.

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French words in the Amharic language

In linguistics, using a word or an expression from another language, without translating it, is called “borrowing”. The term “borrowing” supposes that the other party loans, making these languages lenders. All the languages that are in contact with one another borrow and loan, and sometimes impose terms and expressions.

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Muzikawi Launch

Meet the new Ethiopian music company that will take our Ethiopian creatives to the global market! Muzikawi is built on 17 years of experience in Ethiopian music culture combined with 25 years of international music industry experience. Every week from April 1st and throughout 2022 we will present 16 artists and more than 100 releases! The cultural organisation Selam has been committed to the advancement of Ethiopian music culture for over 17 years.

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Music Consumption | የሙዚቃ ፍጆታ

A few years back, it would have been common to see someone fogging a CD and wiping it to ensure it plays clean. Not long before that, it was winding a cassette tape with a pencil. And even further back, people were exchanging phonograph disks. But there was also a time when the only way for people to hear their favorite music was to sit across from a musician playing it.
ከጥቂት አመታት በፊት በትክክል እንዲሰራ ሲዲ በልብሱ የሚጠርግ ሰው ማየት የሚያስገርም ነገር አልነበረም። ከዛም ብዙ ወኋላ ሳንሄድ ፤ የቴፕ ካሴት በእርሳስ ማጠንጠን የተለመደ ነበር። ቀደም ስንል ከፎኖገራፍ ሸክላዎች ጋር ለመታገል የሚገደዱ ሰዎችም ነበሩ።

Articles

Music Promotion | የሙዚቃ ማስተዋወቅ

In the digital world, music promotion is more than just about the music. It’s also about the artist behind the music. And when people come into play, their values, ideas and opinions eventually enter the sphere of public information. Moreover, artists have to navigate this area carefully and craft a presence throughout their careers.
በዲጂታሉ አለም፤የሙዚቃ ፕሮሞሽን ስለ ሙዚቃው ብቻ አይደለም። ከሙዚቃው ጀርባ ስላለው አርቲስትም ጭምር ነው። ሙዚቃ ለመጫወት ሲመጡ ፤ ዋጋቸው ፣ አስታየታቸውን እና ሃሳባቸው አብሮ ለህዝብ ይደርሳል። አርቲስቶች ይህነን በጥንቃቄ አጥንተው እና ዳሰው በሙያቸው ሁሉ ቋሚነትን መፍጠር ይገባቸዋል።

Articles

Managers and Artists | ማኔጀሮች እና አርቲስቶች

The manager is responsible for contacting potential venues and promoters, marketing and social media, liaising with others, paperwork, managing accounts, networking, artistic direction, connecting with fans, negotiating contracts, collecting, and promotional appearances, among other things.
ስራውን ማቅረቢያ ቦታ ማመቻቸት ፤ ፕሮሞተሮችን መነጋገር ፤ ማርኬቲንግ እና ማህበራዊ ሚዲያ ፤ ኔትወኪንግ ፤ ጥበባዊ አቅጣጫን ማስቀመጥ ፤ ከአድናቂዎቹ ጋር ማወዳጀት ፤ ውሎችን መደራደር ፤ ገቢውን መሰብሰብ እና የማስታወቂያ አቅርቦት ከማኔጀሩ ስራዎች ጥቂቶቹ ናቸው።

Articles

Music Production | የሙዚቃ ፕሮዳክሽን

The road to music production is the best kept secret in the Ethiopian music industry. “Well, you just make music,” is the general rhetoric. Perhaps it’s not a one-size-fits-all remedy. As most of our local music producers are self-taught, each one has had to find their way.
ወደ ሙዚቃ ፕሮዳክሽን የሚወስደው መንገድ የኢትዮጵያ ሙዚቃ ኢንዱስትሪ ሚስጥር ሆኖ ቢቀመጥ ይሻላል። “ያው ሙዚቃ ትሰራለህ” ነው የተለመደው ምላሽ። ሁሉም ቁልፍ ሁሉንም በር አይከፍትም አይነት ጨዋታ ይሆናል። ብዚዎቹ የኢቶዮጵያ ሙዚቃ ፕሮዲውሰሮች ራሳቸውን ስላስተማሩ ፤ የሳቸውን መንገድ ማግኘት ነበረባቸው።

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Becomeing a Music Professional | ሙዚቀኛ እንዴት ነው ባለሙያ የሚሆነው?

In the quest to understand how young musicians become professionals, one is first confronted by the question of what makes a professional. Most musicians seem to have their own definition.
ወጣት ሙዚቀኞች እንዴት ባለሙያ መሆን ይቻላሉ ለሚለው ጥያቄ መልስ ስንፈልግ አንድን ሰው ምንንድነው ባለሙያ የሚያደርገው የሚለው ጥያቄ ጣልቃ ይገባል። አብዝሃኞቹ ሙዚቀኞች የራሳቸው መልስ አላቸው።

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Music Education | የሙዚቃ ትምህርት

We live in a fast-paced and ever-changing world, where the advent of the internet is opening doors and opportunities for people from all walks of life. Technology has also pushed a great many things that were once considered essential or part of daily life into obsolescence, while calling into question the practicality of a great many more.
የምንኖረው በፍጥነት በመቀየር ላይ ባለች አለም ውስጥ ነው። የምንወደው ነገር ላይ ያደረሰን መንገድ ከእኛ በቀደሙ ብዙዎች የተጠረገ ነው። እጃችን ላይ አማራጮች እንደልብ አሉን። የተለየ ድምፅ ያላቸው ወጣት የፈጠራ ሰዎች ብቅ እያሉ ነው። እኛም ከሌላው ጊዜ በእጅጉ ለእዲስ ነገ ክፍት የሆን አድማጮች ሆነናል። እንደዚህ በተመቻቸ ጊዜ ታድያ አርቲስቱ በቀላሉ እየሰራ ከኢንተርኔት መማር እየቻለ ለምን ሙዚቃ ትምህት ቤት ይሄዳል?

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Ethiopian Pottery and Handicrafts

Handicrafts and their creator’s stories mirror Ethiopian history and the industry today. The artisans produced essential items for sustenance (think of the injera clay plate). Still, they were seen as “non-essential” to demonically possessed. Moreover, the handicraft sector is riddled with inexplicable paradoxes.

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You will Die at Twenty | Sudanese Film

You will Die at Twenty Maybe? We don’t know…

For the first time, ever, Sudan is submitting a film to the Oscars. For a country with an art scene that has been suppressed by an autocrat (Omar Al-Bashir), this is huge news. Especially, as an African. Okay, maybe not in that intensity. But it’s huge news! Let’s explain why!

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God in Art | Ethiopian Art

Given our history, you wouldn’t be surprised to find out that religion plays a huge role in the daily lives of Ethiopians. A country where a good majority identifies as either Christian or Muslim has also produced some of the most fascinating art pieces that tell the history of the country and God.

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Shiro Meda | Ethiopian Fashion

It would be safe to assume that everyone reading this is familiar with Shiro Meda, but as a refresher, let’s briefly describe it. Shiro Meda, located around 6 kilo, is a market that mostly deals in everything traditional attire. From the yarn spinners to pattern designers everyone involved in the production of traditional dresses can be found here with their expertise and items.

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Monolithic Architecture | Ethiopian Architecture

Mostly associated with the ancient world, monolithic structures are buildings that are carved, cast, or excavated from a single piece of material. Immovable reminders that civilizations once excelled at architecture. Either through slave labor, aliens, or pure technical marvels these structures defy the capabilities of mankind and were the epitome of technology back then.

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Tell Me Something New | Ethiopian Creative Sector

The creative sector in Ethiopia is something that causes a lot of people pain. Both people that are on the outside looking in and those of us knee-deep in it. It sometimes feels like the creative sector is stagnant. Of course, it is unfair to say that there is no evolution but have we seen an art revolution that has achieved national impact? What about the parts of the sectors that have achieved success to a moderate level are they pushing others to reach their level?

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For the Love of Film! | Freelance

We pondered a lot, in terms, of what to highlight on the importance of cinema in Ethiopia. The truth of the matter, there’s a lot to complain about, especially, in the current times (with Corona and Civil War looming over the country). But it’s important to look at the positives. Mostly because, we all know what’s wrong with the local cinema but we can’t really appreciate it’s importance. So here’s why we here GETZ love the movies and why we think it’s important to keep pushing until we’re in that ideal state where we can rightfully hate on whatever version of cinematic universe will eventually form in Ethiopia.

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Hanna Haile | Zellan Corner | Ethiopian Filmmaking

We are nothing more than a mosaic of our stories, an encapsulation of lived experiences. Cinema has the power to gather people and for 120 minutes it allows us a glimpse of what is, could be, or has been. There is an undeniable magic.

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Japan Sinks | Film

Disaster stories always have one thing in common. Human resilience. That’s where the suspense is drawn from. It’s also, an exercise in empathy. I’ve always found it strange that people immediately feel connected to characters that don’t even exist and root for them but for people in real life, that are going through painful experience, albeit different, we tend to ignore.

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Orange Hearts

Orange Hearts wasn’t planned out meticulously with a specific end goal in mind. As someone who has dealt with an abusive father, who has felt helpless and weak and unable to defend me or my mother (and although I sometimes deny it, the effects linger and affect various aspects of my life), I was completely disturbed when I read about the abuse and rape of over 100 children in Ethiopia.

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Avoiding the Insincere Brush | The Design Blah Blah

Say you’ve just created this amazing idea in your head. This idea, for all intents and purposes, is a movie. This movie chronicles the life of a controversial figure, that say, liberated your country but also enslaved a lot of people or wasn’t kind to his wife. You try your best to navigate and write him as a balanced hero and boom you release it.

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When We Take Sides | Freelance

If one thing positive comes out of the pandemic, it’s our sudden awakening to the pain of others. Politicians can no longer say, it’ll be better. People seem to be more adamant about the walk part of the talk. At least for now. Businesses, seem to be acknowledging the importance of taking care of people and nature. It’s can no longer be just about profits.

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Overcoming is Unionising | Zellan Corner

To come to terms with the reality of Ethiopia is always the step one of creative process. There is a lot our imagination will not allow to explore as the ropes of our tradition and learning has been to ignore impulses that question.

Zellan Creative and Cultural Centre is meant to break that cycle. What ever you can imagine to work on or question, we believe the world is ready to hear you.

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Corena* Musings | Sarah Bushra

I am writing this text safely tucked in a studio apartment in Basha Wolde Condominium, Arat Kilo, Addis Ababa. Although the city is not in total lockdown, I barely leave my home, except for sporadic coffee breaks at a café downstairs. At least once a day, I make my way down from the fourth floor – pausing at the balcony of each story to look out at the city and check if it is still there and indeed intact between my climbs down each staircase. The pauses get longer with the passing days, and my gazes more unsure and less futile.

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Eeb Allay OOO! | Film

What’s a job? Is it something you do to sustain yourself? Or something that gives your life meaning? Or it’s a just a made up thing by the system? I couldn’t help but think of the state of the Ethiopian graduate when I saw Eeb Allay Ooo on the We Are One film festival on YouTube.

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Things We Want Gone | Freelance

Yes COVID-19 is tearing us a new one on all fronts, on some more than other but it is very important to look past this and look forward to a better time. The COVID-19 pandemic will change things and we wish for some of these charming “complexities” of creative professional life in Addis would go away.

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The Collective Gasp | The Design Blah Blah

You know, for a pandemic ridden world we are pretty fucking calm and composed. Sure, you hear of puzzling creatures breaking all sorts of quarantine measures to go to the nail salon but all things considered, we kinda got this. 

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Hellaro | Film

In movies to be precise. There is something to be said about the musical genre. Often times, it’s mistaken for a film where characters are always smiling or just simply singing or dancing their emotions as they come. Yes it is that but it’s also more.

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Social Distancing and Working from Home | The Design Blah Blah

With the current news over 80 confirmed (and 14 recovered. Important to state those too) cases in the country and the news that the prime minister’s office has closed schools and sporting events as well as other mass gatherings.

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GETZ Patented Adjustments to a Totally New World | Freelance

As a friend of mine pointed out in her blog (check out corena musings) there is this unexplained gulp in our collective that some of us mistake for symptoms of COVID-19. This tiny particle that could potentially be the end of us.

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Yeha Digital Art Experience

Here at GETZ, we are glad that the YEHA digital experience happened before Covid-19 and that we got to experience something unique and met so many creatives around Ethiopia. It felt like a once in a life-time thing and we hope to see it next year.

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How to Use Your Time in Quarantine Productively | The Design Blah Blah

Yeah… productivity at home! Something we all want to have but in reality… can’t adapt either because we have kids (God help you if they’re teenagers or like ask too many questions) or simply because home is just too comfortable. So how do you separate your home space from your work space, At home?

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Procrastination, Quarantine & Working from Home | Freelance

So you’re at home. Or will be. And you thought hey, maybe this a good opportunity to get that… we’re gonna call it… project for intents and purposes. You’ll get that project done! Yeah! You’re excited and can’t wait to get a crack at it. It’s amazing. You’re feeling the creative juices owing. It’s getting there. YEAH! FUCK YEAH!

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Client Vs Creative | Freelance

In the complexities of the creative life. There is the one thing any true “artist” *looks at himself in a mirror* wants to achieve. Pure art. Yes, that includes when the ministry of health asks you to design a poster to combat open defecation. Because if there is anything that’ll stop it, it’s an artistic poster *looks at himself in a mirror*. But what the client wants is…. Specific *takes off sun glasses* and the specificity doesn’t sit well with you.

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Persepolis | Film

Marajane’s life was very simple. She loved French fries with ketchup (who doesn’t) Bruce Lee was her favorite hero and she only had two obsessions. To one day, shave her legs and become the last prophet of the galaxy. With these very bold statements Persepolis, a triumphant achievement in biographical storytelling that unfolds in gorgeous black and white animation.

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YEHA Digital Art Experience | Arts and Collaboration

The world isn’t fair. Sometimes you’ve got an idea and it’s a brilliant one, but you’re either left alone to do it or other people around you don’t want to help you out because they don’t understand your vision. When Dagem and Nasredin took the Creative Futures Programme’s Event management training back in 2018, they had to form a group from with present trainees and come up with an event idea that they can work on together.

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Do I Drool When I Sleep | Short Story

I woke up late night on a Wednesday to meet a dead- line I gave to myself. Finish a painting before morning. The problem was, I had nothing. I tried drinking coffee but all that did was excite my empty mind. I felt like I was watching TV but someone else was holding the remote.

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New Eden | TV Series

Well this month we saw two things that really impressed us the most. One being a series. A mockumentary series about a women only commune that turned wrong. For the characters in the series. For us it’s mostly hilarious.

The premise is fairly simple. A female journalist goes undercover and films her experience in said commune to experience the sudden change of the commune from a women centric thing to well… ah very bizarre cult to an even stranger turn of events.

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One Cut of The Dead | Film

In an effort not to spoil the film, the getz film review team, will tell you about said film experience in the least spoilery (not a word) way possible and avoid letters from angry Asian film aficionados, Asian film aficionado wannabes and hate mail from the people of NAME REDACTED.

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The Mirror (A Getz Christmas Parable) | Short Story

The holiday season in New York is never easy. Especially for an Ethiopian. This time of the year, it’s just mid-2012. For everyone else however, it’s a much bigger deal. To Abebe, the Christmas season puts a whole damper on his mood. A damper he doesn’t need. Especially, because he’s two weeks away from submitting an installation for a charity event aimed at supporting starving children in Africa.

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Arts and Advertising | The Design Blah Blah

Given the fact that most artists should be the voice of reason and progress and awake your inner anti-capitalist self (ignore that last part if you disagree), it has started sharing a strange ecosystem with the marketing industry. We’re not saying it’s a bad thing, not necessarily, but if you thought of great artistic expression just twenty years ago, in Ethiopia.

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I Lost My Body | Film

When tragedy strikes, often, it leaves a scar too painful to look at that we either can’t stop looking at it and it dictates your life or you ignore and you do everything you can to forget it and it dictates your life. It’s a hard choice. You’re left with two options submit to this fate or do the opposite. Do something completely irrational and unpredictable that it breaks the cycle.

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It’s Only You | The Design Blah Blah

There is a reason why art needs to be specific. This goes more than just putting African Print (a recurring theme, I suppose) on things to make things look African. For us, it’s about leaving an imprint to move a curiosity in its audience.

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How to make “Africa” (Ugh) Design (A step by step guide to represent Africa) | Freelance

Have you ever decided one day, just randomly, to design Africa (the country) and represent African lifestyle in designs? Well No worries! This guide is for you! We at Getz decided to give you a small guide on how to design African things. Because it’s that easy. In these easy steps, you will know how to develop designs that speak of the complex but simple nature of African art. How different can it be… Right?

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The Artists Rebellion | Freelance

In the middle ages, the catholic church “hired” all sorts of artists to decorate the inside of chapels and churches. However, if you pay close attention to history (not that we did any deep dive into the relationship between the artists and the church in the middle ages and renaissance times but do we really have to, you prove the point we’re about to state?) not all artists exactly believed in God. However, some needed the coin and others needed to escape the noose (and other horrible deaths) so they played along and painted away the church’s desires.

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What Makes Art African | Alexander Hizikias

In relation to this Crownz Global produces value-added “Gabi” made apparel which is a staple textile product of Ethiopia. The threads used to make the product are all locally sourced & sown together by Ethiopians. This can be called African art in a different manner as compared to the case above.

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The Importance of Style

A major part of what makes any message memorable is how one delivers it. Not just the medium of the deliver but also how you frame and portray your message. Communicating is the essence of art and if whatever you’re saying isn’t remembered then what’s the point?

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Art Vs Money | Sara Bushra

When artists gather in a small space, say a room, ready to devise a project an enticing and reverberating energy ensues. There’s hope, there’s possibility, and there is unbridled passion. One topic that unfailingly deflates this bubble is a conversation surrounding money.

Articles

Pricing Your Freelance Project | Freelance

It can be awkward for people starting out in the field to price a project and coming up with a fair number. You know a number between “Yes I’m that good” and “yeah sure pay me whatever”. That’s the sweet spot.

Articles

Freelance Zen | Freelance

We all like to think that money isn’t an issue when it comes to creative activities. For some reason, people find it okay to avoid paying creatives their due because either the hard work isn’t valued enough or you’re your own worst enemy… “hey… yes… pay me whatever…” or “whatever you think is fair” Either way, most of us are broke and we need a way out.

Articles

Art and Design Movements | Design Tip

As a designer, inspiration can come from anywhere. But sometimes influences, attitudes and approaches converge to form a coherent movement that has a knock-on effect around the world.

Articles

Gangs of Wasseypur | Film

Have you ever gone into a film expecting it to be something and then it ended up being a whole other thing but that whole other thing is like… a million times better than you expected? This, is what Gangs of Wasseypur is. Pure unfiltered fun. There is no other way to describe this film. It’s like you walk in expecting a musical and walk into a chainsaw massacre!!!

Articles

Conversation at the Park | Short Story

He kneels down to ask her hand in marriage. She was shocked. Not the good kind of shock. She was expecting it but she was dreading it. She quieted her thoughts down and nodded in negation. As he got up in silence. He asks her:
Him: Why?
Her: I don’t want to.
She sits down on a bench nearby

Articles

Color Theory Fundamentals | Design Tip

Ever wondered how designers and artists find the perfect color combination?

They use color theory. Color theory is a practical combination of art and science that’s used to determine what colors look good together.

Articles

The Paper Paradox | Nahom Gashaw

Marked by pantsuits and shirt tuck-ins, the vision we have about being professional has been shaped by, not only the quality of work we produce, but the appearance that portrays it too.

So here are the basic steps to being a profound professional:

Articles

Parasite | Film

For this month we recommend a South Korean film. One that just won one of the most prestigious awards in the world of cinema, the palm d’or at the Cannes Film Festival.

Articles

Freelance Grief | Freelance

For most people engaged in creative activities, you know, people commonly defined as “creatives”, “unconventional”, “outside the box thinkers” or “foreign to the concept of a hair salon”, the nine to five life is commonly associated with a feeling of being trapped or the feeling a person experiences when said person watches other people having fun in the sunlight while he/she is behind a glass window.

Articles

ZEWD Design (Betelhem Abebe) | Fashion

My designs are very practical and intended for everyday use, with a few exceptions you’d rock at an art show. I make sure the products we make are wearable and functional for our customers and at the same time are up to date with the fashion industry in addition to representing what the brand stands for.