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.
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.
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.”
Maranata Tegegne is a filmmaker, mostly known for his collaborations with Ethiopian rap sensation Kassmasse. He also runs a successful Afro-Caribbean, restaurant Shifta, and a recording /artist management label, Meedo Records. His story began with a curiosity for films, music and music videos. Which later evolved to a full-fledged success story.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
Girum Mezmure is often labelled as a pioneer and a positive driving force in the Ethiopian music industry. During a career that extends over two decades, the musician has been known to experiment and explore uncharted territories. He is credited with reviving live music and the Ethio-Jazz genre. In addition, he has mastered a diverse set of traditional and non-traditional instruments. He currently teaches at Yared Music School and Jazzamba Music School.
Endeguena Mulu, aka Ethiopian Records, is one of the leading lights in Ethiopia’s burgeoning electronic music scene. Sometimes using nothing more than a computer, Ableton software, and a Push controller, he makes music inspired by traditional music from all over the country and the continent.
የኢትዮጵያን ሪከርድሱ እንደገና ሙሉ በማበብ ላይ ለሚገኘው ኤሌክቶሮኒክ ሙዚቃ ብርሃን ይዘው ከመጡ የሙዚቃ ሰዎች አንዱ ነው። አንዳንዴ ኮምፒወተር ላይ አቤቶን የተባለ ሶፍትዌር እና ፑሽበተን በመጠቀም ብቻ በሀገሩ ባህል እና ትውፊት ላይ ያተኮሩ ሙዚቃዎችን ይሰራል።
Music managers are a central part of any healthy music industry. They wear multiple hats, all to ensure a happy marriage between the musician, the audience and the industry as a whole. But how do they operate in Ethiopia? What role do they play?
የሙዚቃ ማኔጀር የጤነኛ ሙዚቃ ኢንዱስትሪ ማገር ነው። የነበሩት ጠላቻዎች ያሳዩት በሙዚቀኛው ፤ በአድማጩ እና በኢንዱስትሪው መሃል ወዳጅነት እንዲደረጅ ማድረጋቸውን ነው። ግን ኢቲዮጵያ ውስጥ እንዴት ነው የሚሰሩት? የሄዋን ገብረወልድ ማኔጀር የሆነው አዚዝ ይማም ስለስራው እና በዛ በኩል ስላለው የሙዝቃው ኢንዱስትሪ መልክ አጫውቶናል።
Part of what makes the local music industry challenging is the lack of spaces where artists can fully commit to their art. If there are spaces available, are they accessible and affordable?
የሀገራችንን የሙዚቃ ኢንዱስትሪ ከሚያዳክሙ ነገሮች ውስጥ አንዱ አርቲስቶች ሙሉ ጊዜያቸውን ሰተው መስራት የሚችሉባቸው ቦታዎች እጥረት ነው። ቦታዎቹ ቢኖሩ ራሱ ተደራሽ እና ባለ ተመጣጣኛ ዋጋ ናቸው?
Launched in September 2019, Agelgil Studios is an Ethiopian record label focused on discovering, empowering and managing talented Ethiopian musicians and producers of all styles of music.
በፈርንጆቹ 2019 የተጀመረው አገልግል ስቱዲዮ፤ወጣት ሙዚቀኞችን ማውጣት ፣ አቅማቸውን ማጎልበት እና መወከልን አላማው ያደርገ ኢትዮጵያዊ ሙዚቃ አሳታሚ ነው። የድርጅቱ መስራች ናሆም ሙሉጌታ ከኢትዮጵያ ሙዚቃ እንዱስትሪ አንፃር የሚኖረንን አንዳምታ አዋይቶን ነበር።
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።
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።
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።
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።
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።
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?
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.
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!
“What the wise awakens to” is a short animation film made from individually hand-painted frames.
The narration of the film is based on the famous allegory of the cave from the Republic. The allegory of the cave as an archetypically structured story has a lot of similarities with other similar myths and stories on the same subject. For instance, with the life of Buddha from the east.
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.
somewhere, a woman wraps a thin black see-through fabric on the twin buns of a girl seated underneath her feet.
somewhere in time, an empress extends her hand for a gursha at a banquette.
a spell is cast.
somewhere, a dark reddish paste forms as the chopped tuber of ensosila cooks on a coal stove.
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.
While the art of traditional fashion design has remained alive in Ethiopia, it has remained in the traditional space. For the most part, it’s still not something you wear every day and even in those instances, the overall design of the clothes we see today isn’t innovative. To find out if the industry has evolved and how it has evolved we went down to see SewaSew Design, a family-owned and operated fashion design studio that is doing interesting things in the Ethiopian fashion world.
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?
My work is greatly inspired by the two cultures I come from. My mother is from Jamaica, and my father is from Ethiopia. I am inspired to tell the stories of the histories of both ancestries. I do so mainly through my films, combining folklore with real histories through animation.
This is a film that took me nearly ten years to make due to the research and also the slow process of financing a feature film. The film looks at the Red Terror only through the stories and memories of women. I felt that historical content in Ethiopia is dominated by the perspectives of men and I wanted to provide a different approach. I think that it is important to look at multiple sides of a story.
As most of the creative people working in the industry, I am self-taugh. My teacher was the Internet and other “creatively sourced” inspirations. Filmmaking is not something you master by reading. It’s in the name itself: Film-Making. You need to make films to learn more and be better. It’s not a stagnant education, you keep learning as you go.
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.
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.
Felek is an artisanal brand that aims to tell the story of Ethiopia’s rich history of producing handmade notebooks with their products. In a country that has one of the oldest illustrated bibles in the world, it’s a crying shame that the art is close to lost. Sure it’s preserved but is it updated? That’s what Suleiman and his team of creative artisans are trying to solve.
The first Tibeb series we did with Tibeb Online was themed ‘Le Jardin’ which means ‘the garden’. The concept revolves around the confection of an in-house scenery to nurture positive feelings, creativity, motivation, and happiness especially in times of crisis such as the global pandemic we are currently experiencing.
I believe that social conversations and art should complement one another. In some ways, an artist’s perspectives are molded by their environment both in changing and appraising them. Core values of people from different walks of life are understood through social conversations held in different settings and different times. This is what allows art to blossom.
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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