CANDOR IN CULTURE


CANDOR IN CULTURE

'Princess' art exhibition at the St. George Golla Art Gallery hosts curated charcoal paintings by Merid Tafesse. Ethiopia's art history brims with prehistoric markings in the caves of Laga-Oda, Porc-Epic, and Goda-Ajawa, near Dire Dewa city and contemporary marvels by the likes of Laureate Meter Artist Afeworq Tekle. In what many describe as a conservative country, free artistic expression has been rare but luminary when it occurs. The crescendoing of contemporary art took the backseat during the 17-year communist era with a few glimpses of brilliance have graced the country's cultural palettes since.

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In-Picture

WAITING HOOVES

A donkey “parking lot” along Dejazmach Mekonin Demisaw Street in Sebategna, Mercato, hosts a patient line of beasts ready for their next load. Each animal seems to carry more than goods, they bear memories of an era when hooves, not wheels, ruled the streets. Passersby rush past in the busy market, half-smiling, half-reflecting, as the scene whispers stories of grit, patience, and the slow rhythm of life that machines have since hurried past. Somewhere between nostalgia and necessity, these...


In-Picture

CROOKED PASSAGE

A once newly structured railway fence leans over to the side to let passersby have a way to cross the street rather than walking to a Zebra crossing, hinting at urban ingenuity, or stubborn shortcuts, where everyday life finds its own paths, no matter how crooked. In its sagging frame, the fence tells a story of compromise between order and habit, of city planning meeting human impatience. It is a small rebellion against rigid design, a reminder that the pulse of the city often beats in the spac...


In-Picture

CONTROLLED RUIN

A construction worker, headset firmly in place, pushes a concrete cutter along Ras Desta Damtew Street near Addis Abeba Stadium, carving a trench for new underground cables. The machine tears into otherwise smooth asphalt, leaving a temporary scar on a well-served road. Pedestrians flinch at the grinding noise, drivers sigh, yet beneath the disruption, silent wires quietly stitch the city's connectivity together also hinting the unpredictable plan changes of the city design...