FERTILE FANCIES


FERTILE FANCIES

A corrugated tin fence is painted over with greenery and trees around Arat Kilo as the corridor development project snaking through the neighbourhood nears its end. The high fences have become ubiquitous across Addis Ababa, hielding locations incompatible with the city's reimagined aesthetic. Mayor Adanech Abiebe revealed two weeks ago that the ambitious project tallied up to around 33 billion Br with meticulous spending.The project, closely overseen by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD), is reviewed every 100 days for performance and progress. While the majority of the architectural concepts stem from a city-wide structural plan devised nearly seven years back, novel elements were introduced by the current administration toward realizing 'smart city' goals. A concerted effort has been launched by authorities to replace combustion engine vehicles with electric alternatives, endorse cycling and promote waking

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In-Picture

FROZEN FOCUS

A man and woman, cast in bronze outside Menelik II School in Arat Kilo, inhabit separate worlds, he buried in ink-stained pages, she captivated by the glow of a screen. Side by side yet divided by decades, their silent conversation bridges time, technology, and habit. The sculpture captures humanity's attachment to what's immediate, a nod to scrolling and screens, while quietly celebrating the near-vanishing ritual of reading. It's a frozen meditation on focus, distraction, and the delicate danc...


In-Picture

RECYCLING LEGACY

Lelise Neme, Director General of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), and Helen Debebe, State Minister at the Ministry of Urban & Infrastructure, take a closer look at recycled packaging displayed by Mador Packaging during the Circular Economy Hotspot Ethiopia 2025 at the Science Museum in Addis Abeba. The event showcased innovations in recycling and sustainable products, linking the green legacy ambitions with the practical realities of circular economy solutions...


In-Picture

CHAINED MEMORY

The marble gentleman of Addis Abeba, Piazza area  stands eternally pensive, hand to chest as if swearing loyalty to an invisible audience. In reality, he is the statue of Abune Petros, the Ethiopian bishop executed by Italian forces in 1936 for resisting the Fascist occupation. Today, he gazes over a city jammed with traffic, bureaucracy, and high-rise ambitions, holding a broken chain that once symbolised defiance but now competes with satellite dishes and billboards. History wanted him rememb...