VIRTUAL PRESENCE

In-Picture

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS

At the entrance of Ambassador Theatre on Taitu Street, a book vendor has laid out a collection for passersby seeking stories that unfold through words rather than screens. Once perceived as rivals, with cinema often accused of drawing audiences away from books, the two industries now find themselves confronting a common adversary. Platforms such as TikTok shrink attention spans and reshape habits, both reading and moviegoing have steadily lost ground. Bound by a shared struggle, these once-compe...

HIDDEN PIONEER

Along Pushkin Avenue near Kera Abattoir, a mural on the backside of Worke's Promise building quietly stands as one of Addis Ababa's early examples of public art shaping urban spaces. Long before murals and beautification projects became a defining feature of the city's landscape, this hidden canvas carried a vision of transforming ordinary walls into spaces of storytelling. The artwork depicts a girl with open arms, surrounded by children reaching toward the sunrise, while an ancient warrior sta...

DIGITAL BULLDOZER

The former headquarters of the National Bank of Ethiopia, now serving as a Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) branch on Churchill Avenue, recently drew public attention online, but not for the right reasons. Few backed the bank's decision when it started constructing a new small ground-plus-one guard post that began obstructing the view of the building for commuters waiting at the nearby traffic light. Their disappointment quickly spread across social media platforms, particularly Facebook, promp...