MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES IN ADDIS ABABA
Addis Ababa has few museums and galleries. The first museum was the National Museum of Ethiopia which begun operating in 1936. The first modern and contemporary art gallery was Belvedere Art Gallery. According to Debre Hayq website posted by Ethiopian art historian Essaye Medhin, the gallery begun operating in 1965 at Ras Mekonnen Bridge in the heart of Addis Ababa. In the 1960's and early 1970s, Addis Ababa, like many parts of the world was a stage for intellectual discourse. Art in its various forms was booming. In 1974, after the imperial era was overturned, this artistic movement took a different turn. For the militaristic communist/socialist government known as Derg, art was a propaganda tool to educate the mass about the new government policy. Since 1991, after the current government FDRE took power, artists have been making all kinds of art in private and public galleries and museums. New commercial galleries begun to surface. The first one was St. George Art Gallery followed by Goshu Art Gallery, Asni Gallery and more.
