ADDIS ABABA ZARE
In 2005 Meskerem Assegued invited Elias Sime, Assefa Gebrekidan and Nicolas Simarik to make a live art installation in the gallery of the Addis Abeba University
School of Fine Art and Design in response to the rapidly changing city. The title "Addis Ababa Zare" translates to Addis Ababa Today. These three artists decided to express their feelings through performance art. Elias mixed mud and straw dressed in suit and tie and leather shoes. Assefa constructed speakers and light on five different canvases. The audience sat in front of a chair and listened to Radio Fana's news. Nicolas painted long eucalyptus sticks similar to the ones used for scaffoldings through out the city's new high-rise constructions. He used the sticks as mikado (pick up sticks) game. He also made a video installation of his friends playing mikado.
While Meskerem was organizing the show, a small group of Deaf, Deafened and Hard of Hearing students from Menilik Elementary School, which is next to the art school came to visit the Art School. When Meskerem learned that they were selected by their teachers because they were artistically gifted for this field trip. she invited them to join the Addis Ababa Zare project. Three of the students were brothers whose father, an artist, working at the Ethiopian Tourism Bureau was also Deaf. He was then included him and a couple of his co-workers at the Ethiopian tourism bureau.
The activity continued to grow when some of the art students including Abel Tilahun from the school joined. These students made a variety of installation inside the gallery and outside in the garden. There were neither invitation nor public announcement however, through words of mouth, a large number of people came to see it.
While Meskerem was organizing the show, a small group of Deaf, Deafened and Hard of Hearing students from Menilik Elementary School, which is next to the art school came to visit the Art School. When Meskerem learned that they were selected by their teachers because they were artistically gifted for this field trip. she invited them to join the Addis Ababa Zare project. Three of the students were brothers whose father, an artist, working at the Ethiopian Tourism Bureau was also Deaf. He was then included him and a couple of his co-workers at the Ethiopian tourism bureau.
The activity continued to grow when some of the art students including Abel Tilahun from the school joined. These students made a variety of installation inside the gallery and outside in the garden. There were neither invitation nor public announcement however, through words of mouth, a large number of people came to see it.
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