Tesfaye Urgessa will represent Ethiopia at the 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia in 2024, marking the country’s inaugural participation.
Award-winning author and broadcaster Lemn Sissay OBE FRSL has been appointed as the curator for this historical exhibition.
The exhibition Prejudice and Belonging for the first Ethiopian Pavilion encompassed the experience of the thirteen years spent in Germany studying and painting. “People tend to think I am painting victims in my canvases but it’s completely different. The figures hold all kinds of emotions, fragility as well as confidence. It is the figure presented without any judgement. It is saying this is who I am, this is what I am,” Tesfaye Urgessa.