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Ethiopian Painting at the Athens University Museum: Questioning the Validity of a Nostalgic Folklore Dr. Konstantina Drakopoulou, Art Historian and Dr. Mirka Palioura Art Historian (main authors) Collaborators: Prof. Harris Kondosphyris, Artist, University of West Macedonia, Department of Visual and Applied Arts and Socrates Loupas, Art Historian

Aikaterina Exarchou-Gensonnet (1921-2005) donated in 2003 to the Museum

of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens a collection of 20

Ethiopian paintings on canvas, cloth and parchment dating from the 1950s

and 1960s, artifacts and ecclesiastical paraphernalia as well as Neolithic

objects and tools from central Africa collected by her during the years she

lived in Ethiopia. Aikaterina Exarchou-Gensonnet moved to Ethiopia following

her French husband and lived there until the second half of the 20th century.

She then had the opportunity to visit the countryside and many villages where

she met native artists. An artist herself, she was very much interested in

Ethiopian art and collected the pieces that today are exhibited at the Museum

of the University of Athens.

The paintings and artifacts were recorded, studied, described,

photographed and transferred to the University’s Museum. The researchers

interviewed the donator, who explained and translated the inscriptions on the

paintings and the use of the artifacts1. The collection’s first public exhibition

took place in 2005 – only a few months after Aikaterina Exarchou-

Gensonnet’s death – and was followed by the publishing of a relevant

catalogue (Plate 1).

By virtue of its geographic situation Ethiopian art belongs to Africa, yet

its development over many centuries was interwoven with the introduction of

models borrowed from Eastern as well as Western Christian art. It absorbed

the impact of Islamic culture and art and responded to the influence

emanating from the vast area of the Indian Ocean. In other words, Ethiopian

painters faithfully reproduced the most significant iconographic characteristics,

while introducing at the same time a complete stylistic transformation 1 Dr. Nikos Zias, Professor of Ηistory of Αrt at the University of Athens, supervised the registration and cataloging of the collection made by the art historians Konstantina Drakopoulou, Socrates Loupas, Spyros Moschonas and Nadia Pavlikaki.

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according to principles of African art forms. The development of Christian Art

reflects the internal development of the country. Marylin Heldman writes that it

was during the sixth century that “a specifically Christian style and

iconography was introduced to Ethiopia”2. The particular association of the

country with Greece lies in the ancient artistic tradition of the Ethiopian

Orthodox Church and the presence of Greek immigrants mainly during the

early 20th century. Immigrants, staying active for decades, established a

network of relationships and cultural exchanges, where Christian Ethiopia was

a meeting point.

In this paper we will explore how traditional church and secular painting

were exposed to transformations and commercialization, in relation to style,

technique, iconography and material, after the influx of mass-tourism and the

change of urban conditions in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, which was

accelerated from the 1950s to the early 1970s. To the Ethiopian works

belonging to the collection of the Athens University Museum seems

problematic to apply the category “folk” or “traditional” art as an analytic

frame. However, substitute terms are also used by scholars, such as “non-

Western art”, “the art of small-scale societies” and so forth. In our opinion,

although not specialists in Ethiopian Art, it is not adequate to talk about “folk”

or “traditional” artworks, since they were produced and circulated within a

thriving tourist market and subsequently conformed to new tastes. At this

point we will agree with Elisabeth Biasio who defines “folk painting” the work

produced by local artists for local indigenous consumption3. In other words,

folk painting is an art form grounded in local communities. Such works fulfil

indigenous functions, are produced by artists with a traditional, often church-

based training, and are intended for local consumption. Even if a painting has

a secular theme, if it appears in a church it should be considered religious due

to its function. A particularly fascinating aspect of Ethiopian art is that by the

nineteenth century secular themes have appeared in churches. Among the

most popular subjects were recent battles and the portraits of regional rulers.

2 Heldman, M. and Munro-Hay, S. C. (1993). African Zion: The Sacred Art of Ethiopia. New Heaven: Yale University Press. 3 Biasio, E. (2009). “Contemporary Ethiopian Painting in Traditional Style. From Church-based to Tourist Art”. African Arts, (Spring), p. 14.

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Biasio has argued “that this development is not surprising for it reflects the

close ties between the political and religious values of Ethiopians”4.

Rulers and nobles already in the 19th and early 20th century also

exchanged pictures ceremonially on the occasion of state visits by foreign

rulers5. Later on, when art no longer circulated on the basis of traditional

mechanisms, but rather according to the capitalist market system emerged a

kind of new art consumers. Because of a thriving tourism, due to the

modernization process of Emperor Menelik II in the late 19th, early 20th

century, the need for Ethiopian “souvenirs” emerged, and church painters

started to produce paintings for these new clients as well. This means that for

the first time, paintings outside their original ecclesiastical habitats became

available in larger quantities. This was also facilitated by technological

changes relating to the materials; in the second half of the 19th century

synthetic paints were being imported and that enabled the production of large

paintings for the churches but also for mass production6. The circulation of

works within a new art market brought about alterations to traditional

paintings, although the deviations were not so obvious in the first thirty years

of the 20th century. Therefore, Biasio termed such type of painting

“contemporary painting in traditional style”,7 although Richard Pankhurst

characterized the same category of works as “airport art”8

At the beginning of the 20th century, painters were rather reluctant to

sell paintings to foreigners, for rulers had the exclusive right to control the

production and circulation of paintings. Pankhurst has quoted Europeans who

complained up until the beginning of the 1930s that paintings could not be

found on the market, but could only be acquired through good relationships9.

This also means that foreigners obtained works directly from the painters. As 4 Biasio, E. (1994). “Art, Culture and Society-Considerations on Ethiopian Church Painting Focusing on the 19th Century”. In B. Zwede, R. Pankhurst and T. Beyene, (eds.), Proceedings of the Eleventh International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa: Institute of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa University, vol.2, pp.541-62. 5 Biasio, E. (2009).“Contemporary Ethiopian Painting in Traditional Style. From Church-based to Tourist Art”. Ibid. p. 16. 6 Chojnacki, S. (1978). “Notes on the Ethiopian Traditional Art: The Last Phase”, Ethnologische Zeitschrift, Zürich, vol.2, p.71. 7 Biasio, E. (2009).“Contemporary Ethiopian Painting in Traditional Style. From Church-based to Tourist Art”. Ibid. p.1 7. 8 Pankhurst, R. (1966). “Some Notes for a History of Ethiopian Secular Art”, Ethiopian Observer, vol. 10, no. 1, p. 39. 9 Ibid.

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a result, the painters learned the tastes of the foreigners and tried to satisfy

them. Secular genres such portraits became then very popular. During the

Italian occupation (1935-1941) the demand for paintings increased and as a

result small or larger workshops were founded. The workshops produced

large numbers of paintings in series which of course brought up a loss in

quality. Empress Menen’s Handicraft School (founded in 1930 or 1931)

played a significant role in the commercialization process. Its major concern

was to promote the so-called traditional arts. It also supplied souvenir shops

with paintings and also had its own painting workshop. Decisive changes

occurred now regarding the procedure of circulation as the commercial trade

with paintings was done in extensive degree by middlemen. After the

establishment of a significant market, it became more and more difficult for

foreigners to acquire paintings from the painters themselves and to collect

information on the artists. In order not to damage their business, the

merchants did not reveal where the artists actually lived10. The traditional

painters benefited from the tourist boom. On the other hand, they no longer

received state-commissioned orders for art work, because trained painters

who had attended the Fine Arts School in Addis Ababa (founded in 1958/59)

were in competition with them, and given preference.

The collection’s paintings, mostly executed by Qengeta Jembere Hailu

(1913-94), show traditional themes -popular until today- according to which

we divided the exhibition into the following categories: church paintings, like

religious subjects (Plate 2) and religious feasts, (Plate 3), historical battle

scenes (Plate 4.), portraits and events from the life of Emperor Tewodros

(ruled 1855–68), who is seen a national hero (Plate 5). He is also regarded as

a symbol of not only personal courage but of the general sense of defiance,

freedom and independence of which Ethiopians are supposed to “uniquely

possess”11. Tewodros sought to reestablish a cohesive Ethiopian state, to

modernize Ethiopia, and to reform its administration even by imposing harsh

measures and punishments (Plate 6). Here, we can add that the depiction of 10 Mercier, J. (1993). “Die traditionelle Malerei in der Zeit der kommunistischen Mengistu-Regierung (1974-1991)”, in G. Fisseha and W. Raunig (eds.), Äthiopien in der volkstümlichen Malerei, exh. cat. Stuttgart: Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen, pp.38f. 11 Barrera, A. (2006). “The Art and Politics: Portraits of Ethiopian Emperors Throughout History”. Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. Paper 264. Available from http://digital collections.sit.edu/isp_collection/264. Accessed 20 November 2013.

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tortures and coarse scenes in general were encouraged for foreign taste and

they may not have had so much to do with traditional iconography. Their

popularity may represent a point of convergence between Ethiopian and

European society. We may also view such themes as the product of a

dialogue between the Ethiopian artist and the foreign visitor. Other thematic

categories display events around the shores of Lake Tana (Plate 7), where

Jembere grew up and lived as a young man; genre paintings depict people

and scenes from everyday life and present a romantic characterization of

countryside and rural life (Plate 8). An interest of the foreign visitors in the

“exotic” “allochronic” or “pure” has certainly driven the development of themes

that portray aspects of “traditional life” in Ethiopia. The legendary Queen of

Sheba is another familiar theme (Plate 9). According to oral and written

Christian legends the Queen of Sheba came from Ethiopia. After visiting

Solomon, she became pregnant and bore a son, Menelik I. When Menelik

grew up he visited his father who crowned him King of Ethiopia (Plate 10).

Such pictures were “conceptual”, as Stanislaw Chojnacki declares, and

composed of a series of image-signs according to spiritual considerations12.

They had to teach the audience and served as propaganda for the social

institutions13, e.g., the legend of the Queen of Sheba served as the

legitimation of the Ethiopian royal dynasties and was of great importance in

the Kebra Negast,14 but there was no actual depiction of it until the reign of

Menelik II. Therefore, a ruler, who adopted the throne under the name

Menelik II, reactivated the memory of the founder of the dynasty, Menelik I,

and of course Menelik II himself propagated this theme. Another example is

the representation of the Battle of Adowa (Plate 11,) that served as well the

glorification of the Royal House, as Ménilék II defeated the Italians in 1896

and secured Ethiopia’s independence from European colonization. The

12 Chojnacki, S. (1999). “Ethiopian Religious Art: Its Significance and Forms of Expression”. Warszawskie Studia Teologiczne, vol. XII, no. 2, p. 48. Also available from http://pwtw.pl/wp-content/uploads/wst/12-2/ Chojnacki.pdf. Accessed 21 November 2013. 13 Biasio, E. (1994). “Art, Culture and Society-Considerations on Ethiopian Church Painting Focusing on the 19th Century”. Ibid. 14 The Kebra Negast is a conflation of legendary circles (myths, historical traditions), and also contains texts from the Old and New Testament. The original (Ethiopic) text was translated and edited by Carl Bezold. See Bezold, C. (1905). Kebra Nagast, die Herrlichkeit der Könige: Nach den Handschriften in Berlin, London, Oxford und Paris, vol. 2, no. 1. Munich: Verlag der Königlich- Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.

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country has in the recent history a colonial past through the Italian occupation

in the second half of the 19th century and the Italian invasion (1935-1941) in

the first half of the 20th century. Ethiopia has to show in this colonial past a

unique event that takes symbolic dimensions: the famous Battle of Adowa,

when a non-European power won for the only time in the history of

colonialism. However, the paintings now bought by tourists fulfil other

functions. They can evoke a feeling of nostalgia of the idyllic life of the

farmers; heroic battles idealize the cultural and political values of the past

untouched by western civilization; they express an objective truth independent

of time and space. More importantly, tourists often appreciate a souvenir onto

which they can project their memories of the trip. In general, the artists of this

period seem to be taking a stand against the political agenda of the times and

in their works there is a distinct lack of political context. Therefore, Ulli Beier

remarks: “The political realities are not at all reflected in the paintings: the

unjust distribution of land, the poor and exploited farmers, the droughts and

the famines, disease and the political fermentation have no room in this

touching world of art.”15˙

At this point we would like to express some thoughts about Qengeta

Jembere Hailu (1913-94), the main painter of our collection, a renowned

Ethiopian painter. He came from a small village; he had a traditional church

education, and the title Qengeta means that he was responsible for the priests

on the right side of the altar during Mass. Jembere learned to paint with his

uncle Aleqa Alemu Gabriel, with whom he worked in different churches in the

province of Wello and elsewhere. He moved to Addis Ababa in 1948, and

there he met the painter Belatchew Yimer, who encouraged him to work for

the growing tourist market16. While studying at his uncle’s side Jembere learnt

the canons that govern Ethiopian Church painting. These values include

knowing that the Madonna should be depicted in wearing a “heavenly” blue

cape (Plate 12). Saint Michael protects Mary on the right and Saint Gabriel

15 Beier, U. (1982). “Vorwort”, in W. Bender (ed.), Populäre Malerei und Politische Plakate aus Äthiopien. Bayreuth: IWALEWA-Haus, Universität Bayreuth, pp. 3f˙ Ströter-Bender, J. (1993). “Volksmalerei in Äthiopien”. Kunstforum International, vol.122, p. 185. 16 Silverman, A. R. and Fisseha, G. (1998). “Jembere and his Son Marcos: Traditional Painting at the End of the Twentieth Century” in R.A. Silverman (ed.), Ethiopia: Traditions of Creativity. Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, in association with the University of Washington Press, Seattle and London, pp. 158-161.

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stands on the left. Saint George is painted riding a white horse (Plate 13). Like

the traditional paintings that preceded him, Jembere’s work has a strong

narrative element (Plate 14). Most of his paintings incorporate inscriptions

identifying the key characters and the actions; the depiction of legends follows

the scheme of arrangement in one or more rows while the scenes with various

events are divided into irregular segments. Jembere also proudly signed his

works. Even after emigrating to Addis Ababa he continued painting the same

repertoire of religious, secular and historical themes. But this fact brought

about both a change in conceptual and painterly rendering. According to

Girma Kidane, Jembere should be included in the category of those artists

who after moving to the capital city modified their traditional style to a

commercial one17.

Jembere’s transition from traditional to commercial style can be

detected especially in the changes relevant to the material support of the

paintings and the morphological rendition which is connected with the small

scale of the canvases. Biasio, in particular, stresses that “despite the

modifications in style and form, the style of large canvas paintings should still

be considered ‘contemporary painting in traditional style’ because of its

traditional representation of figures, space and objects18. But this cannot be

applied to Jembere’s small scale paintings at the Athens University Museum,

although the boundaries between “contemporary painting in traditional style”

and “airport art” are blurred and fluid. Nevertheless, we could risk saying that

his work follows the same principles as Bennetta Jules-Rosette19 has

formulated with regard to African Art in general in the 20th century.

1) The form of the human body, although stylized in traditional art, becomes

here exaggerated, shows a kind of intentional stylization (Plate 15).

2) Progressive commercialization leads to simplified and stereotyped designs

that bear witness to a lower aesthetic quality. Genre scenes are a good

17 Kidane, G. (1989). “Four Traditional Ethiopian Painters and their Life Histories”, in Proceedings of the First International Conference on the History of Ethiopian Art. London: The Pindar Press, pp.72-77. 18 Biasio, E. (2009).“Contemporary Ethiopian Painting in Traditional Style. From Church-based to Tourist Art”. Ibid. p. 21. 19 Jules-Rosette, B. (1984). The Messages of Tourist-Art-An African Semiotic System in Comparative Perspective. New York, London: Plenum Press.

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example of a careless execution with simplified and stereotyped bodies and

objects (Plate 16).

3) The small scale of the paintings and the choice of parchment, as is the

case for many works of the collection (Plate 17), correspond to the desire of

tourists for a typical souvenir of the country, because they are reminiscent of

precious manuscripts. In other words, tourists consider parchment more

“ethnic” than canvas. According to Biasio, small parchment paintings or small

canvases should be labelled tourist art. Such works are clearly easier to

transport and can be more easily placed in a living room than large versions.20

In conclusion, whereas in the past traditional religious art was acquired

by locals very often in exchange for land rights, paintings bought by foreigners

have developed into a commodity. Themes have expanded, also in line with

the wishes of foreign clients and the style has changed too to conform to the

taste of tourists “thirsty for exotism”.21

In connection with the above, and because we are really interested in

the role of the museum as an agonistic space22 the exhibition included an

important event, the invitation by the University of the Ethiopian Community of

Athens, whose members really embraced the whole initiative. Willing to

establish contact with the original population, the exhibition space became a

place with real interaction. Discussions were raised on issues relating to the

problems of illegal immigration, the immigrants’ expectations and frustrations

about a better quality of life in the host country; the costs and the restrictions

on living as an illegal immigrant, leaving family and ways of life behind.

In the same framework, in June 2007, the artist Harris Kondosphyris, in

collaboration with two social actors, the activist art group Reconstruction

Community -that explores issues relating to art and social impact, urban and

public space, political and social action- along with the United Women of

Africa, organized a performance called “Tunnel 14” (Plate 18)23.

20 Biasio, E. (2009).“Contemporary Ethiopian Painting in Traditional Style. From Church-based to Tourist Art”. Ibid. p. 21. 21 Chojnacki, S. (1964). “Short Introduction to Ethiopian Painting”. Journal of Ethiopian Studies, vol. 2, no. 2, p.11. 22 See Mouffe, C. (2002). “For an Agonistic Public Sphere”, in O. Enwezor, (ed.), Democracy Unrealized: Documenta 11, Platform 1. Berlin: Hatje Cantz Verlag, pp. 87-97. 23 Kondosphyris, H. (2007).“On the Meaning of Transportation in a Yellow Electric Vehicle: Tunnel 14”, in Reconstruction Community. Available from http://www.reconstruction.gr/en/actions_dtls.php/21. Accessed 15 December 2007.

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Trolley 14, which connects the districts Patisia – Ampelokipoi-where

first African immigrants found a space to live – carried African immigrant’s

children who were born in Greece. The action aimed at the activation of

memory, since this particular line functioned as a vehicle for connecting two

residential centers and for the discreet circulation of African newcomers’ in the

’80s. Those who used Trolley 14 had the feeling that they traversed the town

following a safe path, as if passing through their own tunnel. Today, tunnels

made of art may still keep crossing a world of connected geographies.

References cited Barrera, A. (2006). “The Art and Politics: Portraits of Ethiopian Emperors Throughout History”. Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. Paper 264. Available from http://digital collections.sit.edu/isp_collection/264. Accessed 20 November 2013. Beier, U. (1982). “Vorwort”, in W. Bender (ed.), Populäre Malerei und Politische Plakate aus Äthiopien. Bayreuth: IWALEWA-Haus, Universität Bayreuth, pp. 3f. Bezold, C. (1905). Kebra Nagast, die Herrlichkeit der Könige: Nach den Handschriften in Berlin, London, Oxford und Paris, vol. 2, no. 1. Munich: Verlag der Königlich- Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Biasio, E. (1994). “Art, Culture and Society-Considerations on Ethiopian Church Painting Focusing on the 19th Century”. In B. Zwede, R. Pankhurst and T. Beyene, (eds.), Proceedings of the Eleventh International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa: Institute of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa University, vol.2, pp.541-62. ―— (2009). “Contemporary Ethiopian Painting in Traditional Style. From Church-based to Tourist Art”. African Arts, (Spring), pp. 14-25. Chojnacki, S. (1964). “Short Introduction to Ethiopian Painting”. Journal of Ethiopian Studies, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 1-11. —— (1978). “Notes on the Ethiopian Traditional Art: The Last Phase”, Ethnologische Zeitschrift, Zürich, vol.2, pp. 65-81. —— (1999). “Ethiopian Religious Art: Its Significance and Forms of Expression”. Warszawskie Studia Teologiczne, vol. XII, no. 2, p. 47-49. Also available from http://pwtw.pl/wp-content/uploads/wst/12-2/ Chojnacki.pdf. Accessed 21 November 2013. Heldman, M. and Munro-Hay, S. C. (1993). African Zion: The Sacred Art of Ethiopia. New Heaven: Yale University Press. Jules-Rosette, B. (1984). The Messages of Tourist-Art-An African Semiotic System in Comparative Perspective. New York, London: Plenum Press.

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Kidane, G. (1989). “Four Traditional Ethiopian Painters and their Life Histories”, in Proceedings of the First International Conference on the History of Ethiopian Art. London: The Pindar Press, pp.72-77. Kondosphyris, H. (2007).“On the Meaning of Transportation in a Yellow Electric Vehicle: Tunnel 14”, in Reconstruction Community. Available from http://www.reconstruction.gr/en/actions_dtls.php/21. Accessed 15 December 2007. Mercier, J. (1993). “Die traditionelle Malerei in der Zeit der kommunistischen Mengistu-Regierung (1974-1991)”, in G. Fisseha, and W. Raunig, (eds.), Äthiopien in der volkstümlichen Malerei, exh. cat. Stuttgart: Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen, pp.38f. Mouffe, C. (2002). “For an Agonistic Public Sphere”, in O. Enwezor, (ed.), Democracy Unrealized: Documenta 11, Platform 1. Berlin: Hatje Cantz Verlag, pp. 87-97. Pankhurst, R. (1966). “Some Notes for a History of Ethiopian Secular Art”, Ethiopian Observer, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 5-80. Silverman, A. R. and Fisseha, G. (1998). “Jembere and his Son Marcos: Traditional Painting at the End of the Twentieth Century” in R. A. Silverman (ed.), Ethiopia: Traditions of Creativity. Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, in association with the University of Washington Press, Seattle and London, pp. 157-179. Ströter-Bender, J. (1993). “Volksmalerei in Äthiopien”. Kunstforum International, vol.122, pp. 184-85.

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Plates

1. Exhibition Catalogue, Ethiopian Folklore Art: Painting and Handcraft,

Donation by Aikaterina Exarchou-Gensonnet National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, 2005

2. Qanngeta Ganbare Haylu, The Birth of Christ, 2nd half of 20th century,

tempera on cloth, 37x62 cm, Athens University Museum

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3. Qanngeta Ganbare Haylu, The celebration of Epiphany, 2nd half of 20th

century, tempera on cloth, 72x128 cm, Athens University Museum

4. Qanngeta Ganbare Haylu, The invasion of Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al Gazi

(Gran), 2nd half of 20th century, tempera on cloth, 74x111 cm, Athens University Museum

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5. (Artist signing as) A. O. Se. Ha. Ha., Emperor Theodore on his throne with guards and two lions, 2nd half of 20th century, tempera on parchment, 20,5x26

cm, Athens University Museum

6. Qanngeta Ganbare Haylu, The implementation of the laws of Emperor Theodore, 2nd half of 20th century, tempera on cloth, 52x111 cm, Athens

University Museum

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7. Qanngeta Ganbare Haylu, The tour of Emperor Johannes at the islands of

lake Tana, 2nd half of 20th century, tempera on cloth, 75x112 cm, Athens University Museum

8. A. Deben, Agricultural works, 2nd half of 20th century, tempera on cloth,

80x178 cm, Athens University Museum

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9. Qanngeta Ganbare Haylu, Makeda, queen of Sheba, 2nd half of 20th

century, tempera on cloth, 59x117 cm, Athens University Museum

10. Qanngeta Ganbare Haylu, Makeda, queen of Sheba, detail

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11. Qanngeta Ganbare Haylu, The italo-ethiopian war, 2nd half of 20th century,

tempera on cloth, 76x129 cm, Athens University Museum

12. Tadesse Wolderegay, Madonna with baby Jesus, 2nd half of 20th century,

tempera on parchment, 27x21 cm, Athens University Museum

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13. (Attributed to) Tadesse Wolderegay, Saint George killing the dragon, 2nd half of 20th century, tempera on parchment, 14,5x16,5 cm, Athens University

Museum

14. Qanngeta Ganbare Haylu, At the market, 2nd half of 20th century, tempera

on cloth, 77x112 cm, Athens University Museum

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15. Qanngeta Ganbare Haylu, Householding, 2nd half of 20th century, tempera

on cloth, 38x61 cm, Athens University Museum

16. Qanngeta Ganbare Haylu, Working in the fields, 2nd half of 20th century,

tempera on parchment, 26,5x20 cm, Athens University Museum

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17. Qanngeta Ganbare Haylu, Abuna and Deptera, 2nd half of 20th century,

tempera on parchment, 27x21 cm, Athens University Museum

18. Τunnel 14, performance organized by the Prof. Harris Kondosphyris,

artist, University of West Macedonia, Department of Visual and Applied Arts in collaboration with the activist art group Reconstruction Community and the

United African Women Organization, Athens, June 2007