Tsedaye Makonnen

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Tsedaye Makonnen
Born1984 (age 40–41)
Washington, D.C., U.S.

Tsedaye Makonnen (born 1984, Washington, D.C.) is an American visual and performance artist. [1] [2] Her work is inspired by Black women's experiences, including their experiences with police brutality and traumatic birth. [2]

Contents

Art career

In 2016, Makonnen performed an Ethiopian coffee ceremony outside Zenebech, an Ethiopian restaurant in Shaw, Washington, D.C. that was closing. [3]

Makonnen was the recipient of a 2019 Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship. [4]

At the 2019 Venice Biennale, Makonnen performed an impromptu piece in front of Christoph Büchel’s Barca Nostra , which displayed the wreckage of a ship on which 800 African migrants had drowned earlier that year. [5] [6] Her work included scattering rose petals around the wreckage and lying on the ground while holding a skull. [6] She was confronted by security guards; she later released a video of the interaction as the work "When Drowning is the Best Option". [7] [6]

In 2020, Makonnen finished her residency at Savage-Lewis Residency at Martha’s Vineyard. As part of the residency, she created the solo piece "I Need a Motherfucking Doula" and collaborated with fellow artist Ayana Evans on the performance piece "Inserting Ourselves". [5]

In early 2021, Makonnen was part of a four-artist exhibition at Art Dubai. [4] She performed at the Loophole of Refuge symposium in Venice, Italy in October 2022. [8]

Makonnen's sculptures "Tsehai ፀሐይ Sunlight" and "Aberash አበራሽ You Give Light II" and her "Astral Sea" performance/textile series were displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art during their Africa & Byzantium exhibition in late 2023 and early 2024. [1] [9] [10] [11] In early 2024, Makonnen worked on the Walters Art Museum's exhibition Ethiopia at the Crossroads as a guest curator; [12] her installation "Senait & Nahom" was also included in the exhibition. [13] [14]

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art held an exhibition of Makonnen's works in late 2024. [15] [16] Makonnen was also included in the Albuquerque Museum's Broken Boxes exhibition that year. [17]

Exhibitions

Group

Solo

Personal life

Makonnen was born in Washington, D.C. to Ethiopian immigrant parents [24] and raised in Silver Spring, Maryland. [4] [25] She worked at the Shaw Community Center for three years [3] and as a doula at D.C. nonprofit with Mamatoto Village for four years. [25] She has a son, who was born in the early 2010s. [25]

References

  1. 1 2 Makonnen, Tsedaye (2023), Tsehai ፀሐይ Sunlight , retrieved 2025-03-04
  2. 1 2 Dozier, Ayanna (2022-05-06). "Tsedaye Makonnen's Art Addresses Reproductive Healthcare Inequalities Affecting Black Women". Artsy . Retrieved 2025-03-04.
  3. 1 2 "How An Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony Sparked Conversation About Changes in Shaw". The Kojo Nnamdi Show. 2016-10-05. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Valentine, Victoria L. (2021-04-02). "On View: Addis Fine Art is Showcasing Tadesse Mesfin, Addis Gezehagn, Tsedaye Makonnen, and Tizta Berhanu at Art Dubai". Culture Type. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
  5. 1 2 Lanay, Jessica (2020-01-13). "Ayana Evans and Tsedaye Makonnen". BOMB Magazine. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
  6. 1 2 3 Pes, Javier; Rea, Naomi (2019-05-16). "'Absolutely Vile' or 'Powerful'? Christoph Buchel's Migrant Boat Is the Most Divisive Work at the Venice Biennale". Artnet News. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
  7. ↑ Tagle, Thea Quiray (2020-08-04). "Artists Imagine New Monuments and "Otherwise Worlds"". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
  8. ↑ Rodney, Seph (2022-11-13). "Discovering How Black Women Might Forge a Path to Freedom". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
  9. ↑ Makonnen, Tsedaye (2023), Aberash አበራሽ You Give Light II , retrieved 2025-03-04
  10. ↑ "Tsedaye Makonnen: Astral Sea: The Need for Collective Refuge". Metropolitan Museum of Art . Retrieved 2025-03-04.
  11. ↑ "Tsedaye Makonnen's ASTRAL SEA Speaks To The Need for Collective Refuge". Africa-Related. 2024-03-15. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
  12. ↑ Henderson, Teri (2024-01-17). "Ethiopia at the Crossroads". Baltimore Beat. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
  13. ↑ Pandey, Nandini; Cook, Nandini Pandey, Lauren (2024-02-28). "Ethiopia's Art at the Crossroads of Traditions". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 2025-03-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ↑ "ethiopian-art-walters-museum/". The Washington Post . 2024-01-10.
  15. 1 2 "National Museum of African Art Opens Exhibition by Artist Tsedaye Makonnen". Smithsonian Institution . December 5, 2024.
  16. ↑ "tsedaye-makonnen-sanctuary-african-art-museum/". The Washington Post . 2025-01-15.
  17. 1 2 "Albuquerque Museum Presents "Broken Boxes: A Decade of Art, Action, and Dialogue"". Hyperallergic . 2024-09-06. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
  18. ↑ Rodney, Seph (2020-04-02). "What Does It Mean to Exhibit "Black Excellence"?". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
  19. ↑ "Tsedaye Makonnen, Senait & Nahom. The Peacemaker & The Comforter, 2019". Addis Fine Art. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
  20. ↑ "Tsedaye Makonnen, Astral Sea II, 2019". Addis Fine Art. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
  21. ↑ "Tsedaye Makonnen, The Astral II, 2020". Addis Fine Art. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
  22. ↑ "Migrations and Meaning(s) in Art an exhibition curated by Dr. Deborah Willis". MICA. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
  23. ↑ "The Big Review: Africa & Byzantium at Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York ★★★★☆". The Art Newspaper - International art news and events. 2023-11-17. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
  24. ↑ Robinson, Shantay (February 14, 2025). "These Seven Stunning Towers Memorialize Lost Black Lives With Mirrors, Light and Ethiopian Cross Designs". ICMGLT. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
  25. 1 2 3 Williams, Elliot C.; Dwyer, Dee (2021-04-07). "'It's A Lot': How D.C. Creatives Are Mastering The Art Of Motherhood". DCist. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
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