Eritrean and Ethiopian immigrants have cre ated vibrant communities that have left their mark on Washington\, D.C. an d the nation through their historical experiences and distinct cultural tr aditions. In a panel discussion moderated by diaspora thought leader Semha r Araia\, visual artists Tsedaye Makonnen and Redeat Wondemu and writer Bs rat Mezghebe will explore why they feel compelled to capture stories from these diasporas and their homelands and how they approach their artistic p ractices and archival work. The discussion will also reflect on how these communities have shaped and been shaped by the Washington\, D.C. area. Thi s talk is presented in conjunction with the exhibition District Vibes\, American Pride: How D.C. Changed American Cultur e as well as the exhibit Art Bank: New Work from the Collection\, both currently on view at the MLK Library.
\nThis work is prese nted in collaboration with the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.\n
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Bsrat \;Mezghebe is a writer from Washington\ , D.C. Her debut novel\, \;I Hope You Find What You&rsquo\;re Looking For\, \;del ves into the secret lives of three women on the eve of Eritrean independen ce. \;The novel has been included in \;Oprah Daily&rsquo\;s \;Best Books of Spring 2026 and \;People&rsquo\;s \;Best Books of February 2026\, and named one of the most anticipated book s of the year by Apple Books and The Skimm. \;Bsrat \;received an MFA from New York University and the Harper-Wood Creative Writing and Trav el Award from Cambridge University.
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Semhar Araia is an entrepreneur\, lawye r and the daughter of Eritrean immigrants who organized\, advocated\, and gave everything they had to one of Africa&rsquo\;s newest countries . She is the founder of The Diaspora Academy and is based in Washington\, D.C. S emhar has testified before the United States Senate Foreign Relations Comm ittee and the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. She delive red the keynote at the IOM Global Diaspora Summit and has been featured in the Financial Times\, BBC\, Al Jazeera\, The Guardian\, and The Root.
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Redeat Wondemu is an Eritrean-born\, Ethiopian American lens-based artist living and working in Washington\, D.C. Working primarily with medium-form at film\, she hand-processes and prints her photographs using traditional darkroom and alternative photographic processes\, including gelatin silver \, platinum/palladium\, and cyanotype. Rooted in a tactile\, process-drive n approach\, her practice centers on the materiality of photography\, embr acing slowness\, repetition\, and the physical act of making as a way to e ngage time. Her work explores themes of memory\, identity\, and place\, we aving personal and cultural narratives between Washington\, D.C. and Ethio pia. Her work is on view in the exhibit Art Bank: New Work from the Collection< /a> and is a recent acquisition of the Commission on the Arts &\; Humanities' Art Bank Collection.
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Tsedaye Makonnen is an award-winning and published interdisciplinary artist\, artistic director and designer. T sedaye&rsquo\;s sculptures\, textiles\, reliquaries and performance art fu nction as a contemporary reflection of Byzantine and Medieval art\, partic ularly through her engagement with spiritual symbolism and technologies\, sacred aesthetics\, and embodied ritual practices. Makonnen reclaims\, rei nterprets\, and reactivates visual and spiritual lineages historically sid elined by Western art canons. Her works are in several permanent collectio ns including the Nelson-Atkins Museum\, the Smithsonian\, the Studio Museu m in Harlem and more. She exhibited and performed at The Metropolitan Muse um of Art&rsquo\;s for the groundbreaking Africa and Byzantium exhibition where she was one of two living artists commissioned to make new works. Cu rrently she has a solo exhibition in D.C. at the National Museum of Africa n Art titled Sanctuary :: መቅደስ :: Mekdes\, alongside East African Medieval and contemporary objects from the museum& rsquo\;s collection. Also in Baltimore\, her site-specific commissioned li ght sculptures\, Sacred :: የተቀደሰ :: Yete kedse\, are permanently on display in The Walters Art Museum&rsquo\;s Medieval gallery. Her other recent studio engagements include Williams Co llege Museum of Art\, The Clark Art Institute\, the Venice Biennale and mo re. In 2024 she archived oral his tories of Ethiopian communities in D.C. with support from the Library of Congress\, and is now working with an Ethiopian and Eritrean collective from the diaspora to expand the archive with support from the Mellon Foun dation and other organizations.
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