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 a country still fighting to exist. She is the founder of The Diaspora Academy. She was born in New York City to Eritrean immigrant parents and is based in Washington\, D.C. Semhar has testified before the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. She delivered the keynote at t he 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 i n Washington\, D.C. Working primarily with medium-format film\, she hand-p rocesses and prints her photographs using traditional darkroom and alterna tive photographic processes\, including gelatin silver\, platinum/palladiu m\, and cyanotype. Rooted in a tactile\, process-driven approach\, her pra ctice centers on the materiality of photography\, embracing slowness\, rep etition\, and the physical act of making as a way to engage time. Her work explores themes of memory\, identity\, and place\, weaving personal and c ultural narratives between Washington\, D.C. and Ethiopia. Her work is on view in the exhibit Art Bank: New Work from the Collection and is a re cent acquisition of the Commission on the Arts &\; Humanities' Art Bank Collection.
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Tsedaye Makonnen is an award-winning and published interd isciplinary artist\, artistic director and designer. Tsedaye&rsquo\;s scul ptures\, textiles\, reliquaries and performance art function as a contempo rary reflection of Byzantine and Medieval art\, particularly through her e ngagement with spiritual symbolism and technologies\, sacred aesthetics\, and embodied ritual practices. Makonnen reclaims\, reinterprets\, and reac tivates visual and spiritual lineages historically sidelined by Western ar t canons. Her works are in several permanent collections including the Nel son-Atkins Museum\, the Smithsonian\, the Studio Museum in Harlem and more . She exhibited and performed at The Metropolitan Museum of Art&rsquo\;s f or the groundbreaking Africa and Byzantium exhibition where she was one of two living artists commissioned to make new works. Currently she has a so lo exhibition in D.C. at the National Museum of African Art titled San ctuary :: መቅደስ :: Mekdes\, alongside East Afri can Medieval and contemporary objects from the museum&rsquo\;s collection. Also in Baltimore\, her site-specific commissioned light sculptures\, Sacred :: የተቀደሰ :: Yetekedse\, are per manently on display in The Walters Art Museum&rsquo\;s Medieval gallery. H er other recent studio engagements include Williams College Museum of Art\ , The Clark Art Institute\, the Venice Biennale and more. In 2024 she archived oral histories 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 t o expand the archive with support from the Mellon Foundation and other org anizations.
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