25 May Aïda Muluneh – KAB18 Studio workshop
Aïda mentions that most of her own mentors have been African-American photographers that have guided her over the years when she first started in photojournalism such as Harlee Little, Chester Higgins and Dudley M. Brooks (renderforest.com). She adds that: “Entering into the current realm of my work Simon Njami has been the one who has pushed me to take my photography into a different path. Yet, regardless of whether I do photojournalism or studio photography, my motivation comes from an understanding that as Africans we must be engaged in addressing and showing our side of a story in order to confront the lack of a balanced perspective that stems from the foreign gaze.”
Born in Ethiopia in 1974, Aïda Muluneh left the country at a young age and spent an itinerant childhood. After several years in a boarding school in Cyprus, she finally settled in Canada in 1985. In 2000, she graduated with a degree in Communications with a major in Film from Howard University in Washington D.C. After graduation, she worked as a photojournalist at the Washington Post, however her work can be found in several publications. She is the founder and director of the first international photography festival, the Addis Foto Fest. She has published a book titled, “Ethiopia: Past/Forward,” which is a coffee table book that reflects her vision on reconnecting to Ethiopia through memory and nostalgia. Her latest works play with this notion of memories, by reinventing contemporary rituals through the characters that she depicts.
Now a mentor to the younger generation herself, Aïda will open her studio and share her skills and knowledge with 5 young talented artists. They will engage into dialogues, produce new work together and learn from each other during a 10 day intensive studio period in Kampala.
More info, visit the Kampala Art Biennale website