‘Ethiopia at the Crossroads’ at Peabody Essex Museum surveys 2,000 years of art
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Loading... - Yvonne Asare
- 13 Sep 2024
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The Peabody Essex Museum in Salem is currently hosting a groundbreaking exhibition, "Ethiopia at the Crossroads," which surveys 2,000 years of Ethiopian art and culture. This comprehensive show is part of a traveling exhibition that originated at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore and will conclude at the Toledo Museum of Art.
The exhibition features over 200 objects, spanning five galleries, that showcase the rich cultural heritage of Ethiopia. The objects on display range from processional crosses and ancient manuscripts to Haile Selassie's royal cloak and contemporary collages. The exhibition also highlights the diverse cultural and religious influences that have shaped Ethiopia's history, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and spiritualism.
One of the unique aspects of the exhibition is its focus on Ethiopian Christian art, which features Jesus, Mary, and patron saints depicted with brown skin. This is a testament to the fact that Ethiopia was one of the first countries to adopt Christianity, in the fourth century, without the influence of colonialism and violence.
The exhibition is not just a visual feast; it also engages the senses through scratch-and-sniff cards with scents of berbere spices, frankincense, and manuscripts, as well as sounds of Ge'ez, an ancient Ethiopic language, and music from an Orthodox church service.
The show is the first of its kind in America to put Ethiopia and its visual history in a global context, featuring pieces from Italy, Crete, Armenia, and Coptic Egypt alongside ancient and contemporary Ethiopian art. The exhibition's curator, Christine Sciacca, worked closely with the Ethiopian community in the D.C. area to ensure that the show accurately represented the country's rich cultural heritage.
The exhibition's design was also influenced by the Ethiopian community, with the use of the colors of the Ethiopian flag and plenty of light, which is symbolic of Ethiopia's representation of light. At Peabody Essex, curators Lydia Peabody and Karen Kramer incorporated these design elements, using the colors of the flag as accents against light, cream-colored walls and shadows of church windows above the art.
One of the standout artists featured in the exhibition is Helina Metaferia, an interdisciplinary artist born in D.C. to Ethiopian immigrant parents. Metaferia's work is deeply personal, reflecting her connection to the exhibition and her own cultural heritage. Her father, Dr. Getachew Metaferia, was a member of the academic advisory committee for the exhibit.
The "Ethiopia at the Crossroads" exhibition is a must-see for anyone interested in Ethiopian art and culture. It provides a nuanced understanding of the country's rich history and its cultural significance, and it is a testament to the importance of community engagement and collaboration in the curation of cultural exhibitions. As Metaferia hopes, this exhibition will pave the way for more shows that celebrate Ethiopian art and culture, providing opportunities for other artists and curators to share their work and perspectives with a wider audience.
Joe Onyero
Nice 👏