Michael Tsegaye (born 1975 in
Addis Ababa) is an Ethiopian artist and photographer.[1][2] Much of his work presents a glimpse of life in contemporary Ethiopia, although an extended catalogue of his images come from his travels abroad.
Biography
Michael Tsegaye grew up in Addis Ababa where he attended
Cathedral Elementary and Tikur Anbessa High School. He enrolled in the Economics Department of
Addis Abeba University before transferring to its School of Fine Arts and Design. There, he received his diploma in painting in 2002, but soon gave up painting after he developed a severe allergy to
oil paint.[3] He subsequently found his passion in photography.
Michael Tsegaye has regularly worked for international publications such as Der Spiegel, Jeune Afrique, and enorm; as well as the press agencies
Bloomberg and
Reuters. He has also worked for a number of international NGOs in a variety of countries and capacities since 2006, including
Médecins Sans Frontières,
UNESCO and
GIZ. In particular from 2007 to 2008 he was employed with a year-long contract with GIZ's Engineering Capacity Building Project (ECBP) in Addis Ababa.
Besides his professional work, Michael is also a well-known artist who focuses on social documentary and art photography. He has exhibited in various galleries in New York, Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Morocco, Canada, Amsterdam, Mali, Miami, and São Paulo. His work can be found in a number of international magazines and various catalogues including Snap Judgments: New Directions in African Photography, edited by
Okwui Enwezor, and published by the International Centre for Photography in New York City in 2007.
Awards
In 2011, Michael Tsegaye won the first place award for the European Union-African Union Professional Photography Competition[4] as a representative for Eastern Africa.[5] He was also an artist-in-residence at the Thami Mnyele Foundation in 2010.[6]
Exhibited works
Group exhibitions
2012
Future Makers, National Museum. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Offside Effects, Triennale. Tbilisi, Georgia.
Temoine: Witness, Goethe Cultural Institute. Johannesburg, South Africa.
Face2Face, BOZAR/European Union (AU Summit/Lela Gallery). Addis Abeba, Ethiopia.
2011
For a Sustainable World, Rencontres de Bamako, African Photography Biennial 9th Edition. Bamako, Mali.[7]
Photoquai 2011, Musée du quai Branly. Paris, France.[8]
Spot on …Bamako VII. Rencontres Africaines de la Photographie, Institute for 2009: Foreign Cultural Relations. Berlin and Stuttgart, Germany.
2008
Snap Judgments: Nieuwe standpunten in hedendaagse Afrikaans fotografie / New Positions in Contemporary African Photography, Het Stedelijk 2008 : 2008 : Museum. Amsterdam, Netherlands.[12]
Snap Judgments : New Positions in Contemporary African Photography, Brooks 2008 : Museum of Art. Memphis, TN, U.S.A.
2007
Africa=Hot, Oude Kerk, World Press Photo Exhibition. Amsterdam, Netherlands.