[...] This week we’re focused on contemporary African art. Your host is the Nigerian writer and journalist Ayodeji Rotinwa, who welcomes the renowned Ethiopian gallerist and self-taught art historian and Mesai Haileleul to be interviewed. Mr. Haileleul opened the first gallery representing Ethiopian artists in Los Angeles in the 1990s and now, with Rakeb Sile, co-runs Addis Fine Art – a leading contemporary gallery specialising in art from the Horn of Africa & its diaspora with venues in London and Addis Ababa.
This is a podcast about how the African contemporary art market is booming internationally, and what’s driving that interest. But it’s also about the importance and opportunities of focusing on home. Full of fascinating insights on everything from the history of the art scene in Addis Ababa, to the challenges of building arts infrastructure when building roads and schools takes priority, ultimately this is a conversation about the business of culture and how to support it. [...]