Art to Earth
Tibeb Badebabay (Street Art Project) 2020
Before the current corridor redevelopment and city beautification initiatives in Addis Ababa, residents faced densely populated living conditions and rapid urban development, which exposed them to various forms of man-made environmental pollution, contributing to significant fluctuations in the climate, as well as issues related to sewage, visual, and noise pollution.
For this project, we engage individuals on the street by asking them questions related to climate health and urban development. We encourage them to express their ideas through writing, drawing, or painting. Afterward, participants perform their ideas in front of a green screen, and we capture their actions using a stop-motion app. Their written or painted ideas are then overlaid on a keyed-out background, and the completed video is shared on various social media platforms.
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Team ADMAS (Amharic for horizon) is a group of three inspirational artists who are practitioners in various visual art mediums. They graduated from Alle School of Fine Art and Design in 2020.
Kalkidan Kumlachew is a painter and sign language translator. With a convenient translation experience in High school and charitable organizations, Kalkidan holds faith in transferring her painting skills through sign language. Ashenafi Mestika is a full-time studio artist and has been using drawing, painting, and photography to express his ideas. He has showcased solo and group Exhibitions (in-house and abroad). Ashenafi also works on video-interview documentations of Ethiopian visual artists. Tewodros kifle is a Graphic designer and an Art teacher, and uses Video art, Animation, Printmaking, and mixed media as artistic medium. He has participated in national and international exhibitions, lectureships, and workshops.
Project idea: Tewodros Kifle
Implementation: Admas Team
Stop Motion Animation (sma)
workshop 2019/20
In 2019, I conducted an engaging stop-motion animation workshop at the Col. John C. Robinson American Center, situated within the historic National Archives and Library Agency in Addis Ababa. A talented group of teenagers came together to explore various stop-motion animation techniques, such as paper cut-out, sand, clay, object animation, and pixelation. These techniques were later merged into an animated video collage.
The workshop was designed to immerse participants in the foundational principles and techniques of stop-motion animation while encouraging them to unleash their creativity around the theme of the library and its environment. The atmosphere was fun and engaging, charged with excitement as the students freely explored their ideas, blending imagination with practical skills.
To enhance the viewing experience, the soundtrack of the video was inspired and thoughtfully crafted, featuring audio recordings sourced entirely from library activities and the sounds of various library materials. This added a unique layer of depth to their animated storytelling.
Workshop date: From December 6 to January 24, 2019/20
Workshop presentation and implementation: Tewodros Kifle
Frame-by-frame animation: Participating students
Sound recording and editing: Tewodros Kifle
Place: Col. John C. Robinson American Center at National Archives and Library Agency in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Stop Motion Animation Lab
Workshop Activity at the Alle School of Fine Arts and Design
A stop-motion animation Lab was established at the Alle School of Fine Arts and Design (AAU) in 2020 with support from the Spanish Embassy in Addis Ababa as part of the ACERCA program of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).
This lab has become a creative space for students, starting with a workshop led by the talented Spanish stop-motion animator and musician, Coke Riobóo. Since then, the animation lab has been teaching students how to create their own animations, combining both hands-on techniques and digital tools facilitated by Tewodros Kifle. These skills are incorporated into various programs offered at the school, like alternative media or Video Art courses, tailored to match the needs of different courses. The animated clips you see here are the activity and animation outputs of the participants over time.
Lab Initiator website: http://www.cokerioboo.com/en/144-2/
