Abel Tilahun is a multidisciplinary artist with a focus on sculpture, photography, and video, who draws inspiration from both architecture and outer space. The Washington Post has described him as a "futurist." In 2016, he was among ten artists long-listed for the U.K. Financial Times OppenheimerFunds Emerging Voices Award. Abel has participated in a multitude of international group shows and film festivals and has held six solo exhibitions to date, including "Vital Signs" at the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center in Washington, DC, in 2018. His work has received critical acclaim and has been featured in the Washington Post, the Brooklyn Rail, and CGTN. Abel has also given artist lectures at prestigious institutions such as the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden in Germany, Independent Curators International in New York City, Zoma Contemporary Art Center, National Museum of Ethiopia, and Alliance Ethio-Francaise in Addis Ababa, among others. His work "Sunny-side Up" was exhibited in the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa as part of the Art in Embassies program from 2018 to 2021. Abel works out of both Philadelphia and the San Luis Valley in Southern Colorado. When in Ethiopia, he volunteers as a film instructor with 4-H Ethiopia, offering free hands-on training to public school youth in Addis Ababa. He is also an active member of the Ethiopian Space Science Society.
Abel Tilahun
Inner and Outer Space
Lalibela on the Moon · Jun 20 — Oct 21, 2020
Enter Exhibition
Biography
Selected Milestones
Upcoming Events
| Summer, 2020 | Columbia University Global Center, Nairobi, Kenya — Injera Emoji: Building Visual Digital Culture, with Isabelle Zaugg, PhD |
| March, 2020 | Nesta, UK — publication of artworks "Chrome" and "Paradigm Shift" in chapter "Imagining a Multilingual Cyberspace" by Isabelle Zaugg, PhD, in edited collection Visions for the Future Internet |
Recognition
| 2018 | Shortlist, International Artist in Residency Award, Africa Centre, South Africa |
| 2016 | Longlist, Financial Times OppenheimerFunds Emerging Voices Award for Art |
| 2009–2010 | Cloyde Snook Scholarship, Adams State University (one conferred to grad student per year) |
| 2006 | BFA Graduate with Distinction (one conferred per department), Alle School of Fine Arts & Design, Addis Ababa University |
Solo Exhibitions
| Currently | Inner and Outer Space: Lalibela on the Moon |
| 2019 | Inner & Outer Space, Adams State University Hatfield Gallery, Alamosa, CO |
| 2018 | American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center, Washington, DC — Vital Signs, curator Meskerem Assegued |
| 2017 | Alliance Ethio-Française, Addis Ababa — Odyssey?, curator Meskerem Assegued |
| 2014 | Alliance Ethio-Francaise, Addis Ababa — Interface Effect, curator Meskerem Assegued |
| 2010 | Adams State University, Cloyde Snook Gallery — A Generation Projected |
| 2007 | Alliance Ethio-Francaise, Addis Ababa — The Blueprint |
Group Shows & Talks
Group Shows
Exhibitions · Screenings · Publications
| 2019 | Columbia University Global Center, Nairobi, Kenya — Injera Emoji: Building Visual Digital Culture, with curator Isabelle Zaugg, PhD (upcoming, summer) |
| 2019 | Nesta, UK — publication of artworks "Chrome" and "Paradigm Shift" (both 2019) in chapter "Imagining a Multilingual Cyberspace" by Isabelle Zaugg, PhD, in edited collection Visions for the Future Internet (upcoming, March) |
| 2018–19 | Columbia University, Institute for Comparative Literature and Society, Mellon-Sawyer Seminar in Global Language Justice — 4 artworks chosen for seminar posters |
| 2018 | Art in Embassies, Ambassador's Residence, U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, curator Meskerem Assegued |
| 2018 | Investec Cape Town Art Fair, South Africa, presented by Zoma Museum, Addis Ababa |
| 2018 | Burris Hall Gallery, New Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas — Collaboration Project |
| 2016 | Colorado State University, Clara Hatton Gallery, Fort Collins, CO — Collaboration Project |
| 2015 | National Museum of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa — Curvature of Events, Artists: Abel Tilahun, Gunter Deller, and Barbara Lubich, curator Meskerem Assegued |
| 2015 | Adams State University, Cloyde Snook Gallery — Collaboration Project |
| 2014–2015 | New Masters Gallery, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Germany — Curvature of Events, Artists: Abel Tilahun, Gunter Deller, & Barbara Lubich, curator Meskerem Assegued |
| 2014 | "Curvature of Events" Catalogue, by Meskerem Assegued in collaboration with Hartwig Fischer, Abel Tilahun, Gunter Deller, & Barbara Lubich |
| 2013 | National Theatre Gallery, Addis Ababa — Heart-to-Heart: Rome to Addis, curator Meskerem Assegued |
| 2010 | "A Generation Projected" Masters Thesis Paper, Adams State University |
| 2009 | Lloyds Gallery, Fort Collins, CO — Three on Paper |
| 2009 | Edge Gallery, Denver, CO — Works from the Valley's Edge |
| 2009 | Indie Spirit Film Festival, Colorado Springs, CO — "The Hair" animation |
| 2008 | Adams State University, Cloyde Snook Gallery — Ventero Open Press Show, Group Show |
| 2008 | Alamosa Film Festival (now Southern Colorado Film Festival) — "The Hair" animation |
| 2008 | Adams State University, Hatfield Gallery — Milkshake |
| 2006 | Alle School of Fine Art & Design, Addis Ababa University — Undergraduate Thesis Show |
| 2005 | Alle School of Fine Art & Design, Addis Ababa University — Addis Abeba Zare, curator Meskerem Asegued |
Artist Talks & Lectures
2006 — 2019
| Oct 8, 2019 | PhD Research talk "Art & the Cosmos," Ethiopian Space Science Society, Addis Ababa University Institute of Technology |
| 2018 | American University Museum at Katzen Art Center, Washington, DC — Vital Signs Gallery Talk with curator Meskerem Assegued |
| 2017 | Adams State University — Visiting Artist Talk |
| 2017 | U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa & Alliance Ethio-Française — Odyssey? Roundtable Discussion moderated by Li Ping Lo, US Embassy Cultural Attaché |
| 2017 | U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa & Alliance Ethio-Française, Ethiopia — Artist Talk, Odyssey? A Retrospective of Abel Tilahun's Video Art, with exhibition curator Meskerem Assegued and Li Ping Lo, U.S. Embassy Cultural Attaché |
| 2016 | Zoma Contemporary Art Center, Addis Ababa — History and Practice of Video Art, Artist Talk |
| 2015 | National Museum of Ethiopia — Curvature of Events, Artist Talk, moderated by curator Meskerem Assegued |
| 2015 | Independent Curator's International, NYC — Artist Talk in conversation w/ Renaud Proche, ICI Director |
| 2014 | Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden — Curvature of Events, Artist Roundtable moderated by exhibition curator Meskerem Assegued |
| 2014 | Alliance Ethio-Francaise, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — Interface Effect, Artist Talk moderated by exhibition curator Meskerem Assegued |
| 2013 | National Theatre Gallery, Addis Ababa — Heart to Heart: Rome to Addis, Artist Roundtable moderated by exhibition curator Meskerem Assegued |
| 2010 | American University — Guest Lecturer, Visual Literacy course |
| 2010 | Adams State University — A Generation Projected, Artist Lecture |
| 2007 | Unity College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — Artist's Lecture on Animation & Conceptual Art |
| 2006 | Alle School of Fine Arts & Design, Addis Ababa University — Artist Lecture |
Teaching
American University, Washington, DC
Adjunct Faculty, Digital Imaging, undergraduates Fall 2011 & Spring 2014, graduates Fall 2013
Adjunct Faculty, Motion Graphics and Effects, undergraduates Fall 2013
Instructor, Animation, Discover the World of Communication, Summers 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2019
Instructor, Advanced Animation, DWC, Summers 2012, 2014, 2015
Senior Media Consultant & Instructor, New Media Center, Fall 2011 – Spring 2012
Marymount University, Arlington, Virginia
Background
Born in 1983 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Abel Tilahun grew up in an artistic family, with a mother who is a professionally trained clarinetist and a father who is an engineer with a passion for painting. During his childhood, Tilahun spent much of his time backstage at the Ethiopian National Theatre, where he absorbed various artistic disciplines, such as music, set design, storytelling, and performance. Tilahun went on to pursue his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture from Addis Ababa University's Alle School of Fine Arts and Design in 2006. He then earned his Master of Fine Arts from Adams State University, where he was honored as the Cloyde Snook Scholar for the academic year 2009-2010. In pursuit of his passion for exploring the intersection of art and space science, Tilahun completed his Ph.D. in Creativity at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, United States. His dissertation research took the form of an artistic documentary film, with a focus on the connections between art and space science in Ethiopia and the United States. In addition to his academic pursuits, Tilahun attended an intensive summer course on the anthropology of outer space at the National Astronomical Observatory in Rozhen, Bulgaria, led by the University of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and Tomsk State University, Russia.