Instagram story viewer> @tsedaye> Tagged

Tsedaye • ፀደይ • Studio

@tsedaye

7K

followers

5314

following

tsedaye.com @phillipscollection @labiennale
@smithsonian_africanart @thewaltersartmuseum @mellonfoundation

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

✨ Who keeps the stories of the people who keep our cities running?

Last month, I had the honor of moderating The Living Archive at DC's MLK Library with novelist @bsratmezghebe, lens-based artist Redeat Wondemu, and interdisciplinary artist @tsedaye Makonnen. Close to 90 people came out on a dreary Tuesday night, and the energy reminded me why our community spaces matter so much.

Growing up, I found my people in Eritrean community centers, language schools, and cultural festivals. Those spaces raised me. Every novel, photograph, and archive these artists create gives the next generation a place to find themselves too.

🌍 Which spaces shaped you growing up? Tell me in the comments.

👉🏾 I wrote more about how diasporas shape the cities we call home. Read the full article in my bio.

#TDADiasporas #CreateTheSpaces #EritreanAmerican #EthiopianAmerican #DiasporaStories #SecondGeneration #DiasporaLeadership #WashingtonDC #DCLibrary

3

5

St Louis I'll be back @camstl to perform on Oct 8th 6pm- 7pm! + Oct 9th, 10am-3pm the museum is hosting my C.R.E.A.M. Community Fair (Named for the Wu-Tang Clan’s song “C.R.E.A.M. - Cash Rules Everything Around Me). The fair will include artist talks, wellness booths, free headshots, college reps, a marching band, and a step show! Both events are free and open to the public. They are not to be missed.

"Nobody’s Gonna Love You the Way I Do"
Ayana Evans, museum survey (my first!)
Contemporary Art Museum St Louis
Sept 10, 2026 - Feb 7th, 2027

Photo styling by me 💚🍾
Bodysuit by @butchdiva
Shoes by @brothervellies
Photography by @i.zaiahj

Special thank you to the C.R.E.A.M. Community Fair partners:
@keywaystl
@missionstlouis
@stlouispubliclibrary
@faec_stl
@stlblackrep
City of St. Louis, Department of Health
@4thevillestl
@showmetheworldproject
@harrisstowe
@hssudrumline
@rankentech
@websteru
@tylersmall314
@djnicomarie
@publicinvestigator
@hayveyah

134

26

Here's a selection of press about "Tomorrow the Sun Will Rise," which closed today. We are thrilled about the recognition and grateful to all the writers for their care in writing about the show 💕

152

4

@phillipscollection Final days!

15

0

💡 Who gets to decide which diaspora stories survive?

🗣️ On September 22, I'm moderating a conversation built around that question, and I've been looking forward to it for weeks.

✨ The Living Archive: Capturing Eritrean and Ethiopian Stories Through Art and Fiction, at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, DC.

🌍 For Eritrean and Ethiopian diaspora communities, our stories live in the work of our artists. They live in photographs, in fiction, in the images and objects we carry across borders and pass to the next generation. Our creative voices have always been our archivists.

🤝🏾 I'll be in conversation with three of them: visual artist @Tsedaye Makonnen, photographer Redeat Wondemu, and writer @BsratMezghebe.

✍🏾 Together we'll explore why artists feel called to document these communities, how creative practice becomes a form of archival work, and what our diasporas have built into the cultural life of Washington, DC.

✊🏾 Our history is not sitting in an archive somewhere waiting for permission. We are writing it, painting it, and photographing it right now. Come sit with us while we talk about how.

🗓️ Tuesday, September 22, 7:00 PM EDT, MLK Jr. Memorial Library, Central Library. Presented with the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and DC Public Library.

👉🏾 Free and open to the public. Register here: https://dclibrary.libnet.info/event/17273160

#TDADiasporas #CreateTheSpaces #Diaspora #DiasporaEngagement #DiasporaArt #Eritrean #Ethiopian #DiasporaPhilanthropy #Philanthropy #Engagement #Africa #Immigration #Migration #SocialImpact #DiasporaLeadership

3

6

I am deeply honored to share that The Phillips Collection has acquired Sungazing Scroll (2024) for its permanent collection.

The work was created through 108 breath-length exposures of chromogenic photographic paper to sunlight. Rooted in the history of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, which my grandfather witnessed, the repeated act of breathing and exposing the paper transforms photography into a ritual through which inherited memory, loss, and the possibility of healing are held together.

To see a work born from such a personal and intergenerational history enter a public museum collection is profoundly meaningful to me. I hope Sungazing Scroll can continue to create a space for witnessing and reflection, while expanding what a photograph—and a memorial—can be.

The work was awarded First Prize in Tomorrow the Sun Will Rise: The Phillips Collection Juried Exhibition and is currently on view through September 20, 2026.

My deepest gratitude to curators Tie Jojima and Tsedaye Makonnen, and to everyone at The Phillips Collection who made this possible. I am truly honored that Sungazing Scroll will have a permanent home in the collection of America’s first museum of modern art.
—

Sungazing Scroll (2024 edition)
2024
Laid out: 1089 × 12 in.
Rolled up: 12 x 5 x 5 in.
Unique c-print photogram scroll (sunlight, artist’s breath)

__
@phillipscollection
@tiejojima
@tsedaye

319

46

🚚 The story starts in a U-Haul, and lands in the permanent collection of America’s first museum of modern art!

I’m incredibly honoured and grateful to The Phillips Collection @phillipscollection for acquiring my work “Afterimage: Borrowed Flora” (2025), and to the curators, Tie Jojima and Tsedaye Makonnen, and all jurors for believing in my practice 🌟

I received the exhibition invitation email while we were in a U-Haul, driving this newly framed piece back to my studio during my TNT residency. I’m thrilled that the work now lives alongside some of my favorite works in art history, including the Rothko Room and a rare Francis Bacon painting.

While curating the exhibition, Tie reached out to every artist very early on for studio visits, truly took time to understand our practice. Our first fruitful conversation happened virtually at my solo exhibition. Two weeks later, Tie stopped by Harper’s Gallery in Chelsea to see the exhibition in person, right after arriving by train through the muddy snow. And now, ta-da, here we are again, in the museum gallery!

Tomorrow the sun will rise.

To my Mr. Sunshine, who drives my art, moves my studio in a U-Haul, and shares every beautiful sunrise with me 🤍✨

265

24

🖼️ Tomorrow the Sun Will Rise at @phillipscollection is a juried exhibition showcasing 48 artists based in the DMV. Curators @tiejojima and @tsedaye had the challenging task of selecting amongst over 1,500 applicants. But the outcome of the open call for local talent has resulted in a monumental display of contemporary artists, whose awe-inspiring works are reflective statements about the times we’re living in.

The title of the exhibit derives from lyrics to a song by Brazilian musician Chico Buarque called “Apesar de você” (In spite of you). Released in 1970, the samba song reflects a spirit of defiance, hope, growth, and love admidst the political dictatorship of the time. TTSWR’s curators connected the themes of that time period to today: “Together, these artworks create spaces for reflection and offer metaphors for adaptation and resilience in this challenging time.”

I’ve especially loved the programming around the exhibit including a soundscape experience that featured musicians @museofire and @cecilyalexa. The exhibit is on view until September 20!

3

0

Much appreciation to the thoughtful and detailed review @byshelbyhubbard and @bmoreart- Many thanks for support and comments from all who have gone! The continued care and support from @tiejojima and @tsedaye is appreciated! Read full article on website: (link in bio) bmoreart.com/2026/09/tomorrow-the-sun-will-rise-at-the-phillips-collection.html

25

0

The Phillips Collection: Tomorrow the Sun Will Rise
@phillipscollection

Curated by Tie Jojima, Curator of Global Contemporary Art, The Phillips Collection, and Tsedaye Makonnen, Guest Curator.

-

I am so honoured and grateful to present Afterimage: Borrowed Flora (2025) at The Phillips Collection, on view August 1–September 20, 2026. Thank you so much Tie, Tsedaye and fellow amazing artists!

Only two weeks left to catch the exhibition in Washington DC!

109

8

My new newsletter is out! Bday pics + my middle aged life makeover plans are in it. LINK IN BIO

NOTE: This is not on Substack and there is no fee. Out once a month (at best) so get into it.

Photo & Creative Direction by @megalithe_ 💖🤣

101

17

Culture doesn’t just happen. It takes infrastructure, emergency safety nets, and dedicated operational support. Behind every dance opera, grassroots library, and radical art space is the hidden labor that keeps it alive. At RUMA, we are building the financial, legal, and operational scaffolding that powers cultural workers and creative entrepreneurs.

This month, we’re launching our join us campaign and giving away 3 RUMA tote bags featuring exclusive goods from our creators.

Our main goal is growing our community! So if you can please share our page!

🎟️ HOW TO be included in the giveaway. -> each action = one entry

Follow @RUMA
Subscribe to our newsletter
Support us through givebutter.

No purchase/donation necessary to win!

1

0