African Renaissance: When Art Meets Power - Ethiopia

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African Renaissance: When Art Meets Power

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Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media: Arts

Afua Hirsch explores Ethiopia, Senegal and Kenya through their art, music and culture.

Afua Hirsch shows Africa on its own terms, exploring the histories of Ethiopia, Senegal and Kenya through their extraordinary art, music and culture.

Series 1

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Afua Hirsch

Aida Muluneh

Eshetu Tiruneh

Mekale Genet Adhana

Hiwot Emishaw

Mimi Genetu

Wendwesen Kebede

Abel Tesfaye

Alex Brisland

Russell Barnes

African Renaissance: When Art Meets Power: Series 1: Ethiopia

Ethiopia

BBC Four - African Renaissance: When Art Meets Power, Series 1, Ethiopia

Afua Hirsch traces Ethiopia's 3,000-year history through its art and culture.

Documentary series. Afua Hirsch traces Ethiopia's proud 3,000-year history through its art and culture, exploring a civilisation as significant as any in the west.

In Ethiopia, Afua Hirsch traces a proud 3,000-year history as significant as any civilisation in the west. A beacon for the black diaspora, Ethiopia’s story is one of defiant independence, of kings and communists, of a country that has survived catastrophe but bounced back, underpinned by a culture inspired by an ancient faith and devotion.

At the heart of recent Ethiopian history is the complex reign of Emperor Haile Selassie. One of the most influential world figures of the 20th century, he was the midwife to African liberation and the generator of a global culture in Rastafarianism. Yet ultimately, Haile Selassie was a tragic figure.

With renowned artist Eshetu Tiruneh, Afua explores the impact of the 1974 famine that led to the emperor’s downfall, and she talks to photographer Aida Muluneh about her return from exile to the dynamic new Ethiopia of the 21st century responding to the dark days of the past.

African Renaissance: When Art Meets Power: Series 1

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African Renaissance: When Art Meets Power

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Ethiopia

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