Aida Muluneh

Muluneh (b. 1974, Ethiopia) is a renowned Ethiopian photographer, celebrated for blending African heritage with global storytelling, and a key figure in advancing African photography through the Addis Foto Fest.

Born in Ethiopia in 1974, Aïda left the country at a young age and spent an itinerant childhood between Yemen and England. After several years in a boarding school in Cyprus, she finally settled in Canada in 1985. In 2000, she graduated with a degree from the Communication Department with a major in Film from Howard University in Washington D.C. After graduation she worked as a photojournalist at the Washington Post, however, her work can also be found in several international publications. Also as an exhibiting artist, Aida’s work has been shown in South Africa, Mali, Senegal, Egypt, Canada, United States of America, France, Germany, England, Norway, China, to name a few countries. A collection of her images can be found in the permanent collection at Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art, Hood Museum, The RISD Museum of Art and the Museum of Biblical Art in the United States. She is the 2007 recipient of the European Union Prize in the Rencontres Africaines de la Photographie, in Bamako, Mali, the 2010 winner of the CRAF International Award of Photography in Spilimbergo, Italy, Winner of 2020 The Royal Photographic Society Curatorship award, a 2018 CatchLight Fellow in San Francisco, USA. In 2019, she also became the first black woman to co-curator of the Nobel Peace Prize exhibition while serving as a Canon Europe Ambassador. As one of the leading experts on photography from Africa, she has been a jury member on several photography competitions, most notably the Sony World Photography Awards 2017 and the World Press Photo Contest 2017. She has also been on various panel discussions on photography, such as the African Union cultural summit, Art Basel, and Tedx/Johannesburg. In 2019, she was also a master for the 2019 Joop Swart Masterclass and gave the renowned Sem Presser Lecture at the World Press Photo Festival in Amsterdam. Her work has also been featured on notable publications and news outlets, such as the New York Times, TIME, The Atlantic, Vice, OkayAfrica, The Guardian, Elle Magazine, the British Journal of Photography, CNN Style, and BBC. In 2019, her piece (commissioned by WaterAid), “The Sorrows We Bear,” served as one of the 24 Magazine Covers About Climate Change for Washington Post Magazine. Aida is the founder and director of the Addis Foto Fest (AFF), the first international photography festival in East Africa hosted since 2010 in the city of Addis Ababa. She continues to educate, curate and develop cultural projects with local and international institutions through her company DESTA (Developing and Educating Society Through Art) For Africa Creative Consulting PLC (DFA) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Please contact [email protected] for more information on available works.

Artworks

Wings that Soar Series - Of mine and theirs

Wings that Soar Series - Black Jesus

Wings that Soar Series - You Never Knew

Wings that Soar Series - The Awakening - Part One

Wings that Soar Series - The Awakening - Part Two

Wings that Soar Series - Clarity

Wings that Soar Series - The silence of within

Water Life Series - A Woman's Work

Water Life Series - Access

Water Life Series - Beside the Door

Water Life Series - Idle Whims

Water Life Series - The Meter

Water Life Series - Mirage of Privilege

Water Life Series - Unfilled Promises

Memories in Development Series - Everybody Knows About Mississippi

Memories in Development Series - Incomplete

Memories in Development Series - The Refugee: Passport Photo Series

Memories in Development Series - The Red Hour

Memories in Development Series - Ye Buda Eyne

World is 9 Series - For All They Care

World is 9 Series - Putting it together

World is 9 Series - The Outsider Inside

World is 9 Series - Dust on a Butterfly’s Wings

World is 9 Series - Dust on a Butterfly’s Wings Part Two

World is 9 Series - Things fall Apart

World is 9 Series - Postcards from Asmara

World is 9 - Tizita / Nostalgia

The Wolf You Feed Series - Sloth

The Wolf You Feed Series - An Idle Mind

The Wolf You Feed Series - Song of David

The Wolf You Feed Series - Liberté / Freedom

The Wolf You Feed Series - The Sacrifice

The Wolf You Feed Series - Revenge

The Wolf You Feed series (Part One)

The Wolf You Feed series (Part Two)

The Wolf You Feed series (Part Three)

99 Series (Part Three)

99 Series (Part Four)

99 Series (Part Five)

News

David Krut Projects at the Brooklyn Fine Art Print Fair

Mar. 28, 2025

Established in the West Chelsea Building in 2001, David Krut Projects Artspace, New York continues to connect the David Krut...

Tags: Arts on Main, David Krut Print Workshop, David Krut Projects, David Krut Projects New York, Exhibition

Becoming a Story Teller – Aida Muluneh and the Kampala Art Biennale.

Jul. 9, 2018

In 2018, the Kampala Art Biennale (KAB) has taken on a new format for its third edition. Titled “THE STUDIO”,...

Tags: Aida Muluneh, Kampala Art Biennale

What went down at the FNB Joburg Art Fair? 2016-09

Sep. 12, 2016

12.09.16 Blogger: Jessie Cohen From the moment the FNB Joburg Art Fair (JAF) kicked off, we had a fabulous range of responses...

Tags: David Krut Print Workshop, David Krut Projects, David Krut Projects Johannesburg, FNB Joburg Art Fair 2016

Major Ethiopian photographer & conceptual artist, Aida Muluneh, collaborates with DKW 2016-09

Sep. 8, 2016

08.09.16 Blogger: Jessie Cohen This year, the major contemporary African photographer and conceptual artist, Aida Muluneh, is the profiled artist...

Tags: David Krut Print Workshop, David Krut Projects, David Krut Projects Arts on Main

Who are DKP featuring at the FNB Joburg Art Fair? 2016-09

Sep. 6, 2016

09.2016 Blogger: Jessie Cohen This year, David Krut Projects is proud to showcase South African and Ethiopian artists across 4 separate booths at the...

Tags: David Krut Print Workshop, David Krut Projects, David Krut Projects Johannesburg, DESTA, FNB Joburg Art Fair 2016

A Cape Town Colleague’s Visit to the Golden City

Aug. 1, 2016

David Krut Projects Cape Town can get icy in winter. We had our annual break for the first two weeks...

Tags: Architecture, City of Gold, Collaboration, David Krut Projects Johannesburg, Edoardo Villa, Henri Matisse, Jan Smuts, Johannesburg Art, Maboneng, Prints, Turbine Art Fair, Walter Battiss

July in Review – what have the DKP team and our associated artists been up to?

Jul. 22, 2016

22.07.16 This month, we showcased a rich selection of contemporary artists at Turbine Art Fair (TAF), including Quinten Williams, Mary Wafer, Robyn...

Tags: David Krut Print Workshop, David Krut Projects Cape Town, David Krut Projects Johannesburg

Aida Muluneh Cape Town Exhibition 2016

Jun. 24, 2016

Aida Muluneh | David Krut Projects | Montebello Design Centre | 28 Jun - 13 Aug David Krut Projects Cape...

Tags: Aida Muluneh, David Krut Projects Cape Town, Ethiopian photography, Photography

Aida Muluneh: Reframing the Art of Ethiopia, the African Continent, and the African Diaspora

Nov. 25, 2015

The following is a statement made by Aida Muluneh about her participation in the group exhibition, The Divine Comedy, Contemporary...

Tags: Addis Ababa, Addis Foto Fest, Ethiopian photography

Aida Muluneh Featured in 2015 Art Basel Talks Program

Jun. 10, 2015

We are very excited to announce that DKP artist, Aida Muluneh will be featured in the 2015 Talks Program at...

Tags: 2015, Africa, African Art, art basel, Artist Talk, Contemporary Art, cultural, presentation

1:54 African Art Fair – New York City, May 2015!

May. 22, 2015

Thank you to everyone who was able to join us at the first 1:54 African Art Fair in...

Tags: 1:54 African Art Fair, Africa, African Art, art fair, Art Fairs, Contemporary Art, New York