The collaboration ‘A-B-A-B-A: from here to hear’ evolved as a series of workshops and poetry events in Addis Ababa and Berlin starting in 2012. Testing new structures and methods in an artistic dialogue, the series set out to explore oral traditions in Amharic poetry culture, translations and interpretations between German, English and Amharic, and performative elements on stage, including traditional Ethiopian music combined with contemporary jazz elements and electronic music.Clara Jo’s film follows the participating artists from stage to stage and features interviews which reflect on various traditions within contemporary practice.These series of events are part of the project Acting Archives initiated by the Institut für Raumexperimente (Institute for Spatial Experiments), Berlin University of the Arts, together with the Ale School of Fine Art and Design, Addis Ababa University, funded by the TURN Fund of the German Federal Cultural Foundation, supported by Studio Olafur Eliasson. Hosted by Volksbühne Berlin (July 2014) and the Alliance Ethio-Française d’Addis-Abeba (February 2015).
Director: Clara Jo
Date: 2016
Featuring: Gashahn Abateneh, Eric Ellingsen, Mihret Kebede, Erica Licht, Robert Lippok, Nebiy Mekonnen, Abebaw Melaku, Jorga Mesfin, Ari Benjamin Meyers, Bekele Mekonnen, Rike Scheffer, Misrak Terefe, Christina Werner, Uljana Wolf, The Moseb Traditional Music Band, Addis Ababa.