Addis Ababa: Ethiopia’s new flower

by Sean McLachlan on

When I talk to NGO workers who have worked all over Africa, most say their favorite posting was Addis Ababa.

Ethiopia’s capital is a young city, founded by the Empress Itegue Taitu in the late nineteenth century. She named it the “new flower”, and while the pollution and crowded streets don’t give a very flowery impression, it’s still an enjoyable and easy city to visit.

I’ve already mentioned my first impressions and talked about the cafes of Addis Ababa, but there are many more things to do than simply sitting around sipping world-class macchiatos. Here are a few highlights.

Art Galleries. “Addis”, as residents affectionately called their city, is home to a thriving arts scene. Two galleries rise to the top. The Asni Gallery in the Entonto hills overlooking the city offers a cool, green getaway from the busy city. A ramshackle old house features exhibitions by local painters and multimedia artists, while the garden outside has an interesting collection of sculptures made from found objects, like this curious contraption beside which yours truly is posing in such a dignified manner. The gallery of Kristos Solomon Belachew next to the Itegue Taitu Hotel will enchant anyone who appreciates art. This third-generation painter has a style rooted in traditional themes, with vibrant colors depicting historic or Biblical scenes. His works are quite affordable and make unique gifts or mementos. We bought three pieces. Kristos is a fascinating man to talk to and a visit to his gallery/workshop will give you a deeper appreciation of Ethiopian art.

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Museums. The National Museum of Ethiopia is justly famous for its collection of fossil hominids, including the famous Lucy, an Australopithecus afarensis who lived in Ethiopia 3.2 million years ago. One gripping display shows the precursors to modern humans arranged in chronological order to show how primate-like traits gradually gave way to a more human appearance, shattering Creationist mythology in a single room. Other rooms show the evolution of animals such as the horse. The rest of the museum is less impressive, with meager collections from Ethiopia’s many ancient empires poorly explained with minimal signage. The Institute of Ethiopian Studies is more user-friendly. Housed in one of Haile Selassie’s old palaces on the green and pleasant campus of Addis Ababa University, it features a beautiful collection of Ethiopian art as well as cultural artifacts. Long descriptions help the visitor put what they’re seeing into context. You can also visit the upper stories of the palace, where the emperor’s private quarters are still preserved, right down to his baby blue bidet.

Dining. With Ethiopian food being consistently good, few restaurants really stand out. The one at the Finfine Hotel and hot springs is the oldest in the city and serves flavorful national food and sweet, smooth tej. If gloppy stuff on injera is beginning to get tiring, go to Castelli’s, a old-school Italian restaurant run by very old-school Italians. It attracts an interesting mix of expats, tourists, and upper class locals.

Shopping. Addis boasts the largest open-air market in Africa, the Merkato. It’s as big as a medium-sized town and sells anything you can imagine that’s legal, and many things that are not. While a trip through its myriad lanes is popular with visitors, a trustworthy guide is essential as the area abounds with thieves. There are plenty of other shops and smaller markets throughout town that sell the usual tourist knick-knacks, a fine selection of leather goods, Ethiopian music, and colorful crafts from Ethiopia’s many ethnic groups. For some reason there’s a severe shortage of postcards; they’re almost impossible to find outside of the main tourist areas so buy them when you see them!

Where to stay. We tried only one hotel in Addis, the Itegue Taitu. It was the first hotel in Ethiopia, and features a grand old wooden staircase and balconies. It’s a bit worse for wear and desperately needs the remodel they are slowly getting around to. Even with the creaky floors and dingy bathrooms, it’s a wonderful place to stay. The back porch is relaxing, the restaurant is one of the best in the city, and the staff are truly kind and helpful. It makes for a good introduction to Ethiopia, both the good and the not-so-good. When I go back, I won’t consider staying anywhere else.

Getting around. Addis is spread out and not very walkable. Luckily there’s an excellent and cheap network of minibuses. A bit of experimenting and asking for directions will help you figure out how to get from A to B, and you’ll usually end up in some interesting conversations on the way. City buses are also numerous, but are crowded, only marginally cheaper, and popular with pickpockets. Taxis are everywhere but as with many countries it’s best to settle the price beforehand. In general, Ethiopian taxi drivers are far less annoying and greedy than their counterparts in other parts of the world.

So if you go to Ethiopia, spare a few days for Addis Ababa. Of the thirty capital cities I’ve visited, it’s one of the most enjoyable.

Don’t miss the rest of my Ethiopia travel articles.

Next time: the medieval walled city of Harar!

Hidden Gem: New York’s temporary art gallery

by Tom Johansmeyer on

I can’t tell you how long the art gallery at 25 Central Park West will be there: even the organizers don’t know. But, it’s worth checking the group’s website if you plan to pass through Manhattan in the next month (or longer, we hope) to make sure the project is still going on. There’s always something amazing happening at this vacant retail space.

I found the 25PW gallery by accident. I was walking down Central Park West last November. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw people inside an empty commercial spot at the corner of Central Park West and W 62nd Street. They were carrying hammers and paintings. So, I checked the door, which wasn’t locked, went inside and met Bess Greenberg, one of the founders of 25CPW, a non-profit that runs all the action inside this art gallery.

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According to Greenberg, 25CPW will be able to keep the space until a tenant comes along and is willing to meet the manager’s asking price (which hasn’t happened yet). In the three months that 25CPW has occupied the space, it has hosted art exhibitions, musical performances and an auction to benefit charitable organizations focused on Afghanistan. A recent show featuring works by the guards at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art attracted the most attention, though every event I’ve attended at 25CPW has been packed.

The fact that there’s now a cool art scene on the Upper West Side alone is worth a visit – this kind of thinking usually happens in other neighborhoods. So, the curiosity factor alone should be enough to put this stop on your itinerary. But, that’s the least of the many reasons to pay a visit to 25CPW. The best is whatever event is being featured on a particular day. They’ve all been fantastic.

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Empty auto dealerships mean new attractions for travelers

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Auto dealerships, smacked by the recession, have shut down across the country, but many of those buildings are coming back to life. These large, empty buildings have become restaurants, schools, yoga studios and even art galleries. It’s not just empty dealerships – shuttered businesses of all kinds are giving way to new attractions that can add color to any trip. Just down the road from me, an empty commercial spot on Central Park West became home to a 10-artist exhibition for several weeks. These are the surprises that can turn any vacation into something truly memorable.

The opportunities aren’t just in New York; you can find them around the country. Art students from the Columbus College of Art & Design in Ohio have taken advantage of an empty local dealership to bring a new energy to an empty space. The school has invested $8.3 million in the space.

If you find yourself needing a yoga fix in Los Angeles, check out the Golden Bridge Yoga Studio, which occupies an empty dealership. You can dine in one at NEO in St. Louis.

[Photo by David Hilowitz via Flickr]

Montreal Musts, to do: Sample the art galleries

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Montreal has an abundance of art galleries and museums, stretching from one side of the city to the other. But, if you’re looking for one spot where you can surround yourself with more galleries than you could conceivably enjoy in a day, head down to Old Montreal and explore la rue Saint-Paul Ouest. From la rue McGill to boulevard Saint-Laurent, it’s packed with galleries large and small, including some that are artist-owned and others that represent a broad spectrum of creative minds.

The first gallery that caught my eye was Galerie Elca London. Unique on St. Paul Ouest, Elca London focuses on art created by the Inuit. Sculpture and flat art are available and come to the gallery based on their availability. Unlike most, it buys the art rather than take it on consignment, and there are no entangling relationships that limit what it can carry. So, if it measures up to the standard, it lands on the shelves. Of course, the gallery’s theme is evident from the inventory – there are a lot of polar bears and native masks. You’re more likely to pick up a piece or two for your collection, I suspect, than make this the cornerstone of your home décor.

Atelier Art Bressan is a single-artist gallery, featuring the works of Pauline Bressan, though a few pieces by her daughter (also a talented artist) have found their way onto the walls. Bressan’s style is decidedly abstract, and her influences vary. One piece, for example, comes from the effect a Senegalese poem had on her. The artist has shown her work around the world – in France, the United States and many other countries – which supports the quality of her creations in terms of investment potential (something to keep in mind as the art market starts to work its way up from the floor).

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One of my favorite art spots in Montreal is still Les Passants du Sans Soucy Auberge. A boutique hotel, its lobby includes a small art gallery, mostly featuring the works of Jacques Clement. Clement’s work includes more landscapes than it did last year (my first visit to this lobby gallery), but he still has enough work on the human body (which has a Francis Bacon style to it) to keep me excited.

Further up Saint-Paul Ouest, you’ll find several art galleries that are similar to what you’d find in New York: multiple artists are featured, and the work is stylish, modern and exciting. Galerie Le Luxart tops the list for me in this group, with a labyrinthine gallery featuring a variety of contemporary techniques that will definitely force you to stop and look for a while. Galerie Saint Dizier and Galerie le Royer are of the same ilk.

Of course, if street art is more your style, you’ll find murals painted on buildings throughout the city. For the best concentration, head up to the trendy Plateau neighborhood, where you’ll find carefully crafted graffiti art in many of the alleys.

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Disclosure: Tourisme-Montreal picked up the tab for this trip, but my views are my own.

Spectacular summer art season in Madrid

by Sean McLachlan on

Madrid is one of the art capitals of Europe, and each season the city’s big three art museums host major exhibitions. This summer looks like it’s going to be an especially good one.

Perhaps the biggest show of the season is the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum’s show on Matisse. Running from June 9 to September 20, it focuses on the work the famous painter and sculptor did in the middle part of his life. In the 1920s he and Picasso were at the vanguard of making modern art acceptable to the general public, and in the 1930s Matisse’s work became more inward-looking as the Depression, the buildup to World War Two, and the invasion of France took their psychological toll.

The Prado will has a show focusing on the Spanish painter Joaquín Sorolla, who in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries became one of Spain’s best-loved painters with his brilliant images of sun-soaked gardens and beaches. This show runs from May 26-September 6. One of his paintings, titled “Walk on the Beach”, is shown here. If you like his style, you might also want to check out his house, which is now a museum showcasing his life and work.

If modern art is more your thing, check out the Reina Sofia, Madrid’s home for modern and contemporary art. Their big show this summer will be Los Esquizos de Madrid, an art movement that flourished in Spain’s capital in the Seventies as the country made the transition from dictatorship under Franco to a fragile multiparty democracy. This movement embraced figurative art at a time when the rest of the European art world seemed have abandoned it.

The Reina Sofia will also have an exhibition by Lebanese artist Walid Raad, who created The Atlas Group, an art movement of one. His work explores censorship and the Lebanese Civil War though various media and will be open from June 3 to August 31.