Netsa Arts Village

Netsa (which means free in Amharic) Arts Village was established in 2008 by eleven graduates of Addis Ababa University’s School of Fine Arts and Design with the aim of promoting contemporary art in Ethiopia and giving emerging artists a platform for exchange, discussion and debate on all issues related to art; to stimulate the quality, development and context of contemporary art practice in Ethiopia.
The city of Addis Ababa supports the project by allowing artists to use part of Ferensay Park, a large urban green space. With the support of the Addis Ababa Goethe-Institute, a dome-shaped structure was built to house various art events. Netsa Arts Village provides Ethiopian artists with a forum for networking, communication, and dynamic exchange. Concerts, readings, video presentations, discussions, and exhibitions bring artists and the local communities together, celebrating examples of good art-practices, creating a living museum of contemporary art. Several projects, many of them interdisciplinary, involve youths from socially disadvantaged neighborhoods, such as the photo-based exploration of urban space organized by Leyikun Nahusenay. Netsa Arts Village is almost entirely financed by the artists themselves, but also cooperates and is supported by different networks for contemporary art such as the Triangle Network, Kuona Trust, ASNI Gallery, Townhouse Gallery, and Arts Collaboratory.

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