Addis Ababa artist Mulu Legesse's solo show 'I Carry – Je Porte' runs until 31 October

Mulu Legesse trained as a sculptor, but the work in her solo show runs across painting, collage, sculpture and installation. "We carry our memories, relationships, responsibilities and identities with us," the Addis Ababa-based artist said, as quoted by Capital Ethiopia, an English-language Ethiopian newspaper, on 11 October 2026.

The show, "I Carry – Je Porte", opened to the public on 8 October at Alliance Éthio-Française in Addis Ababa and runs until 31 October. The venue's events channel on Telegram lists it for Monday to Saturday, 12:00 to 18:00, in its exhibition gallery in Piassa. The listing does not give an entry fee.

The title plays on her name: Mulu means "whole", "complete" or "entire" in Amharic. Capital Ethiopia describes her as a multidisciplinary visual artist. The exhibition also creates a dialogue among Amharic, English and French. Its themes are memory, identity, womanhood, motherhood and personal transformation.

Mulu put the question this way: "The question is not only what we carry, but what we choose to make of what we carry." Earlier layers remain visible in several pieces, the paper says, while taking on new meanings in different contexts.

She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture from the Alle School of Fine Arts and Design at Addis Ababa University in 2019.

In 2022 she presented "Drawing with Words, Writing in Ink", a collaborative project with writers, at the Addis Ababa Museum. A 2023 exhibition took place at Neta Studio 11, and in 2024 she showed "Timket" at Post Gallery in Addis Ababa.

Her group exhibitions include "Skate, Create, Liberate", an international open-call exhibition at Apexart in the United States; "Empower Her" at the National Museum of Egypt; "Echoes of Abyssinia" at the National Museum of Unification in Romania; and shows at Post Gallery, Fendika Cultural Centre and the Addis Ababa Museum.

The curator is Dr Gerhard "Gerd" Steffes, a German philanthropist and former European Union official. He worked for the European Commission for nearly three decades, mainly in health policy. Since 2008 he has supported privately funded development projects in Ethiopia, among them medical assistance for disadvantaged girls, education and training for young women and support for schools in the Ethiopian Highlands.

The Alliance's events channel also lists a free album-release party for Helen Abera, with Chert Band and performances by DJ Jazzy Dave and Gabrielwa, on Saturday 24 October at 18:00, and the Fête du Cinéma d'Animation, an animation film festival, at the Alliance on 30 October.