House of Yatreda

House of Yatreda

Artist Collective

Week 1
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Contemporary Art Exhibiton

Immerse yourself in the vibrant world of contemporary art at the Afriques@AuxGazelles festival this August.

Yatreda is a family of artists working together to create stunning imagery that captures the history of the kingdoms of Ethiopia. We interviewed Kiya Tadele, the leader of the collective, who has a hand in everything from photography, modeling, casting, and organizing Yatreda’s productions. Yatreda (ያጥሬዳ) comes from a combination of two Amharic words: fence (አጥር) and debt (ዕዳ). The moniker was Kiya’s nickname growing up—part of a tale that her beauty would cause boys to climb over to their home and break their fence, putting the family in debt. Yatreda also became the name for their art project, simply because they film everything in their front yard in Addis Ababa. Their neighbors started to get curious about the projects they were working on, constantly peeking over the fence to get a look at the family’s creative process—Yatreda all over again. Storytelling is key to the works created by Yatreda. With NFTs, the family is coming together to tell the story of their history and culture, and ensuring that it is preserved for future generations.