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"I believe an artist doesn't need formal art education"
About Wasihun A. Mengsta
A professional Painter, has been painting different oil paintings on a canvas since 1980. At the age of twenty-three, Wasihun A. Mengsta has proved himself to be someone with an exceptional artistic streak. Not content with being one of Ethiopia's emerging painters, Wasihun takes an active interest in poetry, composing music, and even acting.
Wasihun received various awards, including a "World Star" award in 1992 at the worldwide art competition organized by the Red Cross and Red Crescent under the motto "Light in the Darkness" in Switzerland, where 147 countries participated. A second award at the commemoration of "World Food Day". Wasihun came 1st at the "The Use of Telecommunication" worldwide art competition.
Wasihun A. Mengsta was born in 1973, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Since age of six (6) his attention was more towards the Art than academic study. Wasihun grow-up in a poor family and was unable to buy painting and art materials. He had to be creative and manufactured his own drawing brush using sheep hair and a hollow tube cut out of an umbrella. Using these materials, to his surprise, he won his first professional award at the age of 16 in an international at contest called "Benefits of Telecommunication".
After graduating high school in 1993, Wasihun decided to pursue his art career. In 1996, he conducted his first private exhibition at the Economic Commission for Africa, ECA, hall. The exhibition was attended by various private and high-ranking government officials, including the Ministry of Culture of Ethiopia. In this exhibition, he displayed his paintings drawn on individual/single Beans and Lentils, the magnified images of his paintings were also broadcasted and displayed on the National Television of Ethiopia. At anothe exhibition held at the Architectural College of Ethiopia, he displayed 60 painings, using a style he calls, 180 Moon Style, a style he created in 1994. This technique involves lines and images or characteristics of the moon plying a significant role in the picture.
In 1996, Wasihun established "Top View Entoto Wasihun Art Gallery", an art gallery that was located in one of the prime location (Entoto Mountain) in Addis Ababa. The art gallery was involved in auctioning off art, retailing art privately, art gallery exhibitions, and merchandise sales for fifteen (15) years. During this period, famous people like Beyonce, Bob Marley family (Lauryn Hill), Maxi Priest, and many Ministers, Leaders, Senior Government Officials visited his art gallery.
In 2017, Wasihun fled Ethiopia after his art gallery was demolished and closed by the government. He has lived in exile in the United States for the last two years. He has now made USA his second home and believe it's a country where Art and individual rights are respected.
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