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In this episode of Broken Boxes Podcast we hear from Tsedaye Makonnen, a multidisciplinary artist, curator, researcher and cultural producer. Tsedaye\u2019s practice is driven by Black feminist theory, firsthand site-specific research, and ethical social practice techniques, which become solo and collaborative site sensitive performances, objects, installations, and films. In our conversation Tsedaye shares with us about her experiences in building and sustaining her art practice which focuses primarily on intersectional feminism, reproductive health and migration. She shares how her personal history as a mother, the daughter of Ethiopian refugees, a doula and a sanctuary builder nourish and guide her creative expression. \n\n\u201cI am Building worlds that have not existed yet, for myself and for others. I want to be as expansive and imaginative as possible - to me that is freedom.\u201d - Tsedaye Makonnen\n\nMusic: Tew Ante Sew by GIGI\nBroken Boxes opening song by India Sky\nArtist Website: https://www.tsedaye.com\nPhotograph of Tsedaye Makonnen taken by performance artist Ayana Evan\n\n\nTsedaye Makonnen is a multidisciplinary artist, curator, researcher and cultural producer. Tsedaye\u2019s practice is driven by Black feminist theory, firsthand site-specific research, and ethical social practice techniques, which become solo and collaborative site sensitive performances, objects, installations, and films. Her studio primarily focuses on intersectional feminism, reproductive health and migration. Tsedaye\u2019s personal history is as a mother, the daughter of Ethiopian refugees, a doula and a sanctuary builder. \n\nIn 2019 she was the recipient of a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship. In 2021 her light sculptures were acquired by the Smithsonian NMAFA for their permanent collection, she has also exhibited these light sculptures at the National Gallery of Art and UNTITLED Art Fair. In 2023, she will be showing these light installations in traveling exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bard Graduate Center and the Walters Art Museum. \n\nShe is the current recipient of the large-scale Landmark Public Art Commission for Providence, RI where she will create a permanent installation of her renowned light sculptures. In the Fall 2022 she performed at the Venice Biennale for Simone Leigh\u2019s \u2018Loophole of Retreat\u2019 and was the Clark Art Institute\u2019s Futures Fellow. \n\nIn 2021 she published a book with Washington Project for the Arts titled \u2018Black Women as/and the Living Archive\u2019 based on Alisha B. Wormsley\u2019s \u2018Children of Nan\u2019. In 2021, she exhibited at Photoville & NYU\u2019s Tisch, the Walters Art Museum as a Sondheim Prize Finalist, CFHill gallery in Stockholm, Sweden and 1:54 in London. In 2022 she exhibited at Artspace New Haven in CT and The Mattress Factory and much more. Other exhibitions include Park Avenue Armory, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Art Dubai, and more. \n\nShe has performed at the Venice Biennale, Art Basel Miami, Art on the Vine (Martha's Vineyard), Chale Wote Street Art Festival (Ghana), El Museo del Barrio, Fendika Cultural Center (Ethiopia), Festival International d'Art Performance (Martinique), Queens Museum, the Smithsonian's, The Momentary and more. \n\nHer work has been featured in Artsy, NYTimes, Vogue, BOMB, Hyperallergic, American Quarterly, Gagosian Quarterly and Transition Magazine. She is represented by Addis Fine Art and currently lives between DC and London.