Ethiopia sits in the Horn of Africa and throughout its history has been a crossroads. Its access to key waterways and strategic placement at the juncture of Africa, Asia and Europe fostered trade and significant cultural interchange. “Ethiopia at the Crossroads” situates artistic expression, practice and creation within the nation’s significant role in the growth and spread of Judaism, Christianity and Islam from the time of their inception. 

In the exhibition, more than 200 historic and contemporary works usher visitors through centuries of this cross-cultural connectivity and highlight the role Ethiopian artists played in the creation and exchange of artworks throughout Africa and across the Mediterranean, Red Sea and Indian Ocean. Historical works of Ethiopian art — including devotional painted icons, manuscripts, coins, textiles, metalwork and carved wood crosses of various scales — will appear alongside contemporary works by Aida Muluneh and Elias Sime to showcase the often-overlooked cultural significance of Ethiopia. 

Ethiopia at the Crossroads is co-organized by the Toledo Museum of Art, Walters Art Museum, and Peabody Essex Museum and curated for TMA by Sophie Ong, Assistant Director of Strategic Initiatives. The exhibition has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy Demands Wisdom. The exhibition at TMA is made possible with the generous support of Presenting Sponsors Susan & Tom Palmer, Platinum Sponsors The Zenith Foundation and Cynthia & Ron Thompson, Gold Sponsors TMA Ambassadors, with additional funding from the Ohio Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.