Join us in the House of Yatreda, a multi-sensory and multi-spatial experience created by Yatreda: ያጥሬዳ, the Toledo Museum of Art’s 2024 Digital Artist in Residence. Led by Creative Director Kiya Tadele, Yatreda is a family of artists from Ethiopia, Kenya, and Canada who create digital artwork in the style of tizita—nostalgia or longing for the past. This immersive installation, showcased alongside Ethiopia at the Crossroads, invites you to delve into Ethiopia’s rich cultural heritage through contemporary digital art and interactive experiences.

At the heart or hearth of House of Yatreda lies an immersive display featuring four digital artworks from Yatreda’s latest collection, Abyssinian Queen. Premiered exclusively within the Ethiopia at the Crossroads exhibition, Abyssinian Queen portrays the journey and entourage of an Ethiopian queen traversing kingdoms, navigating mystical forests in between. Combining history with the rich legends and folklore cherished by modern Ethiopians, Yatreda’s reimagining of the great Abyssinian Empire serves as a therapeutic counterbalance to Ethiopia’s current challenges of development and modernization. Abyssinian Queen prompts viewers to contemplate the cyclical nature of history and the potential for a nation’s resurgence.

In addition to the installation, the House of Yatreda experience is expanded through the performance of an Ethiopian coffee ceremony envisioned through Yatreda’s artistic lens. Against the backdrop of Yatreda’s artwork, the ceremony explores what Ethiopia can teach America's fast-paced, consumer-driven coffee culture while highlighting communal elements like family and friendship that resonate between the two cultures. The ceremony will be performed three times during the exhibition run of Ethiopia at the Crossroads (Aug. 17 - Nov. 10). Join us to slow down, reflect, and connect with others in a shared ritual that fosters a sense of community, echoing the warmth and togetherness of an Ethiopian coffee gathering.

The House of Yatreda and 2024 Digital Artist in Residence Program at the Toledo Museum of Art is made possible with the generous support of Block Communications, Inc., Buckeye Broadband, Christie’s, and in-kind support from Blue Square X, Taylor Hyundai, and the University of Toledo Department of Art.

About Yatreda: ያጥሬዳ

Yatreda: ያጥሬዳ is a family of artists from Ethiopia creating in the style of tizita—nostalgia and longing for the past. Led by Kiya Tadele, Yatreda’s Creative Director, the group creates artwork which balances the new, like blockchain technology, with the old, preserving classic legends of historical and cultural significance. This blend suggests the timeline of African history doesn’t simply end, and the stories are not finished. Yatreda is about rediscovering Africa’s original self once again.