Today, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Abiy Ahmed Ali will be present at the opening of this year´s Peace Prize Exhibition at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo. The 2019 Nobel Peace Prize exhibition in Oslo, Crossroads Ethiopia, shows portraits of the Laureate himself, but also a close-up on change, hope and challenges in his country.
The Exhibition is called Crossroads Ethiopia and portraits Ethiopia´s ongoing process of peace and democracy.
Peace is an ongoing process
“It is exciting to create an exhibition about an ongoing process. Abiy Ahmed has great ambitions, but he also faces great challenges. Through this exhibition, we want to show how complex and time consuming the road to peace and democracy is, and also the risks involved”, said Programme Director Toril Rokseth.
Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali received the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize yesterday for his reforms at home and his efforts to create peace with his neighboring country Eritrea.
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The 2019 Nobel Peace Prize Exhibition in Oslo
The exhibition, which will open for the public tomorrow at 12:00, consists of a series of photographs taken by the award winning Irish-Canadian photographer Finbarr O´Reilly who visited Ethiopia in November 2019 on assignment by the Nobel Peace Center.
“I had very limited time with the Laureate – just a few minutes to make a handful of portraits. So, I focused on documenting some of the political changes implemented by the Laureate, and how he has positioned himself to lead his country as it heads towards elections scheduled for next year,” says O’Reilly.
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Experience O’Reilly and Ethiopia’s seven highest ranking photographers
O´Reilly has captured some of the women assigned to power in Abiy´s new government and how the changes inflict the society in Addis Ababa. He has also visited the disputed areas of the North where traces of the conflict with Eritrea still lingers.
Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa has a thriving photograph scene which is also depicted in one part of the exhibition with photographs captured by Ethiopia´s seven highest ranking photographers, curated by Aida Muluneh. The images show the transition the county has gone through. This is in cooperation with the Photo Festival Addis Photo Fest.
“To tell the story of what is happening in Ethiopia now, it is important to include the voices of Ethiopians. The images themselves also show how freedom of speech is increasing in the country”, said Rokseth.
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Crossroads Ethiopia
The Exhibition is created by the Nobel Peace Center in cooperation with photographer Finbarr O´Reilly. It is curated by Project Manager Asle Olsen and Head of exhibition Liv Astrid Sverdrup
One part of the exhibition shows images captured by Ethiopian photographers from the archives of Addis Photo Fest, co-curatert by Aida Muluneh, Desta for Africa Creative Consulting Plc (DFA).
The Exhibition is supported by the City of Oslo, 5th element group and Canon (print&imaging partner).
The exhibition will be on display at the Nobel Peace Center from 12 December 2019 till November 2020.
Feature image (on top): © Finbarr O’Reilly for the Nobel Peace Center Photo: © Finbarr O’Reilly for the Nobel Peace Center Photo: © Finbarr O’Reilly for the Nobel Peace Center
The 2019 Nobel Peace Prize Exhibition in Oslo, press release from Nobel Peace Center, Oslo