Curatorial Introduction
The HABESHA Project is more than an exhibition — it is a multi-layered dialogue across borders, languages, and histories. It seeks to preserve and present the complexity of Eritrean and Ethiopian experiences while creating space for reflection and exchange.
Each section of the site is designed like a gallery “room,” offering a unique narrative guided by themes such as History & Memory, Migration & Identity, and Borders & Exchange.
This exhibition explores how language influences identity with a specific focus on the word Habesha. Indisputably a community-oriented word — similar to Arab, Latinx, and Desi — Habesha colloquially refers to Eritreans and Ethiopians, with its meaning varying across individuals and communities.
What does this word mean? That's a great question many cannot succinctly answer.
Some use it to indicate shared culture across ethnic groups, while others perceive it as minimizing the significance of their specific ethnic group's identity. With this in mind, I interviewed 20+ Eritreans and Ethiopians on their relationship and understanding of the word, asking: Do you identify as Habesha? Who is Habesha?
I started with personal experiences and opinions internal to the community, before exploring how our community's image has grown and evolved among the African diaspora, in the US and globally.
Created across New York City and Washington, DC, this project brings together voices of varying backgrounds, identities, and experiences — shaped by history, migration, colorism, language, and love.
The HABESHA Project isn't a solution — it's a mirror.
It reflects back our contradictions, our pride and our wounds, our shared name and the questions it holds. HABESHA doesn't dictate language; it empowers a new generation to use it to build empathy, deepen understanding and celebrate the rich diversity that connects us.
