Aïda Muluneh Director/Founder Addis Foto Fest
Born in Ethiopia in 1974, Aïda left the country at a young age and spent an itinerant childhood between Yemen and England. After several years in a boarding school in Cyprus, she finally settled in Canada in 1985. In 2000, she graduated with a degree from the Communication Department with a major in film from Howard University in Washington, D.C. After graduation she worked as a photojournalist at the Washington Post and other publications. As an exhibiting artist, a collection of her images can be found in the permanent collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art and the Museum of Biblical Art in the United State. She is the 2007 recipient of the European Union Prize in the Ren-contres Africaines de la Photographie in Bamako, Mali, as well as the
2010 winner of the CRAF International Award of Photography in Spilimbergo,Italy. Aïda is the founder and director of the first international photography festival in Ethiopia, the Addis Foto Fest. She continues to curate and develop cultural projects with local and international institutions through her company DESTA (Developing and Educating SocietyThrough Art) For Africa in Addis Ababa.
Aïda Muluneh Director/Founder Addis Foto Fest On December 7th, 2010, we opened the first edition of the Addis Foto Fest with a dedication to the leg – endary photographer Shemelis Desta at the Alliance Ethio-Française. It was a thrilling week for all of us to 
finally see our hard work culminate to the much antici – pated opening of the featured exhibition “Ethiopia: In – terior Visions” which featured different points of view on Ethiopia. The opening also hosted a unique video performance by Yo-Yo Gonthier along with the Nubian Arc band. With over 500 viewers, the opening became the key event that set the pace for the next few days of the festival. Born in Ethiopia in 1974, Aïda left the country at a young age and spent an itinerant childhood between Yemen and England. After several years in a boarding school in Cyprus, she finally settled in Canada in 1985. In 2000, she graduated with a degree from the
Communication Department with a major in film from Howard University in Washington, D.C. After graduation she worked as a photojournalist at the Washington Post and other publications. As an exhibiting artist, a collection of her images can be found in the permanent collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art and the Museum of Biblical Art in the United State. She is the 2007 recipient of the European Union Prize in the Ren – contres Africaines de la Photographie in Bamako, Mali, as well as the 2010 winner of the CRAF International Award of Photography in Spilimbergo,Italy. Aïda is the founder and director of the first international photography festival in Ethiopia, the Addis Foto Fest. She continues to curate and develop cultural projects with local and international institutions through her compa – ny DESTA (Developing and Educating Society Through Art) For Africa in Addis Ababa.
Addis Foto Fest 