Social Science Research Council

On September 23, 2002 approximately 100 guests joined the Council for an evening reception featuring the artwork of Yegizaw Michael, award winning Eritrean artist. Guests came from NGOs, foundations, the UN and academia.

In featuring the artwork of Yegizaw, the Council sought to bring attention to a talented artist with a strong commitment to social and political reconciliation. Yegizaw uses art to combat the anger and anomie accompanying both armed conflict and the scourge of HIV/AIDS. Yeggy (as his friends call him) has seen a lot of both as an Eritrean raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Eritrea and Ethiopia have a history of several decades of war and both have high rates of HIV infection. Reflecting back on the death of friends and his own imprisonment in Ethiopia, Yeggy says, "My whole world is to bring peace to society—from the grass roots level to the top—by using arts, whether it is music or painting, poetry or writing—anything to use for a healing process. I hope that people see through my work the hope, the sadness, the struggle of survival and, at the same time, peaceful settlement. If people don’t have a settled mentality, then there is no meaning to life."

Using vibrant colors and symbolism that reflect grounding in East African culture, Yegizaw's art nonetheless projects a pan-African, even cosmopolitan vision. As an artist and a community organizer, he has worked tirelessly to bridge difference while also encouraging it. "Unity in Diversity," a phrase frequently heard among his fellow Eritreans, is Yeggy's motto. In addition to his own artwork, Yegizaw is busy with a number of community efforts in the Seattle area to achieve healing through the arts and he continues efforts to mitigate and prevent HIV/AIDS in Africa and elsewhere. He is the founder and former artist director of "Artists Against AIDS, " a national awareness campaign in Eritrea. For more information about the artist and his work, please go to yeggystudio.com.