Adamu Tesfaw

Who is Adamu Tesfaw?

Adamu Tesfaw is an Ethiopian artist. Raised in Bichena in Gojjam province, Adamu was educated as a priest in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. In the late 1950s Adamu moved to Addis Ababa to pursue painting as a career, ultimately leaving the priesthood. There he had the help of his godfather Yohannes Tessema, a successful commercial artist. Adamu sold paintings through his godfather, and later through several souvenir shops in Addis Ababa.

Adamu produces large paintings on cloth of scenes of Ethiopian culture and history, and also religious art in the Ethiopian Orthodox tradition.

His work has been featured in a number of showings of Ethiopian art overseas, and the UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History organized a touring exhibition of his work in 2004, which continued touring until at least November 2007. In 2004 he also appeared on a popular Ethiopian Television program, "Meto Haya".