{{infobox person | name = Salem Mekuria | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1947}} | occupation = Filmmaker, video artist | birth_place = Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | alma_mater =Macalester College, San Francisco State University }} '''Salem Mekuria''' (born 1947) is an Ethiopian-born independent filmmaker, video artist and educator living in the United States.<ref name="mvmagazine">{{cite web|access-date=2019-10-02|first1=Alexandra|last1=Bullen Coutts|title=Finding Home|url=http://www.mvmagazine.com/news/2018/07/01/finding-home|date=1 July 2018|website=Martha's Vineyard Magazine}}</ref>
==Life and work== Mekuria was born in Addis Ababa. She was educated in Axum and in Addis Ababa where she visited the Empress Menen School for Girls and later started studies in architecture at the Haile Selassie I University.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Freytag |first=Philipp |title=Mekuria, Salem |url=https://aow.degruyter.com/artist/_a6b59c1a-2cce-4184-a13a-65fcb1fc805e |access-date=2025-02-26 |website=Artists of the World |language=de}}</ref> She moved to the United States in 1967 where she studied political science and journalism at Macalester College. Mekuria earned a MA in education technology and media production from San Francisco State University in 1978. She later worked at the WGBH TV station in Boston, starting as a secretary but eventually becoming a producer for the ''Nova'' series. Mekuria is the Luella LaMer Professor of Women's Studies in the Art department at Wellesley College.<ref name=unleashed>{{cite web |url=http://www.ethiopianwomenunleashed.org/database/salem-mekuria/ |title=Salem Mekuria |work=Ethiopian Women Unleashed |access-date=2016-11-08 |archive-date=2016-11-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161109021505/http://www.ethiopianwomenunleashed.org/database/salem-mekuria/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://exhibits.haverford.edu/possiblecities/artists/ |title=Artists |work=Possible Cities/Imaging Africa |date=25 July 2014 |publisher=Haverford College}}</ref>
She writes, produces and directs films and video installations related to Ethiopia.<ref name=wellesley>{{cite web |url=http://www.wellesley.edu/art/faculty/mekuria |title=Salem Mekuria |publisher=Wellesley College}}</ref> Her work has appeared at the 50th Venice Biennale, the CinemAfrica Film Festival in Sweden, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the National Museum of African Art of the Smithsonian Institution, documenta 11 in Berlin and the New York African Film Festival in New York City.<ref name=radcliffe/>
==Works== <ref name=unleashed/><ref name=wellesley/><ref name=wmm/>
=== Films === * ''Our Place In The Sun'' (1988) * ''As I Remember It: Portrait of Dorothy West'' (1991) * ''Sidet: Forced Exile'' (1991) – documentary * ''Ye Wonz Maibel (Deluge)'' (1997)
===Video installations=== * ''Ruptures: A Many-Sided Story,'' Venice Biennale (2003) * ''Imagining Tobia'' (2006-2007) * ''Square stories,'' Addis Ababa (2010)
==Awards== <ref name=unleashed/><ref name=wellesley/><ref name=radcliffe/><ref name=wmm>{{cite web |url=http://www.wmm.com/filmcatalog/makers/fm248.shtml |title=Salem Mekuria |publisher=Women Make Movies}}</ref>
===Fellowships=== *Fellowship from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study<ref name=radcliffe>{{cite web |url=https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/people/salem-mekuria |title=SalemMekuria |publisher=Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University}}</ref> *New England Media Fellowship<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.africanfilmny.org/2013/salem-mekuria/ |title=Salem Mekuria |publisher=African Film Festival New York}}</ref> *1991: Massachusetts Artists Foundation Award *1991–1992: Fellowship from the Bunting Institute at Radcliffe College<ref>{{cite web |url=http://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a284034.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110043413/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a284034.pdf |url-status=live |archive-date=November 10, 2016 |title=Appendix A: The Mary Ingraham Bunting Institute of Radcliffe College 1991-92 Fellows |work=Technical Report |page=19 |publisher=Bunting Institute of Radcliffe College}}</ref> *1993: Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest International Artist Residency Fellowship<ref>{{cite book |jstor=10.5749/j.ctttv6tx |title=Questioning African Cinema: Conversations with Filmmakers |url=https://archive.org/details/questioningafric00ukad_0 |url-access=registration |last=Ukadike |first=Nwachukwu Frank |author2=Teshome H. Gabriel |pages=[https://archive.org/details/questioningafric00ukad_0/page/239 239–252] |year=2002|publisher=University of Minnesota Press |isbn=9780816640041 }}</ref> *1995: Rockefeller Foundation Intercultural Media Fellowship *2003–2004: Fulbright Scholar<ref>{{cite web |url=http://raumexperimente.net/en/single/archives-works/archives-works-marathon-day-2/salem-mekuria/## |title=Salem Mekuria |publisher=Institut für Raumexperimente}}</ref>
===Film awards=== *1991: Juror's Citation, Black Maria Film & Video Festival. *1993: ''Sidet: Forced Exile'' received a Silver Apple at the National Educational Film and Video Festival *''Sidet: Forced Exile'' received first place in the National Black Programming Consortium's Prized Pieces and Outstanding Independent film at the New England Film & Video Festival *1997: Director's Citation, Black Maria Film & Video Festival. *''Our Place In The Sun'' was nominated for an Emmy Award<ref name="mvmagazine"/> *''Ye Wonz Maibel (Deluge)'' received first place in the National Black Programming Consortium's Prized Pieces
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == *{{Official website|salemmekuria.com}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mekuria, Salem}} Category:1947 births Category:Living people Category:People from Addis Ababa Category:Macalester College alumni Category:San Francisco State University alumni Category:Wellesley College faculty Category:Ethiopian emigrants to the United States Category:Ethiopian film directors Category:Ethiopian film producers Category:Ethiopian screenwriters
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