Saturday, November 8, 2025 (4pm)
(RE)COVERING IN MOVEMENT
Artist and Curator Betelhem Makonnen in attendance
Co-presented by Aurora Picture Show and Houston Cinema Arts Festival
Location: Aurora Picture Show – 5601A Navigation Blvd.
Free Admission

Aurora and Houston Cinema Arts Festival co-present (Re)covering in Movement, a selection of experimental videos from Ethiopia’s Addis Video Art Festival. Curated by artist, curator, and educator Betelhem Makonnen, the program brings together artists with a shared inquiry: How do we endure loss and transformation, and find grounding amid chaos? Ethiopian artists including Helina Metaferia, Mulugeta Gebrekidan and Kibrom Gebremedhin, explore tensions of movement and stillness, belonging and estrangement felt as Addis Ababa undergoes voracious, large-scale redevelopment akin to many sister world capital cities. In parallel to this displacement, artists Jessica A. Rodriguez, Shubhangi Singh and Riikka Haapasaari among others, grapple with contemporary crises—wars, economic collapse, climate apocalypse—asking if art can recover our stories and be a healing device. As Makonnen notes, while these artists adjust and re-adjust the lens, movement and grounding become essential processes of daily life; framing and reframing turn into an effort to heal and recuperate. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Betelhem Makonnen.

Image: Betelhem Makonnen, (W)here is Here, 2014. Image courtesy of Addis Video Art Festival