About

artist bio

Zenebech Demissie (b. 1998) is a queer Ethiopian first generation artist residing on Duwamish/Coast Salish land. Currently attending University of Washington with plans to graduate in spring 2021 with a BA in Interdisciplinary Arts and Anthropology of Globalization. Recipient of the Boyer and Elizabeth Bole Gonzales Scholarship in Art and the Seattle Art Museum Emerging Arts Leader Internship (Interrupted by COVID).

My creations are heavily influenced by the exploration of queerness within the African diaspora and the erasure of Black trans identity both on the continent and around the world. Creating art that holds myself and other trans BIPOC through visual storytelling. Visual storytelling to me is visceral, more often than not our stories are appropriated, told by outsiders, and fed back to us at a cost. My work is my experience and one that I hope connects, holds, and heals those who need to see themselves outside of the white gaze.