Aïda Muluneh

Muluneh won the European Union Prize at African Photography Encounters and the CRAF International Award of Photography. In 2020, Muluneh was given the Award for Photographic Curatorship of the Royal Photographic Society.

In 2018, Muluneh collaborated with WaterAid and H&M Foundation to create the Water Life series. The series was first exhibited at David Krut Projects in New York. It was presented at the Women Deliver 2019 Conference in Vancouver, followed by an exhibition at Somerset House in London. This series contains 12 distinct photographs taken at Dallol, Afar, Ethiopia, a rural area in the north with extremely hot weather all year round. After witnessing countless women encountering great difficulty to fetch water for their families due to the lack of clean water near their home, Muluneh was determined to use the power of her artwork to address this contemporary issue globally. Muluneh emphasized how "each piece is a reflection in addressing the impacts of water access as it relates to women's liberation, health, sanitation and education." She pointed out that people failed to realize how privileged they are to have access to clean water compared to people in some parts of the world suffering from water scarcity. Inspired by her Ethiopian culture, Muluneh incorporated traditional elements like clothing and face paint with bold colors into her photographs to raise awareness and advocate for changes in regions with water scarcity.

Her first solo exhibit series, The World is Nine, at David Krut Projects in New York, was created in 2016 and inspired by her grandmother. Muluneh digs deep down to her roots as an Ethiopian and gives birth to a humble 28-piece series of culture, space, politics, history, the present, and future in a modern artistic way, including photographs taken at Leghar train station in Addis Ababa of models with African and Ethiopian complexions, bodies painted in bright bold colors, and traditional African body paint. Muluneh reminisces on a time when she was not yet born but is instilled with her grandmother's words that "The world is a 9, it is never complete and it's never perfect." Muluneh stated, "Each work is a reflection of conscious and sub-conscious manifestations of time and space".

Muluneh feels compelled to change the infamous "single story" told about Africa, which is the story of poverty, despair, and corruption. Every other December since 2010, she has presented Addis Foto Fest (AFF), which has become the largest photography festival in Africa. She aims to use the festival as a catalyst to promote change within the minds of non-Africans. "I wanted to build bridges between photographers around the world, not just Africa," said Muluneh, whose own work has been exhibited in several major exhibitions abroad. At portfolio reviews and panel discussions, she shares what she learned from the African-American mentors who gave her opportunities in photography. And through the exhibitions and awards ceremonies at Addis Foto Fest, she hopes to amplify the voices of up-and-coming storytellers. "The festival is an expansion of my passion," she said. "You can fantasize about reaching your own goals but your legacy is always who you can be proud of, who you have passed the torch to." As Hannah Giorgis put it in The Atlantic, "Muluneh is not modest about the endeavor: 'I am basically taking the past to the future,' she said of her mission to galvanize the work of artistic self-portrayal and help shape a new vision of the continent."

Aïda Muluneh (born 1974) is an Ethiopian photographer and contemporary artist based in Addis Ababa. She does commercial work as well as photojournalism in Addis Ababa and elsewhere.

Muluneh was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 1974. She spent her childhood in Cyprus, Greece, the UK, and Yemen before settling in Canada in 1985. As a teenager, Muluneh attended Western Canada High School in Alberta, Canada. While there, she was on the school's basketball team and had grand aspirations of becoming a basketball star. She also dreamed of becoming a lawyer or excelling in a similarly respectable profession. These dreams took an unexpected turn when her art teacher opened up a disused darkroom for his students and gave her a camera to use. Although Muluneh began shooting photographs in high school, she did not imagine it as a career until her grandfather, who lived in Ethiopia, came to visit her family. He had served in the Ethiopian Air Force but enjoyed painting in his spare time. He saw something in her work and told her to continue to work as an artist, rather than putting off her passion as a hobby. She received her BA in film, radio, and television from Howard University in 2000. After her studies, she worked as a photojournalist at the Washington Post, and since then, her work has been shown in many publications. She has since returned to Ethiopia and is based in Addis Ababa.