Ermias Ekube

Ermias Ekube is an Eritrean–Swedish contemporary visual artist born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He studied at the Addis Ababa University’s Alle School of Fine Arts and Design, graduated in 1990. In 1994, he co-founded the Asmara School of Fine Arts, where he taught and mentored emerging Eritrean artists for many years before relocating to Nairobi, Kenya, in 2012.
Merging figurative and conceptual approaches, Ekube’s work draws on memory, personal history, and reflective observation. Through simple objects, signs, and gestures, he crafts layered narratives that explore migration, identity, and the fluidity of lived experience. Poetry forms an integral part of his creative process, often accompanying his exhibitions as an extension of his visual language.
Ekube has exhibited widely across Africa and Europe. Recent exhibitions include Memories are we are stories(Ed Cross, London, 2024); Altering Memories (Almas Art Foundation at The Africa Centre, London, 2024); Memories are we are memories (Ed Cross, London, 2024); Foreign Lands (Ed Cross, London, 2023); The Process of Changing a Meaning That Matters or Not (Oskarshamn Kulturhuset, Sweden, 2019); En gränslös blick (Norrköpings Konstmuseum, Sweden, 2018); and Whose Lives Matter More? (Malhuset, Oslo, 2017). He has also presented earlier projects in Asmara, Addis Ababa, Nairobi, Vienna, Italy, Paris, and Milan. His works are held in notable public and private collections worldwide.
In 2024, Ermias Ekube: Memories are we are memories, a survey publication on his life and work, was released by the Almas Art Foundation. That same year, he completed a residency at dot.ateliers in Accra, Ghana, where several works were acquired by founder Amoako Boafo. His work is also held in significant private collections internationally, including those of Farah Fonkenell, Majed Halawi, Anthony Athaide, as well as several institutions in Sweden.
Ekube currently lives and works in Kalmar, Sweden, and is represented by Ed Cross Gallery (London).
Source: https://www.ermiasekube.com/cv/