Akka Project

Two lions, one encounter
In this work, Dawit Abebe reflects on the meeting between two symbols that have shaped the histories of Venice and Ethiopia: the Lion of Saint Mark and the Lion of Judah, sitting face to face in silence at the centre of the composition. Stripped of their traditional attributes, which remain at the margins of the work, the two figures create a space where their shared presence becomes the starting point for encounter and reflection.

Inspired by the presence of the lion throughout Venice, Abebe developed this work during his residency in the city, combining postcards with personal images from his walks through Venice. Through collage, his own experience becomes part of the composition, bringing together observation, presence and lived experience.

“Layers of Venice” is on view at AKKA Project Venezia until July 31, 2026.

Windows of Venice ✨

While exploring Venice, was drawn to the city’s windows. Overlooking canals, courtyards, and narrow streets, each one offered a different perspective on the life unfolding beyond it.

Collected throughout his walks, each window becomes a reminder that every view is partial, and that new ways of seeing often begin with a simple shift in position.
This idea also extends to art, understood as a set of openings onto the world: spaces of exchange where contemporary practice meets broader cultural contexts, each offering a different way of looking and understanding.

Inside the world of Murano Glass with

During his time on Murano island, moved through workshops and furnaces, observing the precision, rhythm, and physicality behind each process. Between heat, breath, and molten material, every moment reveals the balance between control and unpredictability that defines Murano’s glass-making tradition.

Spending time alongside master artisans and glass makers offered a closer understanding of a practice where technique is inseparable from memory, and where knowledge continues to pass through observation, repetition, and daily work.

Thank you Dylan for taking the time!

Opened today: “BLACKBOX”, a solo exhibition by Dawit Abebe, currently in residency at AKKA Project Venice.

Working across painting and mixed media, Abebe develops a layered visual language shaped by memory, perception, and the complex intersections between social, political, and human–technology dynamics. In BLACKBOX, the concept of the “black box” becomes both poetic and analytical: a metaphor for memory as fragmented, shifting, and never fully accessible. Through vibrant, stratified compositions, figures, symbols, and text emerge and dissolve, resisting fixed interpretation and inviting viewers into an open field of meaning.

Recurring elements, such as barefoot figures, suspended forms, and textual traces, act as thresholds between personal and collective histories, reflecting on identity, transformation, and the ambiguity of progress.

📅 Open Studio Visit: May 7–9, 2026
Reserve your spot via the ARTSVP link in bio.
📍 On view until June 15, 2026