Interview with Heddo Siebs, Cluster General Manager of Hyatt Regency Addis Ababa
Addis ARTS Alive (AAA) is a contemporary arts initiative organized by Hyatt Regency Addis Ababa and Prologue BCW in 2020, with the aim to revitalize the art community during and after COVID-19. Several exhibitions are held annually to celebrate some of the most dynamic artists in Addis Ababa. We had a brief interview with Mr. Siebs about this initiative.
Q: How was the Addis ARTS Alive Initiative started?
Heddo: Due to COVID-19, many galleries were closed and big art shows were cancelled. I met with my friend, Yasser Bagersh, and we both agreed to somehow support those artists. If you look at our hotel, it’s quite spacious and could allow people to look at art pieces, providing artists with a platform to make a living, as the hotel is conducive, having enough guests. Therefore, we wanted to share this good fortune with as many artists as possible. That is how the Addis ARTS Alive Initiative started.
Q: So far, with only four exhibitions, the initiative has supported 37 artists. How does that make you feel?
A: It is a win-win situation we have here. Occasionally, when art is put on a show at the hotel, it gives the hotel guests an opportunity to enjoy beautiful art or to make a purchase. Actually, I am also one of those people who collected a few pieces. It is good that we can share and not be ignorant by taking everything for granted. For us, sharing and helping the artists make the most out of our busy hotel is great.
Q: We see #hyattloveslocal on the brochures of the art exhibition. Could you tell us what it means?
A: “Hyatt loves local” stands for our support for the place where we are located, whether we are in Addis or New Delhi or somewhere else in the world. It is important we are not only perceived as a foreign five-star luxury hotel brand. We’re actually part of the community. What we do in our restaurant is we incorporate local concepts that reflect the culture of Ethiopian guests at our hotel, and we also support local farmers and local products. We don’t have to import everything. We look around for local products. These do not stop with food and beverages. It is also with other things like napkins, baskets, etc…We are open-minded, and our owners support us in these aspects. We also have Yenegewb bazaar, which promotes local artisans, and the hotel also collects and displays art works of well-known Ethiopian artists. We also work in collaboration with schools and NGOs to bring us closer together. We are part of the community.
Q: What would you like to add?
A: I would like to thank Yasser and Edom because they do the hard part of curating the artists’ works and putting the exhibition together, and the engineering team of the hotel as well who put the art works on display.
On behalf of the artists’ community, I would like to thank Hyatt Regency Addis Ababa and Prologue BCW for their support, as well as Mr. Siebs, for giving us a brief insight into the initiative. We would like to use this opportunity to remind our readers that the next exhibition will be held on December 4 to 19, celebrating the masters of Ethiopian contemporary art.
