Salem Mekuria

Salem Mekuria (born 1947) is an Ethiopian-born independent filmmaker, video artist and educator living in the United States.

Life and work Mekuria was born in Addis Ababa. She was educated in Axum and in Addis Ababa where she visited the Empress Menen School for Girls and later started studies in architecture at the Haile Selassie I University. She moved to the United States in 1967 where she studied political science and journalism at Macalester College. Mekuria earned a MA in education technology and media production from San Francisco State University in 1978. She later worked at the WGBH TV station in Boston, starting as a secretary but eventually becoming a producer for the Nova series. Mekuria is the Luella LaMer Professor of Women's Studies in the Art department at Wellesley College.

She writes, produces and directs films and video installations related to Ethiopia. Her work has appeared at the 50th Venice Biennale, the CinemAfrica Film Festival in Sweden, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the National Museum of African Art of the Smithsonian Institution, documenta 11 in Berlin and the New York African Film Festival in New York City.

Fellowships Fellowship from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study New England Media Fellowship 1991: Massachusetts Artists Foundation Award 1991–1992: Fellowship from the Bunting Institute at Radcliffe College 1993: Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest International Artist Residency Fellowship 1995: Rockefeller Foundation Intercultural Media Fellowship 2003–2004: Fulbright Scholar

Film awards 1991: Juror's Citation, Black Maria Film & Video Festival. 1993: Sidet: Forced Exile received a Silver Apple at the National Educational Film and Video Festival Sidet: Forced Exile received first place in the National Black Programming Consortium's Prized Pieces and Outstanding Independent film at the New England Film & Video Festival 1997: Director's Citation, Black Maria Film & Video Festival. Our Place In The Sun was nominated for an Emmy Award Ye Wonz Maibel (Deluge) received first place in the National Black Programming Consortium's Prized Pieces