Mulugeta Ayene

Mulugeta Ayene is an Ethiopian photojournalist and fine art photographer living in Addis  Ababa. While his work covers a wide range of subjects, recurrent themes in Ayene’s work are social transformations and their effects on identity and social relations. Mulugeta is a photographer for the Associated Press (AP) and works on regular assignments for prominent international organizations such as UNICEF, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to mention a few. His 2018 photography series Ethiopian Spring was exhibited at the 2019-2020 Nobel Peace Prize Exhibition in Oslo, Norway. Ayene was awarded the first prize in the Spot News stories category of the 2020 World Press Photo Contest and was one of the nominees for World Press Photo of the Year and Story of the  Year in 2020. His photos have also won him first prize in the ‘Excellence in Journalism’ competition organized by the Foreign Correspondents Association of Ethiopia (FCAE) in 2011 and 2012, and the first prize in the India-Africa Photo Contest in 2012.