Eva Birhanu

CAAF Residency, July – August 2021

Eva’s work continuously questions and challenges racism in everyday life so when she discovered that 200 years ago, the remnants of Black slave hair were used to stuff furniture, she wanted to tell that story. Eva’s residency will involve creating an installation that imitates the home; exposing subtleties of racism and white supremacy ingrained in our living environments. The entire environment will integrate the use of Black hair in everyday objects—from an armchair to a hair pick.

Through this project, Eva’s aim is to bring light to a dark history present in Western society and to remind viewers how recent this history is, and the effects it still has on the daily life of Black people across the world.

Eva is an interdisciplinary artist working in Calgary, Alberta, Treaty 7 Territory. Born in Canada to immigrant parents from Denmark and Ethiopia, she focuses on identity and race in her work.

We acknowledge the generous support of the Province of Alberta through Alberta Foundation for the Arts, and of Calgary Arts Development.