Maisha Marshall Ende Art for Sale and Sold Prices

b. 1996 -

Maisha Marshall-Ende is a Toronto-based photographer and videographer, born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She was adopted by Canadian parents when she was a few days old. She grew up in Ethiopia, only spending her childhood summers in Canada. She completed her primary and secondary education at an international school based in Addis Ababa and recently obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts from OCAD University in Toronto. Maisha’s work explores Black culture in a western context. Her understanding of race was shaped by growing up in Ethiopia, where dark skin was the rule, not the exception. Ethiopia is an incredibly diverse country. There are a multitude of tribes and cultures, over 80 spoken languages and a deep sense of national pride and identity rooted in the country’s ancient history. That is to say, Maisha did not grow up defining herself as a black woman, but rather as an Ethiopian woman. She never considered her skin color to be her defining feature; it was only one of the many pieces of her ever-evolving identity. Nor did she have a single understanding of ‘blackness’ (in a western context).

Moving to Canada as an adult was a shocking change. No one knew where she came from or the unique experiences that had formed her. Yet her skin color alone was sufficient evidence to categorize and stereotype her. Suddenly, she was a black woman and was expected to conform to a standard she had never even known existed. She turned to her art as a way to make sense of the racially-charged environment she found herself in.

What does it mean to be black in Canada? And is there room within the established understanding of ‘blackness’ for the true breadth of experience that exists? These are questions that five years ago, she never would have thought to ask. Yet now they press on her heart every day. Her art continually leads her to new understandings about race and identity as she attempts to answer these questions. She is Ethiopian. She is also black. This work is a result of her attempts to reconcile these aspects of herself. Thus her project “Frash a Dash” was born.