Aron Simeneh is a photographer based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His work mainly consists of portraits and documentary photography. Simeneh has been under the mentorship of Aida Muluneh, In addition, he has trained at the prestigious Nuku Studio in Accra, which was led by acclaimed Ghanian photographer Nii Obodai.
Simeneh’s work focuses on revealing and portraying the untold stories around him and finding a new way to display his country’s unique music and culture. Simeneh was part of a collective of local Ethiopian photographers under the name PIE (Photography in Ethiopia). Through the work he produced within this collective, Simeneh was able to showcase his works at notable exhibitions including New York Photoville, the 1:54 Art Fair in London, and two of Africa’s most prominent photography festivals the Bamako Biennial in Mali and the Joburg Art Fair in South Africa, curated by Aida Muluneh.
Simeneh had his first solo exhibition featuring his take on traditional Ethiopian dances titled Still in Motion and received second place in the 2016 Addis Foto Fest portfolio review. Most recently, Simeneh was invited to participate in the New York Times portfolio review in 2017 and selected as one of the eleven emerging photographers. For the past three years he has been working as the official photographer for the prime minister of Ethiopia and documenting the changes and activities in the country.