Five Citizens (Denbernesh)

Denbernesh emigrated from Ethiopia to the United States in 1982. She owns and operates a small store in Seattle’s Central District called The Blue Nile that functions as an informal community center for Ethiopians. Her store is packed to the rafters with basic ingredients for Ethiopian food, hundreds of CDs by Ethiopian musicians, and the beautiful hand-woven clothing of her native land. In addition, Denbernesh organizes Ethiopian fashion shows that feature traditional dances to keep the heritage alive.  

Denbernesh’s symbolic portrait incorporates her love of rivers (especially the Blue Nile), bright colors, traditional Ethiopian weaving, and culture. The letters in the background spell “Ethiopia” in one of the world’s oldest alphabets, Amharic. The bands are adaptions of talismanic symbols used in healing rituals.  

Words Denbernesh lives by: “Don’t complain. Do the best I can and don’t stress myself. Try to appreciate every day, good or bad, take what comes. If I’m okay, then I can survive and find a solution. Don’t worry.”