Meklit Hadero is a singer, musician, arts organizer and Director & Resident Artist at the Red Poppy Art House in San Francisco. Born in Ethiopia, Meklit has since lived in twelve cities, on three continents, and brings her international/intercultural experience to all her creative work.
Meklit considers herself an 'artist-musician,' bringing together visual arts with music whenever possible, and working interdisciplinarily and collaboratively to create fully rounded performance experiences.
As a solo artist writing original compositions, Meklit draws on her jazz, folk, and Ethiopian roots to create her songs. Lyrically focused with intimate, spare arrangements, the music imparts a kind of tenderness towards life, a sweetness that soars.
In late December, 2007, Meklit released a limited edition pressing of her first recording titled "eight songs...." An incredible group of Bay Area visual artists, including Adrian Arias, Caleb Duarte, Juan Carlos Quintana, Todd Brown, Michelle Muennig, Tania Padilla, Clara Cheeves, Ella Noe, Ashlee Ferlito, Carlos Castillo, Indira Urrutia, Luis Vasquez-Gomez, and Meklit herself came together to handpaint/create the covers for this edition. Each individual album is a unique piece of artwork, drawing the visual arts and music into a single, cohesive framework. This original press is sold out, and the current press features covers designed and silkscreened by Clara Cheeves, a San Francisco Mission District based visual artist.
Meklit has been commissioned to write music by the San Francisco Foundation Fund for Artists, as well as by the Brava Theater Company. She has been a resident artist at the Red Poppy Art House since 2006, and will be engaging in residencies at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and the De Young Museum within the next year.
Meklit has been profiled three times by the San Francisco Chronicle, including a full length feature published in June of 2008. Additionally, she has been profiled by the quarterly arts journal Hoboeye, and has interviewed/performed on the KPFA morning show. She performs regularly in the Bay Area.
"Meklit Hadero is.... an artist giant in the early stages. She sings of fragility, hope and self-empowerment, and exudes all three. What's irresistible, above all, is her cradling, sensuous, gentle sound. She is stunning." -SF Chronicle
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