The newly unveiled works of Sosena Solomon mark the first time a commissioned contemporary film series has been on permanent display in the Arts of Africa galleries of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Philly filmmaker’s 12-part series encourages viewers to connect with African cultural landmarks as they explore the galleries.
“They’ve never done this before,” said Sosena, a Philly filmmaker and CCP adjunct instructor. “It’s very exciting to know that this is the first time that the Met has engaged in films in the Africa galleries in this way. This is as permanent as their artifacts.”
Created in partnership with World Monuments Fund and the Met’s new Arts of Africa galleries, the 12 films highlight important African cultural landmarks in sub-Saharan Africa. Sosena directed and filmed the entire series over the span of two years and covered landmarks from Great Zimbabwe to Tsodilo Hills, Botswana.
The idea, Sosena explained, was to provide cultural content that connects to the physical artifacts in the galleries.
“By displaying the architecture, the rituals involved, the caretakers, the local communities, we wanted the Met viewers to go on this journey to these really miraculous places,” she said. “I get to share this very sacred experience with the world. To have that kind of engagement and to see the response of people really feeling the impact of the films, I’m really proud. It’s just magical.”
Sosena was born in Nairobi, Kenya, and moved to the United States at a young age. Her parents are from Ethiopia, and she grew up in a traditional Ethiopian home in Maryland before moving to Philadelphia for undergraduate studies.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in Television Production from Temple University and went on to earn a Master of Fine Arts degree in Social Documentary Film from the School of Visual Arts in New York. She has been making documentaries for the past 15 years.
When not creating stunning films for the Met, she teaches Digital Video Production at CCP and she lectures the University of Pennsylvania. Sosena previously taught at University of the Arts in Philly.
“I came to Philly for undergrad and never left,” Sosena said. “It’s so hard to leave Philly. It’s such a great town, and it’s such a great place to cultivate the practice (of filmmaking) because there is a really great film community here that’s not New York and it’s not LA, but you can access those places from here.”
The collaborative critique sessions and hands-on approach of her education inspired her to get into teaching. Sosena credits her professors and mentors—many of whom are now her colleagues—for elevating her craft.
“I try to cultivate that in the classroom,” she said. “All of my classes are very hands on and project based. We are on a journey through making, and I find that the students always grow. And that’s what I love to cultivate in my classroom.”
She took a moment to marvel at the talented students she teaches at CCP.
“The students are so engaged and really want to tell very particular stories that matter to them that are part of their environment,” Sosena said. “There’s a real vigor. They come in, and they have stories to tell.”
To her, filmmaking is not only a tool for sharing information, but also “a way to go on a journey with people.” That’s something Sosena tries to impart to her students and something she feels she achieved with her series at the Met.
“I feel like I gave the world something with this,” she said. “I think that’s why we become storytellers and creators and artists. Because we want to tell the world something and to show the world something.”
Learn more about Sosena Solomon and her work on Forbes Africa, Essence, and metmuseum.org.
