IMBYA – Addis Ababa
I am because you are @ Addis Ababa
Audiovisual performance by Alessandro Olla, 2019
IMBYA is an immersive audiovisual performance that intertwines sound and visual landscapes recorded in Ethiopia, with a particular focus on Addis Ababa — a symbolic capital of rapidly expanding modernity. Through a sensory journey combining real sounds and images, the performance explores the transformation of the urban landscape and the shifting acoustic and social identities that animate the city.
The project emerges from a long-term field research process developed through five artistic residencies at the Italian Cultural Institute in Addis Ababa between 2010 and 2022. Over more than a decade, Alessandro Olla has documented the city’s metamorphoses, translating them into an intense, layered, and deeply engaging audiovisual narrative.
IMBYA takes the form of a live performative device in which video and sound are processed and mixed in real time. The soundscape is not a mere background but an active agent of meaning and relation, transformed alongside the visual element through live processing. This dynamic interplay becomes a resonant field for the social and identity-driven dynamics of an urban context in constant flux, suspended between tradition and innovation, memory and oblivion, physical space and sensory perception.
The performance invites the audience into deep listening, expanded vision, and an immersive experience that is simultaneously political, aesthetic, and experiential, offering an unconventional perspective on the sonic and visual transformations of a rapidly growing metropolis.
Technical rider – IMBYA – I Am Because You Are
Duration: 40/50 minutes
Format: Live audio/video performance
Technical requirements
Audio
• Preferred setup: quadraphonic system with 4 full-range loudspeakers + 2 high-quality subwoofers
• Adapted versions available in stereo with 1 subwoofer
Video
• Video projector with a minimum brightness of 5000 ANSI lumens
• Projection screen or clear, uniform wall (white or neutral)
• HDMI cable of sufficient length to connect the projector to the video/control station
Additional notes
• Performance space with partial or full blackout conditions
• Adequate distance between the technical station and the projection area is recommended for proper audiovisual balance
• The artist can adapt the technical setup according to the characteristics of the hosting venue
Setup and soundcheck
• Required time: minimum 3 hours for setup, technical tests, and soundcheck
