Open Sessions Artist 2018-20: Tariku Shiferaw when did you decide to become an artist, and why? . “I’ve always been interested in drawing because of my older brother Dagnachew, who was amazing at it at a young age. However, it wasn’t till I was 17 and found myself at a summer art program for high school students held on the California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA). This was simultaneously inspiring and challenging. Upon returning to my regular high school in the Fall, I knew there was nothing else I wanted to do in my future.” - Tariku Shiferaw . Tariku Shiferaw lives and works in New York. His work has been shown at the 2017 Whitney Biennial as part of Occupy Museum’s Debtfair; at Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland; at Addis Fine Art, London. . Open Sessions is a two-year program which provides opportunities for selected artists to contextualize work and ideas through exhibitions, public programs, and critical dialogue, organized by Rosario Güiraldes and Lisa Sigal, Open ...