Meet the Artist

Betiel

Ghirmay Araia

Drawing and Painting

“My work explores how Eritrean identity continues and evolves within the diaspora through material and making. Working across sculpture, painting, and mixed media, I draw from personal experience and cultural practices to reflect on how heritage is carried and reshaped over time.Using materials such as clay, textiles, and natural dyes, I create work that connects to place, community, and lived experience. I also explore portraiture and storytelling, focusing on family, folklore, and how identity is shaped through both personal and cultural influences.

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Betiel Ghirmay is a Toronto-based multidisciplinary artist working across sculpture, painting, and mixed media. Her practice is rooted in her Eritrean heritage, exploring how identity is shaped through material, memory, and lived experience. Drawing from personal and familial narratives, her work reflects on cultural continuity, transformation, and the ways heritage is carried across contexts. Betiel’s work has been featured in exhibitions such as the Black Art Fair at Nia Centre, NExT The Future of Art at Meridian Arts Centre, and Fostering Connection, organized by the Gardiner Museum. She is currently completing her BFA in Drawing and Painting at OCAD University.
OCAD U - Faculty of Art
Drawing and Painting
Major In progress

Painting Ceramics Mixed-Media

2026, Rooted, curated by Anthony Gebrehiwot,
STACKT Market, Toronto, ON
2025, OCADU x FUZE Caribbean Art Fair
Toronto, ON
2025, Crafting Our Legacy, curated by Kamorudeen Aruna,
Rivoil, Toronto, ON
2025, NExT The Future Of Art, curated by VIBE Arts
Meridian Arts Centre, Toronto, ON
2025, Through Her Eyes, curated by Adrian Hayles
Worth Gallery Toronto, ON
2025, I And I, Wanna Rule My Destiny, curated by Suzette Benoit,
Old Town Hall, Newmarket, ON
2024, Echoes Of Eritrea, curated by Ranthony Samba
Nuzamuse Studio, Toronto, ON
2024, Fostering Connections, curated by the Gardiner Museum
Riverdale Hub Gallery, Toronto, ON
2024, Expression of Belonging
Centre for Social Innovation, Toronto, ON
2024, Gezana, curated by Midyan Samson
Shvrk Studio Queen W, Toronto, ON
2024, Family Matters, curated by Ilene Sova
Ada Slaight Gallery, Toronto, ON
2024, Rights To Freedom
OCADU The Great Hall, Toronto, ON
2024, A Black Art Fair, curated by Alica Hall and Anthony Gebrehiwot
Nia Centre For The Arts, Toronto, ON
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