(Amharic: እሰይ, issay, [ih•SEY])

In preparation for our first issue, I spent time meditating on this word. This word, sung to the heavens at every moment of achievement, reminds me of my kin. Transplanted across seas onto hostile lands, we cry “እሰይ” when the roots we’ve planted begin to bear fruit. This word, whispered like venom when karmic retribution finds its host, is the relief of overcoming. It’s a reminder of the State, of gatekeepers and arbiters of power whose grip is pried open by the resistance of those they try to hold in bondage. 

For issue 1 of ISSAY! Magazine, we asked for contributions that speak to this indivisible joy and struggle. Beyond the bleached walls of galleries, away from the gaze of establishments, in the crevices and shadows–what work is happening? What has sprung forth is a collection that spans disciplines, localities, and conventions. 

This issue honours the kind of abundance that is born from, and in spite of, conditions of scarcity. The artists featured ground themselves and their practices in this–the impulse to persist. Nikki Celis and Chelsea Dwarika anchor this issue as we navigate with them the inherited confluence of tenderness and strife. Here, we are witness to the sort of creation that is built upon histories passed down from mothers, mother tongues, and motherlands.   

Publishing contemporary artworks and art criticism is first and foremost, for us, an act of conservation. We are embarking on a process of uncovering, recovering, and archiving neglected knowledge. Through this, our hope is to stay grounded in art making that is expansive, rebellious, and pushes culture forward. 

Calling out to those who create in the spirit of defiance, we toast and say, “ISSAY!”

— Elsha Yeyesuswork Editor In Chief