Ethiopian-born artist Elisabeth Atnafu will be the artist-in-residence during the "Feed Your Spirit" holiday gift weekend.

As part of the "No Ordinary Christmas" gospel celebration showcasing Bermuda's finest talent, as well as a star-studded cast of international performers from Broadway, her work will be auctioned at the 'No Ordinary Christmas" Gala event tonight.

The event has been produced by the Relavations Group and sponsored in part by the Bermuda Department of Tourism.

Ms Atnafu has been working and exhibiting both in the US and internationally for more than 25 years.

The influences in her numerous solo exhibitions are rich and varied, including traditional Ethiopian, Central and West African arts and some of the great modernist traditions of late 19th and 20th Century Europe.

She has shown at the Smithsonian Museum of African Art and Howard University Gallery, in Washington, DC; Arti et Amicitiae, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Malmo Kunsthalle, in Sweden; Whitechapel Gallery, in London and the Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York.

Her work is in the permanent collections of the Paris Museum of Prints and Photography, the October Gallery in London, the Modern Museum of Art in Guadalajara, Mexico, as well as corporations throughout the world.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Howard University she moved to New York and received the United Nations' International Women's Artist Award.

"I come from a tradition of storytelling through painting and sculpture," she told The Royal Gazette. "My artistic purpose is to participate in the life experiences of people in my community and translate these into an art form that brings a story to all who see it.

"In this way, I can be both artist and social commentator." She has exhibited all around the world, but has never had the pleasure of visiting the Island, so she said: "I'm looking forward to coming."

For more information on the artis: www.elizabethatnafu.com and on the weekend's activities see www.christmasinbermuda.com.