In 2015 the Shenkar College in Ramat Gan had its first fine art graduating class exhibition. Serge, who serves on Shenkar’s Board of Governors, visited the exhibition and was immediately captivated by the work of young Ethiopian-born artist Nirit Takele. Of the 5 works she presented, Serge immediately acquired 4 and urged the artist to keep the 5th for her own collection. He later encouraged Nirit to apply to the Fresh Paint art fair, where she exhibited in 2017 and sold works to the START collection and several other important collections advised by Serge. That same year, after a strategic conversation about introducing Nirit as a leading voice in the ascending market for African contemporary art, Africa First by Serge Tiroche initiated and funded a residency for Nirit in her homeland, Ethiopia, in collaboration with Addis Fine Art, Ethiopia’s leading contemporary art gallery, which continues to represent Nirit. The residency culminated with her first international exhibition, “Flying with Angels,” at AFA Project Space in London. In 2023, Serge supported the new curator of the Negev Museum in Beer Sheva, Ron Bartos, in presenting Takele’s first museum solo. To commemorate the first year since October 7, Serge commissioned Nirit in 2024 to produce a site-specific work for the Hive project in his Jaffa Showroom. The entire work, made of 25 small canvases, was placed in the prestigious collection of The Melanie and Matthew Bronfman Family Foundation in NY.
