One of my best memories of Sudan was visiting Mojo gallery - a small but beautiful building harbouring a vast amount Sudanese art in the country’s capital. I spent hours taking in the different artwork on the walls, observing local artists coming and going and sharing coffee with the owner as we spoke of how creativity is a part of our culture.
I am Sudanese by blood. That being true, I have so much to learn about Sudan. A thought that often enters my mind, especially when I visit. If you don’t know much about this beautiful North African country then you are missing out.
Egypt and Morocco are the most well known and visited countries in North Africa, (which is why I tend to highlight Egypt as a part of my heritage.. it is sometimes easier) but did you know that Sudan has more pyramids than Egypt? That you can scuba-dive in the Red Sea from Port Sudan? That the Sudanese are known for their warmth, friendliness, food and landscape.
As much as I love to enjoy Sudan through all the above, what I am most curious about is Sudanese art and the artists behind the Arab-African work. Below, are some of the artists whose work I admire and have allowed me to really believe that my North African heritage might be the reason I am artistic.
Ibrahim El-Salahi
Ibrahim El-Salahi is a Sudanese painter, public server and diplomat, born in Omdurman in Sudan 1930. He attended the Slade School of Fine Art in London in the mid-1950s. Described as the ‘foremost visual artists of the Khartoum School, considered as part of African Modernism and the pan-Arabic Hurufiyya art movement’.
Galal Yousif
Galal Yousif Goly is a painter and muralist, well-known for the murals he created during the Sudanese Revolution. I love his effortless style in his watercolour pieces in particular, capturing 3imas and tawbs so beautifully.
Website: https://twitter.com/galalgoly
Amira Rahim
I first came across Amira’s work in Dubai, I’ll never forget seeing such a vibrant depiction of two camels on long canvases. Amira is an artist, coach, and mentor for artists who want to reverse-engineer their paintings and sell more art.
Website: https://www.amirarahim.com/home/
Huda Hashim
Huda is a Sudanese-American 3D architect, designer and traditional painter living in Oklahoma City whose work you may have seen during the Sudanese Revolution of 2018/19.
Website: https://manzilibyhuda.com/
Waleed Warag
Waleed Warag was born in 1961 in Omdurman, Sudan. He graduated from The University Of Sudan School Of Fine Arts and Ceramics in 1995. Waleed’s art is inspired by the idea of movement found in the Chinese and Japanese calligraphy.
Mohammed Omer Khalil
Born in 1936, Mohammed Omer Khalil studied at the School of Fine and Applied Art in Khartoum and then studied fresco painting and print-making in Florence.. spanning 40 years of painting and print-making.
Hello! Salaam! I’m Shaimaa, a Dutch-born Sudanese-Egyptian creative and traveler based in London. I left medical training in 2022 and gone have down the tech route. Here, I share my artwork and creative travel adventures, for the artsy wanderlust out there. Enjoy :)
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