• Many Sudanese artists have relocated to Kenya due to war and dictatorship
• The Rest Residency Festival has provided a home for their skills to live on
Image: KARI MUTU
The Rest Residency Festival at the Circle Art Gallery is presenting the multi-disciplinary work of Sudanese artists recently displaced to Kenya due to the war in Sudan.
In a collaboration between The Rest Residency and Circle Art Gallery, the 21 painters, photographers, musicians and filmmakers exemplify the resilience of Sudanese creatives and cultural activists despite the upheavals of war and forced relocation.
A general theme of loss, trauma and nostalgia permeates the dozens of artworks at the show. “This exhibition represents an outcry from Sudan's cultural sector to rest the guns and to stop the war immediately,” said a statement by Rahiem Shadad, curator of the exhibition.
In April 2023, war broke out in Khartoum between factions of armed groups, displacing more than 8 million Sudanese internally and into neighbouring countries.
Among the artists at The Rest Festival is Mohamed Ahmed. In his series of paintings, titled Volatile Seeds, he works to find connections between different communities of Sudan.
His impressionist pictures have colourful female figures in flowing dresses, often in a state of movement. He uses bright colours to “reflect the brighter side” he said, despite civil conflict and adverse psychological conditions.
Painter and filmmaker Issam Hafiez has been in and out of Kenya since the 1980s, exhibiting at various galleries and featuring in Circle Art’s annual Art Auction East Africa. Painting has long been a way for him to express the emotional devastation of his war-torn country. His expressionist images of Khartoum, done in black, deep reds and sandy yellow colours, and semi-abstract black-and-white portraits, exude a feeling of sorrow and sadness.
Photographer Altayeb Morhal has captured many different places in Sudan over the years. For this exhibition, he lovingly reflects on his family with pictures of their home, nostalgic images of his mother and sisters at their everyday activities, and his favourite personal items. When fighting broke out last year, the family fled to the countryside, while he chose to come to Kenya.
Muna Mutasim, who arrived in Kenya a year ago, is a multifaceted artist, interior and fashion designer. For The Rest, she painted on rectangular wooden writing boards similar to those used by students of Islamic classes. Through her paintings of people, florals and the life of women, she narrates personal experiences, presents the resilience of her fellow citizens and retains a belief in the return to happier times.
Mohamed 'Cupa' Alhassan is a renowned digital artist. His pictures focus on the psychological and social effects of war on the youth, whom he calls the ‘Generation of Displacement’. His illustrations and cardboard sculptures are inspired by real-life stories.
One in-picture text, ‘I will not tell you about the horror of what I saw, I will tell only God everything,’ aptly encapsulates the trauma experienced in conflict zones. “My artistic voice speaks for children who struggle to be heard,” says the artist’s statement.
Amani Azhari’s installation has large canvas paintings of contemporary women seated in relaxed poses. The canvases, which are draped over a sofa and flow onto the gallery floor, bring to the fore the special solidarity of women during times of war.
From the cinematography side are screenings of movies by various Sudanese filmmakers. The short films explore different aspects of the diaspora living, such as an online wedding, restarting life in a new country, and inner turmoil that affects everyone regardless of ethnicity.
Over the years, many Sudanese artists have relocated to Kenya as civil wars and dictatorship regimes made life difficult for creatives, young activists and all people in general.
Eltayeb Dawelbait, based in Kenya for more than 20 years, is known for abstract faces etched onto reclaimed woodwork. Yasser Ali Mohammed, in Kenya since 2007, often incorporates old Nubian symbols and motifs in his artwork.
The Rest project was founded by art curator Rahiem Shadad and aims to support Sudanese artists with the space and opportunity to continue their practice. Shadad, a mechanical engineer turned art curator, established the Downtown Gallery in Khartoum and has worked to promote Sudanese contemporary art throughout the war in various countries.
The community of Sudanese artists in Kenya show remarkable resilience in keeping alive their cultural heritage despite the rigours of asylum living. Many of them expressed appreciation for the welcoming environment they have found here, which has helped them settle in and adjust.
The Rest Festival is one of several recent Sudanese art shows in Nairobi. Echoes of Khartoum in July at Under the Swahili Tree restaurant showcased six recently relocated artists.
Anthropology of Detachment at Circle Art Gallery in March 2024 was a display of paintings and sculptures curated by Mahasin Ismail. Ismail was a university art student and a curator at the Jaloos Art Space in Khartoum before she, her mother and sister made the difficult journey to Kenya last year.