Sudan has been in the news a lot in recent years – most often because of war, violence, and conflict. Many people might be surprised to learn that the country was once much better known for its internationally acclaimed artists – people like Ibrahim el-Salahi, who was the focus of an exhibition at the Tate Modern in 2013. In a panel discussion about Sudan and the arts during the School of Public Policy's annual conference, the view from here: artists // public policy, Ahmed Al-Shahi, co-founder of the Sudanese Programme at St. Antony's College, University of Oxford, spoke about his own experience in Sudan that dates back to the 1960s. This was a time when people like el-Salahi, Husain Sharif, Ahmed Shibrain, and Kamala Ishag were attracting worldwide attention. Sudan is a very different place now.
Freedom of expression – including artistic expression – has been severely curtailed in Sudan since 1989 when Omar Hassan al-Bashir seized power in a military coup. "Abstract art has been especially shunned by the current regime," explained Al-Shahi, "because it makes you think." He went on to say that although there is some tolerance for Islamic art, the regime considers most artists to be threatening people.
Sudanese cartoonist Khalid Albaih pointed out that it is not just the Sudanese government that does not appreciate artists. Many ordinary people are also uninterested. "The understanding of the importance of art is not there. They don't know how to read it," he said. Albaih said that most Sudanese people were also uninterested in their history. "If it is not Arab or Islamic history, it is ignored," he said.
Albaih went on to describe the "huge generation gap" that exists in Sudan today between younger people who are restless and eager to express themselves, and an older generation that has lived through decades of war and wants nothing more than to live a normal live. In the face of censorship and lacking financial and logistical resources, many younger artists have turned to social media and Facebook to work and publish online. Some younger artists are expressing themselves through the "huge" and growing street art movement in Khartoum.
Enikő Nagy, a social pedagogue and author of the book Sand in my Eyes: Sudanese Moments, noted that Sudan is a "huge huge space," and said that the capital (Khartoum) "cannot stand for the whole country." In addition to censorship and self-censorship, she said that the lack of infrastructure was a real obstacle for many artists. "They cannot get materials, exchange with other artists is limited, there are not many exhibits," she said. Nagy has focused in her work on "the moments of daily life that counter the prevailing narrative that Sudan is another African country that is poor and needs help."
Nagy spoke about the rich diversity and identity of Sudanese cultures, noting that many of the elites in Khartoum were unaware of this diversity and the richness of Sudanese history, preventing them from benefiting from it. Albaih and Al-Shahi agreed. "There is a need," said Nagy, "for Sudanese to reclaim their culture."