African Oases in partnership with the Sudanese Cultural Forum, January-June 2022 Picture

In African Oases Maryam Yahia Mohamed explores the diversity and richness of heritage on the African continent, through sculptures and portraits of African women.

About this event

“My project is based on the idea of ​​the African heritage of North and South Africa and its costumes and musical instruments. I admire the ancient African civilization because of its music, ornaments, colours and impressive handicrafts. I am presenting it as a meeting of civilizations and diversity of culture, defining a part of the ancient African arts and reflecting them creatively in this work, filtering them through my eyes and sensitivity. ” “The variety attracted me to being an African-Arab, but it also made me live in worlds of imagination where I weave drawings and sculptures. I was born in Sudan, but I was raised all my life in Libya and from there I developed the traditional imagination of Andalusian and Berber art – adding the magic of the desert and the beauty of the Mediterranean – but my imagination remained intertwined with all the African diversity”. Maryam’s art is a celebration of many of these diverse African cultures: starting with the civilization of Kush or the Funj, of the Pharaohs in addition to the Byzantines in North Africa, the Berber civilization to the pagan civilization and the heritage of all the religions that Africa and the Middle East were the cradle for: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The Sudanese Cultural Forum in Edinburgh creates the space for the Sudanese families and communities to come together to celebrate and highlight the various cultures of Sudan. The Sudanese community is an extremely diverse national group with a rich intangible cultural heritage with 19 major ethnic groups and over 100 languages and dialects. Through our Community Coordinator Azza Dafaalla we were supporting the community’s cultural expression and developing joint exhibitions