The Monthly interviews Sudanese sculptor and artist – Omima Ahmed – Part 1 – Finding Sculpture

Earliest memories of being attracted to the arts?

I was attracted to the arts from a very early age. My older brother’s hobby was drawing. I remember beginning to draw alongside him. I drew everything in my surroundings, trees, birds, people, whatever I saw. I also made small figures using the clay under the trees in our garden.

My passion for sculpting grew following a visit to relatives who lived in a village where there were gentle undulations covered in stones. I was inspired by my cousin, who was using the stones to make exquisite wall sculptures.

Did you get any support at home or at school?

Always. I was encouraged as a child at home and at school. Family support has been a constant. In Sudan I had a big house with a studio, but sculpting is a noisy process. My house was surrounded by the houses of my family. Whatever the noise level, no one ever complained.

Did you do any tertiary study?

Yes. I graduated from the College of Fine and Applied Arts at Sudan University of Science and Technology with a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree in sculpture. It was at university that I realised sculpture was my preferred medium, the one in which I excelled and the one I loved. The opportunity to specialize and study in a university was crucial. It provided a setting with the required facilities. I was surrounded by other young artists pursuing their craft. We helped and supported each other, exchanged and engaged with each other’s ideas. We grew together.

It was a stimulating environment and an exciting and creative period. However, choosing to be a sculptor brought problems beyond anything I ever anticipated.

During my first year at university, the department that housed student sculptures experienced a break-in by a religious extremist bent on the destruction of our creations. They believed that the sculptures were forbidden by Islam and would lead to polytheism. It was a violent reminder that a significant sector of Sudan’s ruling Islamists were opposed to artistic creations and practices.

Extreme Islamists adhere to a version of Islam imbued with wrong ideas and misunderstandings of what in its essence is a religion of tolerance, love and peace.

However, we students remained committed to our art and determined to continue its pursuit, despite the challenges and indeed the danger. We felt we were a movement strengthened by our unity and solidarity. Sadly, we could not prevent the targeting of individuals.

One year after graduation one of my sculptures was attacked and broken. Subsequently, my home was broken into and two smaller sculptures in my studio were damaged. Before the most recent outbreak of war in Sudan, all sculptors became victims of Islamist targeting.