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Rashid Diab was the first in a stream of brilliant Sudanese artists who came flooding into Kenya in the early 1990s.
He has been a way-shower ever since. Experimenting with technical skills that he’s acquired and mastered over the years, his awesome etchings have come to Nairobi’s Red Hill Gallery in an exhibition entitled A Trajectory of Etchings – 1980-2000.
A trip up to Hellmuth and Erica Rossler-Musch’s ever-green gallery is well worth the trek, if for no other reason than to meet two of the most hospitable art lovers around.
But then, to see the Gallery’s pearly white walls covered in a rich array of Rashid’s colourful etchings is all the more reason to come and see.
They are mainly abstract works, but one can see so many influences surfacing through his swirls of colours, two-dimensional lines, and calligraphic curves that disclose his Sufi upbringing.
There are more than 50 etchings, all of which are beautifully framed and displayed in geometric clusters of both miniature gems of genius dressed in sepia and ochre ink as well as larger works suggesting symbolic forms such as are found in northern Sudan, in the ancient murals of Meroetic and Kush civilisations.
The venerable Sudanese artist flew in from Khartoum, especially for his exhibition opening last Sunday, November 20, having been preceded by his son Yafil, who prepared the way for Nairobi to see facets of his father’s art other than the style of painting that he is currently passionate about and which we have seen in recent exhibitions of his work in places like Tribal Gallery, One Off, and Gravitart.
“We met Yafil more than a year ago when he came and suggested that we have an exhibition of his father’s etchings,” Hellmuth told BDLife shortly before the exhibition opened.
“We were impressed with the etchings, especially as they cover a span of 20 years, but we couldn’t hold the exhibition until now.”
There had been many steps involved in bringing Yalif’s idea to fruition, especially as he had to return to Khartoum and the process of curating the show had to proceed online.
The fact that none of the etchings had ever been seen before in Kenya made the preparation process all the more exciting for Hellmuth who relished the challenge.
But once he’d selected his favourites from the hundreds that Yalif had shared, Hellmuth insisted on framing all but ten of them to show them in their best light.
“My father was impressed to see the exhibition as he had never seen so many of the works shown so well in one space,” Yalif said.
Rashid himself hadn’t discovered his passion for printmaking, specifically for etching until he was introduced to the technique in Spain, at the Complutense University of Madrid where he had been awarded a fellowship to attend.
That discovery led to his getting advanced degrees in painting and etchings, including a PhD.
But after years of working as a scholar and professor of fine art, he felt compelled to return to his homeland where he has been sharing his knowledge, skills, wisdom and experience with his fellow Sudanese ever since.
In 2000 when he returned to Khartoum, he established the Dara Art Gallery. And several years after that, the Rashid Diab Art Centre was born.
“As we don’t have a national art gallery in Sudan, the Centre has played an important role,” Yalif said. It has also given Rashid the visibility required for the world to recognise his talent and leadership role in the arts of Sudan.
For instance, he won the King Juan Carlos of Spain award for Excellence in Service. He has also won ambassadorial status from the Japanese and British governments for his concern for peace and the environment.
He’s also exhibited his art all over the Middle East and Europe.
So, while he hasn’t lost his passion for printmaking, he had to put it on hold while shifting artistically as well as socially and culturally from his Spanish to his Sudanese circumstance.
“I’m concerned about the role of women in our society, which is why they appear so frequently in my art,” Rashid told BDLife at the opening of his first solo exhibition at Red Hill.
But it is thanks to his son, who discovered hundreds of his etchings while archiving his father’s art that we have the opportunity to see this treasure trove of an earlier phase of Rashid’s artistic ‘trajectory.’
A singer, songwriter, and ethnomusicologist, Alsarah is a self-proclaimed practitioner of East African music, inspired by songs and cultures of Africa and the Middle East. Throughout her career, she performed as a band member of Sounds of Tarab, in addition to producing songs and albums under her stage name, and her band with her sister, Alsarah and the Nubatones. Furthermore, she was also featured in the documentary “Beats of the Antonov” in 2014.
Alsarah was born Khartoum, Sudan in 1982. As a child, her parents worked as activists at a time when many encouraged citizens to vote in the 1986 elections. Following the coup d’etat in 1989, however, her family fled the country to Yemen before the nation’s civil war forced them to relocate to Boston, the United States in 1994.
At this point in life, Alsarah turned to music for solace. In fact, music has been a big part of her childhood, with the very first music that spoke to her being played during her family’s activism in Sudan. Growing up, she studied ethnomusicology at Wesleyan University before relocating to Brooklyn, in New York, where became lead singer of the Zanzibari band Sounds of Tarab.
In 2010, Alsarah and her sister would start a band entitled “Alsarah and the Nubatones” along with band members Haig Manoukian, Kodjovi Mawuena, and Rami El-Aasser. The band released their debut EP, “Soukura,” followed by full-length album “Silt” in 2014, “Manara” in 2016, and “Manara Remixed” in 2017. In addition, Alsarah has also produced songs as a solo artist with albums such as “Aljawal,” “The Crow,” and “Min Ana.”
In general, many of Alsarah’s songs were influenced by artists from Sudan, Zanzibar, and Ethiopia. Her songs are available on Spotify and Deezer.
Scientists play one of the most significant roles in our world, most importantly today as we deal with a pandemic that has taken the lives of more than 300,000 people. Throughout history, there have been many accomplished and inspiring Sudanese scientists who have changed our understanding of the world around us with their research, discoveries and tangible impact.
Here are some internationally acclaimed Sudanese scientists in Sudan and across the world that you should know about:
Ismail Abdel Rahim El Gizouli
Image source: Ismail El Gizouli
Ismail Abdel Rahim El Gizouli is an energy and environment specialist. He was member of the bureau of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) from 2002 to 2008 and was re-elected for another term from 2008 to 2015. He then acted as interim chairman of the IPCC in 2015. In addition, he was the vice-chair of the Facilitative Branch of the Compliance Committee of the UNFCCC from 2005 to 2007 and was the Chair of the Facilitative Branch and Co-Chair of the Compliance Committee of UNFCCC from 2007 to 2009.
He received a Bachelor of Science in Mathematic and Physics from the University of Khartoum in 1971 and a Master of Science in Operation Research & Statistics from the University of Aston in Birmingham, UK in 1980.
El Gizouli worked as a freelancer and conducted many consultancies for the African Development Bank, World Bank, UNEP, FAO and African Energy Policy Research Network (AFREPRN). In 1998, he joined The Higher Council for Environment and Natural Resources in Sudan as a consultant on all UNDP-Government joint climate change projects.
He has participated in many international, regional and national conferences, meetings and symposiums in industry planning, sustainable development, energy, environment and climate change. In addition, he published many papers and is one of four authors of two energy-related books published by ZED Books England. He also contributed as Review Editor to many IPCC Reports including Safeguarding the Ozone Layer and the Global Climate System, Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage (Main Report and Technical Summary), Working Group III contribution to the Fourth Assessment Report (Mitigation of Climate Change) and Fourth Assessment Synthesis Report.
Dr Balgis Osman Elasha
Dr Balgis Osman-Elashais senior scientist at the forefront of global research on climate change. She has been a climate change expert at the Compliance and Safeguards Division at the African Development Bank (AfDB) since 2009. She holds a PhD in Forestry Science, a master’s degree in Environmental Science, and a Bachelor of Science with honour in Forestry and Agricultural Science. She has more than 17 years of experience in the field of climate change with a special focus on vulnerability and adaptation assessment related to African countries and the Middle East, emphasising the human dimension of global environmental changes.
Dr Osman-Elasha has reviewed a number of scientific papers to Elsevier and other highly reputable journals as well as a guest editor to a number of scientific publications. Before joining the African Development Bank, she was a senior researcher at the Higher Council for Environment and Natural Resources (HCENR)-Sudan. Her research focuses on vulnerability and adaptation assessment in drought-prone in Africa.
Dr Osman-Elasha is the winner of the UNEP Champions of the Earth Award for outstanding environmentalists and the winner of Lead Authors-Nobel Peace Prize. She is also a member of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Professor Elfatih Eltahir
Professor Elfatih Eltahir is the Breene M Kerr Professor of Hydrology and Climate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a focus on sustainable development in Africa. Elfatih earned a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from the University of Khartoum, a Master of Science in hydrology from the National University of Ireland, and a Master of Science in meteorology and a Doctor of Science (Sc.D) in Hydroclimatology from MIT.
Professor Eltahir received the US Presidential Early Career Award in 1997. He is an elected fellow of the American Geophysical Union, and a member of the Sudanese National Academy of Science. He is a member of the Scientific Council of the International Center of Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy. In 1999, Professor Eltahir received the Kuwait Prize in Applied Sciences for his work on Climate Change, making him the youngest person to receive this prestigious prize, offered to scientists from Arab countries. In 2017, Professor Eltahir received the Hydrologic Sciences Award from the American Geophysical Union.
Dr Hiba Salah-Eldin Mohamed
Image source: iend.org
Dr Hiba Salah-Eldin Mohamed is a molecular biologist at the University of Khartoum. She studied zoology at the university, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1993, followed by a master’s degree in 1998. She then received her PhD from the University of Cambridge Institute for Medical Research (CIMR) in Cambridge, the UK in 2002. Her doctoral research, “The Role of Host Genetics in Susceptibility to Kala-azar in Sudan”, was under the supervision of Jenefer Blackwell, a well-known Professor of Molecular Parasitology. Mohamed remained at the CIMR as a postdoctoral fellow. She, along with Professor Blackwell, were later awarded the Wellcome Trust Research Development Award (2004-2007). She then moved back to Sudan and joined the University of Khartoum to be a professor in the Department of Molecular Biology.
Mohamed was awarded the 2007 Royal Society Pfizer Award for her research on understanding the genetics of kala-azar, which is also known as Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL). In 2010, Mohamed was appointed a Fellow of the Global Young Academy.
Dr Abdel Rahman’s breakthrough in growing sugar cane method involved taking cells from plant leaves, shoots or roots and growing them in a liquid culture to produce artificial seeds able to germinate. Her results and patented techniques garnered global attention and attracted interest from huge research and production companies across the world. The breakthrough led to cheaper and more productive cultivation in developing countries.
Dr Abdel Rahman passed away in 2015 at the age 59 in the UK after a fight against cancer.
Professor Mohamed H A Hassan
Image source: TWAS
Professor Mohamed H A Hassan is co-chair of the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP), a global network of science academies, and Chairman of the Council of the United Nations University (UNU).
He received his higher education in the UK from Newcastle University and University of Oxford. After obtaining his Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics from the University of Oxford, he returned to Sudan to lecture at the University of Khartoum. He later became the Dean of the School of Mathematical Sciences at the university.
Professor Hassan has published several articles in Theoretical Plasma Physics and Fusion Energy; Wind Erosion, Dust and Sand Transport in Dry Lands; and Science and Technology in the Developing World.
He was the founding Executive Director of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), President of the African Academy of Sciences, and Chairman of the Honorary Presidential Advisory Council for Science and Technology in Nigeria.
He also serves on a number of boards of international organisations worldwide, including Global Change System for Analysis, Research and Training (START) in the USA; Bibliotheca in Alexandrina in Egypt; the Council of Science and Technology in Society (STS) Forum in Japan; the International Science Programme in Sweden; the Science Initiative Group (SIG) in the USA; and the Centre for International Development (ZEF) in Germany. He is a member of several merit-based academies of science, including TWAS; the African Academy of Sciences; Islamic World Academy of Sciences; Academia Colombiana deCiencias Exactas, ísicas y Naturales; AcadémieRoyale des Sciences d’Outre-Mer, Belgium; Pakistan Academy of Sciences; Academy of Sciences of Lebanon; Cuban Academy of Sciences; and Academy of Sciences of South Africa.
Mohamed Osman Baloola
Image source: Mohamed Osman Baloola’s Facebook page
Engineer Mohammed Osman Baloola is a Sudanese scientist and inventor who was named among The World’s 500 Most influential Arabs in 2012 and 2013 for his work on diabetes ‘remote monitoring and control system for diabetes symptoms’. He has been a Teaching Assistant of Biomedical Engineering at the Ajman University of Science and Technology since 2010. Baloola won a science and innovation award at the Arabian Business Awards 2011 in Dubai. In addition, he won AED40,000 (USD11,000) during a Sharjah Television competition for his invention of a remote monitoring and control system for diabetes patients via mobile phone.
Baloola received a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering from Ajman University of Science and Technology in 2009. He later joined Ajman University as a Teaching Assistant in the faculty of Engineering.
Dr Muntaser Ibrahim
Image source: Research Gate
Dr Muntaseer Ibrahim is a Sudanese geneticist and professor of molecular biology at the University of Khartoum, where he leads its Institute of Endemic Diseases, a research and training centre on endemic diseases in the university. His research focuses on human genetic diversity in Africa. Dr Ibrahim is a founding member of the African Society of Human Genetics and co-founded the Sudanese National Academy of Science (SNAS). He is also a member of The World Academy of Sciences. He has co-authored more than 180 original peer-reviewed research publications, including work published in Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nature, Nature Genetics, and other major journals.
Dr Nashwa Abo Alhassan Eassa
Image source: Picuki
Dr Nashwa Abo Alhassan Eassa is an assistant professor of physics at Al-Neelain University in Khartoum. She received a Bachelor of Science in physics from the University of Khartoum, a Master of Science in nanotechnology and materials physics from Sweden’s Linköping University, followed by a PhD from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) in South Africa.
Dr Eassa founded the non-governmental organisation ‘Sudanese Women in Sciences’ and is a member of Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World’s South African Institute of Physics. In 2015, Dr Eassa won the Elsevier Foundation Award for Early Career Women Scientists in the Developing World. She has been a candidate as Arab Countries Vice-President for Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World.
Professor Widad Ibrahim Elmahboub
Professor Widad Ibrahim Elmahboub is a great scientist and astrophysicist. She has proved herself as a distinguished and competent scholar and scientist in her field. Having finished her college studies in applied mathematics and astrophysics in Sudan and Egypt, she was received a master’s degree in Engineering Physics by Wisconsin-Madison University, followed by a doctorate degree in astrophysical engineering.
Prof Elmahboub started her scientific career as a professor of astrophysics and remote sensing systems at Hampton University. Then she moved on to the research and analysis of planetary components at NASA with the main focus on enhancing the accuracy of satellite-based remote sensing imaging and data. Prof. Elmahboub has introduced a highly accurate computer-simulated mathematical model followed by the implementation of the algorithm and atmospheric correction method which enabled scientists and astrophysicists to obtain much more accurate and refined satellite images of Mars surface. Additionally, Prof Elmahboub has authored, co-authored and edited many articles in scientific journals and periodicals on remote sensing imaging technology, spectroscopy and simulated mathematical modelling.
Professor Sharief Babiker
Image source: ICCEEE’s Facebook page
Professor Sharief Babiker is a professor in the Electronics Department at the University of Khartoum and a Chairman of the world’s largest professional association dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanities ‘IEEE_sudan’ Subsection.
Prof Babiker received his bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronic engineering at the University of Khartoum, a master’s degree in telecommunications and information systems obtained in Essex University, the UK, followed by a nanoelectronics PhD degree at Glasgow University, Scotland. By the end of 2000, Prof Babiker was working on submicron semiconductor devices research at the Nanoelectronics Research Centre, University of Glasgow as well as on aerospace projects at Thales Avionics, the UK.
Sudanese women’s activist Amira Osman Hamed has won a Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk, the organization announced.
The activist and engineer, now in her forties, has been advocating for Sudanese women for two decades, and was detained this year in a crackdown following the country’s latest coup.
She was among defenders from Afghanistan, Belarus, Zimbabwe and Mexico who also received the 2022 award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk.
Osman “never deterred from her mission,” Dublin-based Front Line Defenders said in its awards announcement, “consistently (advocating) for democracy, human rights, and women’s rights.”
After first being charged for wearing trousers in 2002, she drew international support in 2013 when she was detained and threatened with flogging for refusing to wear a headscarf.
In 2009, she established “No to Women Oppression,” an initiative to advocate against the much-derided Public Order Law. It was finally repealed in 2019 after Bashir’s ouster following a mass uprising.
The award has honored human rights defenders annually since 2005.
Sudan has more pyramids that Egypt. But steeper and smaller than those of ancient Egypt.
Nubian pyramids differ from Egyptian. They are built of stepped courses of horizontally positioned stone blocks and range from approximately 6 to 30 meters (20-98 ft) in height and result in tall narrow structures.
