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Women Artists: Sudan and Egypt

© Aida Hasan

This article is a continuation of a series of articles on Women artists from various Arab countries. The previous article focused on Palestinian artists. This time the focus is on artists from Sudan and Egypt.

Finding information on artists from Sudan via the internet is not so easy a task. However, in limiting my search for information on women, I found it even more difficult. There are a few websites available listing brief biographies and/or the artwork of Sudanese artists, but they are focused primarily on men. I have managed to find two female artists from Sudan to note. Both women are featured in the Worlds Women Online website which features artists from around the world. The first artist is Amna Abdalla who was born in Sudan, receiving her education in textile design and weaving. One sample of her work can be viewed at: http://wwol.inre.asu.edu/artistA1.html

Kamala Ishaq Ibrahim studied at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Khartoum, Sudan in 1963. She was part of a group of pioneer students who are credited with bringing about a distinctive modernist movement. You can learn more about her at: http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/sh40... and view a sample of her work at: http://wwol.inre.asu.edu/ibrahim.html

Egypt has produced a larger amount of women artists, or at least it appears so in reviewing available information. Zeinab Abdel Hamid was born in Cairo, Egypt. She has been displaying her artwork since 1949, receiving numerous Egyptian and international awards. Her specialty is watercolor and oils. She was commissioned to paint a large-scale work for the al-Ahram newspaper building. In a 1998 brief review, her work is described as "distinctive" and comprising of "aerial views of brightly colored, festively crowded, cheerful cityscapes" (www.ahram.org.eg/weekly/1998/399/ti1.htm) . Her work is displayed in many public locations throughout her native Egypt as well as in private collections in Spain, Mexico, the United States, and Germany.

If interested in buying artwork by an Egyptian artist, the work of Mona el-Bayoumi is worth noting. Born in Alexandria, Egypt, she came to the United States at the age of four. Her creative and colorful artwork can viewed at: http://www.monaart.com/ where you can also learn more about her and her work. This site contains an online gallery, past exhibitions, and a section where you can order prints of her work.

Sawsan Amer is a distinguished artist who resides in Egypt. She graduated from the College of Art Education, and is currently Director of the Art Research Unit at the Academy of the Arts and a professor on the faculty of Art Education. View her artwork at www.fenon.com (click on her name near the bottom of the lists of artists). You can also view her work and learn a little bit about her work from this article on Egyptian artists inspired by Islamic heritage.