Painting Darfur: An Interview with Artist Ahmed Adam

Local artist Ahmed Adam talks about his art, the role of the artist in Darfur and his optimism for a near-term solution to the conflict in the region. 

By Ala Mayyahi

Ahmed Adam, a young Darfur painter who focuses on telling the many stories of the region through visual media, was born in 1986 in North Darfur, and currently lives in his hometown, El Fasher.

Small pieces of paper, walls and school fences were Mr. Adam’s first media. Pencil and watercolour were his first tools. With these items he sketched the scenes of his childhood and the faces that caught his eye. He eventually started using pastel, charcoal, acrylic and oil.

In his teenage years, Mr. Adam decided to formalise his interest in art and attended Sudan University, where he graduated in 2003 with a major in Drawing and Art Education. After graduation, he worked as a teacher at a primary school and continued to refine his art.

While he does some teaching today, he has taken an interest in business and now runs an advertising shop in El Fasher, producing signage and billboards for local merchants. The business has not taken him away from his art. He continues to draw and paint today, favouring watercolour and paper in a unique style for which he has become known in Darfur.

Voices of Darfur talked with Mr. Adam about his art and role of the artist in Darfur.

Voices of Darfur: To what extent are the Sudanese arts affected by other African arts, in terms of colours and styles?

Adam: In the old history, art in Sudan came through mixing and trading with neighbouring nations. Other African countries preceded Sudan in the arts because art had been emerging in ancient civilizations in other areas. So of course art in Sudan was affected by these adjacent sources, and it was boosted mostly when Christianity came in to the country. Architecture was the most-used art form at that time. Then drawing and sculpture followed to decorate church interiors and exteriors.

In recent history, Sudanese painting styles have clearly differed from Egyptian and African. For example, impressionism or realism is the common style locally rather than the more abstract styles, while the latter is widely used in the bordering countries.

Read the full interview in the August issue of Voices of Darfur. Download the magazine (PDF) here.