Elevating Craft into Art: An Interview with Amal Mohamed

In an interview with Voices of Darfur, Ms. Amal Mohamed talks about her work as an artist and media professional, and about the role artists can play in helping to advance peace in Darfur.

By Ala Mayyahi

Born in 1980 in El Fasher, North Darfur, Ms. Amal Mohamed has developed a reputation as a designer with a unique approach to using beads, stones and other materials to make jewellery and household items that blur traditional distinctions between art and craft.

Ms. Mohamed, who also works in television as an executive director, holds two diplomas—one in science and technology from Sudan University and one in media studies from the College of Media at Um Durman Islamic University. While she works during the day at the TV and Radio Commission in El Fasher, a job she has held since 2004, she continues to make artwork in various forms in her spare time, and has shown her pieces in El Fasher and at Khartoum exhibits.

In an interview with Voices of Darfur, Ms. Mohamed talked about her work as an artist and media professional, and about the role artists can play in helping to advance peace in Darfur.

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Artist Amal Mohamed is pictured in her home in El Fasher, North Darfur, beside some of the pieces she has created. Ms. Mohamed, who has developed a reputation for her unique bead designs, works during the day as an executive television director television director for the North Darfur State TV and Radio Commission.  Photo by Albert González Farran, UNAMID