Ibrahim el-Salahi

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Ibrahim El-Salahi is a Sudanese artist painter and former politician and diplomat.

Life and Career

El-Salahi was born on September 5, 1930, in Omdurman, Sudan. He studied Art at the School of Design of the Gordon Memorial College, currently the University of Khartoum. On the basis of a scholarship, he subsequently went to the Slade School of Fine Art in London from 1954 to 1957. He also stayed in Perugia in Italy for some time, to enlarge his knowledge of renaissance art. Back in Sudan, he taught at the School for Applied Arts in Khartoum.[1][2]

In 1962 he received a UNESCO to the United States, from where he visited South America. From 1964 to 1965 he returned to the US with the support of the Rockefeller Foundation, and in 1966 he led the Sudanese delegation during the first World Festival of Black Arts in Dakar, Senegal.[1][2]

El-Salahi was assistant cultural attaché at the Sudanese Embassy in London from 1969 to 1972, when he returned to Sudan as Director of Culture, then Undersecretary in the Ministry of Culture and Information until September 1975, when he was imprisoned without charge for six months. Afterwards he left the country, working for some years in Doha, Qatar, before settling in Oxford, England.[1][2]

Art

External video
video icon Ibrahim El-Salahi,[3]

He is considered a pioneer in Sudanese art and was a member of the "Khartoum School" that was founded by Osman Waqialla. In the 1960s he was associated with the Mbari Club in Ibadan, Nigeria.[1][2]

He developed an own style and was one of the first artists to elaborate the Arabic calligraphy in his paintings. His work has developed through several phases. His first period during the 1950s, '60s and '70s is dominated by elementary forms and lines. Then his work becomes rather meditative, abstract and organic. Subsequently his work is characterized by lines, while he mainly uses white and black paint.[1][2]

In 2001, Ibrahim el-Salahi was honored with a Prince Claus Award from the Netherlands.[4][5]

In the summer of 2013 a major retrospective show of El-Salahi's work was mounted at Tate Modern, London, running from 3 July to 22 September 2013. The Tate's first retrospective dedicated to an African artist. [6]

Solo Exhibitions

  • 2016: The Armory, New York (Vigo Gallery)
  • 2016: Salon 94, New York
  • 2015: Vigo Gallery, London
  • 2015: Frieze New York (Vigo Gallery)
  • 2015: Jerwood Gallery, Hastings
  • 2014: Vigo Gallery, London
  • 2014: Skoto Gallery, New York
  • 2013: Tate Modern, London
  • 2012: Katara Cultural Village Foundation, Doha
  • 2012: Sharjah Art Museum
  • 2011: Skoto Gallery, New York
  • 2010: Rashid Diab Arts Centre, Khartoum
  • 2000: Dara Art Gallery, Khartoum
  • 1992: Savannah Gallery, London
  • 1984 & 1990: Iwalewa Haus, Contemporary African Art Centre, Bayreuth
  • 1974: Art Gallery of the National Council for Arts and Letters, Kuwait
  • 1972: Agisymba Gallery, Berlin
  • 1967 & 1969: French Cultural Centre, Khartoum
  • 1967: Traverse Gallery, Edinburgh
  • 1967: Galerie Lambert, Paris
  • 1966: Carl Durisberg, Munich
  • 1964: Daberkow Gallery, Frankfurt
  • 1964: Irvington-on-Hudson, New York
  • 1963: Murphy Gallery, Baltimore
  • 1963: Middle East House, Washington DC
  • 1963: ICA Gallery, London
  • 1962: Galerie Lambert, Paris
  • 1962: American Cultural Centre, Khartoum
  • 1961: Mbari Gallery, Ibadan
  • 1960: Grand Hotel Exhibition Hall, Khartoum

Group Shows

  • 2011–12: Meem Gallery, Dubai
  • 2010: Interventions & Sajjil, Mathaf Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha
  • 2010: Tradition of the Future, Future of Tradition, Haus der Kunst, Munich
  • 2010: Selections 2010, Skoto Gallery, New York
  • 2010: Doha Capital of Arab Culture, Qatar
  • 2004: The Oxford Show, Modern Art Oxford, Oxford
  • 2004: Sudan Past and Present, The British Museum, London
  • 2003: Asylum Years, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford
  • 2001–02: The Short Century, Museum Villa Stuck, Munich; Haus der Kulturen der West, Berlin; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Museum of Modern Art, New York
  • 2001: 20th Anniversary of Iwalewa Haus, Bayreuth
  • 2001: Century City: Art and Culture in the Modern Metropolis, Tate Modern, London
  • 2000: L’Afrique á Jour, Lille
  • 2000: Contemporary Sudanese Art, Oriental Museum, Durham
  • 2000: Blackness in Colour, Howard Johnson Art Museum, Cornell University, Ithaca
  • 1999: Sharjah International Arts Biennale
  • 1999: Contemporary Sudanese Art, Cardiff
  • 1998: Art sans Frontières, Maison de l’UNESCO, Salle Miro, Paris
  • 1996: Malmö Konststhall, Malmö
  • 1995: Whitechapel Art Gallery, Africa 95: Seven Stories of Art from Africa, London
  • 1995: Sharjah International Arts Biennale
  • 1994: Savannah Gallery, London
  • 1992: Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne
  • 1991: A Grain of Wheat: Art Relief from Africa, England
  • 1991: Paradox of the New: Art from Africa, England
  • 1978: Maison de la Culture, André Malraux, Rheims
  • 1977: Festac, Lagos
  • 1976: Bab Elloog Art Gallery, Cairo
  • 1975: Georgetown University Hall, Washington, DC
  • 1975: African Art Then and Now, Royal Commonwealth Society, London
  • 1974: Khartoum Art Gallery, Khartoum
  • 1974: Museum of African Art, Washington DC
  • 1974: Arab Cultural Week, University of Tubingen
  • 1971: Africa Centre, London
  • 1970: Trinity College, Dublin
  • 1970: Abgeordneten Hochhaus des Deutschen Bundestages, Bonn
  • 1969: Islamic Art Exhibition, Nommo Gallery, Kampala
  • 1969: Pan-African Cultural Festival, Algiers
  • 1969: Contemporary Art in Africa, Camden Arts Centre, London
  • 1967: Contemporary Art in Africa, ICA Gallery, London
  • 1966: Museum of Philadelphia Civic Centre, Philadelphia
  • 1965: Museum of Modern Art, New York
  • 1964: Sudan Pavilion, World Fair, New York
  • 1963: Academy of Fine Art, Calcutta

Fellowships and Awards

  • 2015: Honorary Doctor of Literature (DLit), University College London
  • 2005–07 & 2009: Visiting Artist, Cornell University, Ithaca NY
  • 2004: Festival International des Arts Plastiques des Mahrès, gold medal
  • 2001: Prince Claus Fund Award
  • 1999: Honorary Award, Sharjah International Arts Biennale
  • 1975: Order of Knowledge, Arts and Letters of Democratic Republic of Sudan: silver
  • 1971: Order of Knowledge of Democratic Republic of Sudan: gold
  • 1964–65: Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship
  • 1962: UNESCO Fine Arts Fellowship

Education

  • 1945–48: Wadi Seidna Secondary School
  • 1949–51: School of Design, Gordon Memorial College, Khartoum, and Art Department, Khartoum Technical Institute: general art course majoring in painting
  • 1954–57: The Slade School, University College, London: painting and calligraphy
  • 1964–65: Department of Journalism, Columbia University, New York: black and white photography
  • 1975: The Sudanese Academy for Administrative Sciences: top management programme
  • 1985: School of Economic Science, London: practical philosophy
  • 1999–2001: School of Economic Science, Oxford: practical philosophy

Employment

  • 1952–54: Demonstrator, Art Department, Khartoum Technical Institute
  • 1957–59: Lecturer, Painting Department, School of Fine & Applied Art, Khartoum Technical Institute
  • 1960–66: Tutor and Head of Painting Department, Khartoum Technical Institute
  • 1967–69: Principal Lecturer at the School of Fine and Applied Art, Khartoum Polytechnic
  • 1969–72: Assistant Cultural Attaché, Sudan Embassy, London
  • 1972–73: Director General of Culture, Sudan Government
  • 1973–76: Undersecretary, Ministry of Culture and Information, Sudan Government
  • 1977–80: Expert Adviser, Department of Press and Publications, Ministry of Information, Qatar
  • 1980–82: Expert, Office of the Undersecretary, Ministry of Information, Qatar
  • 1984–85: UNESCO Consultant to the Ministry of Information and National Guidance, Somalia
  • 1986–89: Expert, International Information Relations Committee of the Arab Gulf States; Adviser to the Undersecretary, Ministry of Information and Culture, Qatar
  • 1989–97: Translator and Biographer, The Amir’s Office, Diwan Amiri, Qatar
  • 1997–98: Translator, Political Department, Diwan Amiri, Qatar

Other Cultural Activities

  • 1959: Member of Sudan Cultural Delegation to China
  • 1966: Head of Sudan Delegation to the First Festival of African Culture, Dakar
  • 1969: Member of Committee for the Study of Arab Culture, UNESCO, Paris
  • 1969: Member of Sudan Cultural Delegation to the First Pan-African Cultural Festival, Algiers
  • 1972–73: Established the Department of Culture, Sudan Government
  • 1973: Sudan Representative to Foundation Conference, General Association of Arab Artists, Baghdad
  • 1973 & 1974: External Examiner, Art Department, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
  • 1984: External Examiner, College of Fine and Applied Art, Khartoum Polytechnic, Sudan
  • 1972–76: Secretary General, National Council for Arts and Letters, Sudan
  • 1974–75: Head of Sudan Delegation to Permanent Committee of Arab Information, Arab League
  • 1979: Media Co-ordinator for the State Visit of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II to the State of Qatar
  • 1980: Head of Preparatory and Executive Committees and the Secretariat Office of the Fifth Conference of Ministers of Information in the Arab Gulf States
  • 1980–82: Member, Qatar Delegation to Permanent Committee for Arab Information, Arab League
  • 1981: Member, Qatar Delegation to 3rd Conference of Arab Ministers for Cultural Affairs, Baghdad
  • 1982: Delegate representing International Information Relations Committee of Arab Gulf States at the ministerial preparatory meeting for Arab Summit Conference in Fez, Morocco
  • 1984: Delegate, International Press Seminar, Paris
  • 1988–89: Editor, English section of Al-Mathurat Al-Shabiyyah magazine, published by The Arab Gulf States Folklore Centre, Qatar
  • 1998: Participant, seminar ‘Visions of African Cultural Co-operation and Development’, UNESCO Intergovernmental Conference on Cultural Policies, Stockholm, Sweden
  • 1998: Participant, Symposium of the 7th Cairo Biennale
  • 1999: Participant, Muscat Forum for Arab Fine Arts
  • 2000: Member of ‘Africa in Venice’ Permanent Committee, New York
  • 2000: Participant, Fifth International Conference on Sudan Studies, Durham University, UK
  • 2000: Participant, Conference on ‘State of Visual Arts in Africa and the African Diaspora: Agenda for the 21st Century’, Paris
  • 2000: Participant, Colloquium l’Afrique en Créations, Lille, France
  • 2001–Member, Board of Directors, Forum for African Arts 2000–
  • 2001: Participant, Colloquium International Festival of Plastic Arts, Al-Mahras, Tunisia
  • 2009: Participant, second Pan African Cultural Festival, Algiers
  • 2009–President, Sudan Studies Association UK

Literature

  • 1962: Beier, Ulli Ibrahim el Salahi: Drawings, Mbari Publications, ASIN B007EI6MPI
  • 2012: Hassan, Salah M., Ibrahim El-Salahi: A Visionary Modernist, ISBN 978-0945802587

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Ryle, John, Justin Willis, Suliman Baldo & Jok Madut Jok (eds), The Sudan Handbook, "Key Figures in Sudanese History, Culture & Politics", James Currey, 2011, p. 205. ISBN 978-1847010308
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Culture Base (2003), biography
  3. ↑ "Exhibition curator Salah Hassan explains the Sudanese artist's crucial role in African Art", BBC Radio 3
  4. ↑ Prince Claus Fund (2012) Ibrahim el-Salahi: a visionary modernist
  5. ↑ Prince Claus Fund, profile
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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