This month, here at AADAT!, we have chosen to celebrate the women who contribute to art within the Diaspora. Art has always been a great form of expression. Today with the help of the Internet, we have greater access to art. With so many options, we do not want you to miss out on the wonderful creatives out there. Below, in no particular order, are a few of the many women who are making a great impact with their art.
Photo from artist website / Dazed Digital, Photography Sarah Piantadosi
Cecile Emeke
I would be surprised if you’ve yet to encounter the refreshing, awakening videos Cecile Emeke creates. The British-Jamaican filmmaker, writer, and artist offers a unique perspective into the lives of people of color in the diaspora, rarely highlighted on mainstream television. With a camera and a YouTube channel, she brings you the complexity of blackness outside Africa and links it to various themes like religion, afro-futurism, feminism and other poignant issues. With its highly conversational comedy, her mini web series Ackee and Saltfish was the first of her works to win me over. The Strolling Series also shares the raw, scattered stories of people in the black diaspora. Cecile Emeke’s work holds a very consequential role in bringing the issue of blackness, specifically black females, to global attention.
Photo from artist website/ http://safia-mafia.com/
Safia Elhillo
Sudanese born Safia Elhillo , following the footsteps of Warsan Shire by winning the highly coveted Brunel University African Poetry Prize (along with Nick Makoha ), is poised to astonish the world with her experimental poetry. Her poem “Quarantine With Abdelhalim Hafez” has a striking beauty that exposes her courage in experimentation while also projecting the emotion behind her origin and culture. Her recent feature on the BBC World Service Newsday sees her recite her poem, ‘Daughters full of all the wrong language’. Safia Elhillo represent the refreshing new wave of African Poetry you should definitely be Interested in.
Photo from artist website/http://www.ibeyi.fr/
Ibeyi
Ibeyi, sigh. What more can I say? The beautiful Afro-Cuban hypnotic soul singers and instrumentalist are building a solid fan base around the world following the release of their eponymous debut LP. Their spine chilling sound combines Yoruba mythology with soul, R&B, and folk music to produce haunting mystical ballads. The duo, Lisa-Kaindé Díaz and Naomi Diaz are currently on tour and have so far performed at the legendary Glastonbury Music Festival. Their bewitching performance combined with a unique sense of style allows the young women to carve a niche for themselves and their genre defying records.
Photo from official website of Marrakech Biennale
Alya Sebti
A great part of what goes into the way art it presented to us, be it in galleries or on a blog, happens behind the scenes. Very particular people cherry pick music or paintings or films and decide the way they should be presented. Moroccan born Alya Sebti falls in this category. She is a curator who specializes in contemporary art from North Africa and the Artistic Director of the Marrakech Biennale. Her previous experience includes organizing the first exhibition of Youssef Nabil in Morocco. As an independent curator, her portfolio includes: Fashion Loves Tribe (Berlin, 2010), Youssef Nabil, (Casablanca, 2011), Urban landscape (Moroccan pavilion of the Amsterdam photography biennale, 2012), and Des Espaces Autres (Al Hoceima, Casablanca, 2012).
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