In the Studio
Ahmed Umar claims Sudanese history
1 Adopting a purist approach to spiritual practice, Wahhabism is a movement within the Sunni sect of Islam heavily favored in Saudi Arabia. The strict spiritual lessons imparted upon Umar in his childhood in Saudi Arabia, such as the denigration of practices like amulets or prayer beads, were often at odds with the Sufism practiced by the majority of his family in Sudan, and this became the source of a deep spiritual tension.
2 Islamism was a political strategy practiced by the National Congress Party, the party responsible for Sudan’s 1989 military coup and ousted president Omar Al Bashir. After the coup of 1989, the Sudanese population’s sentiments towards art slowly began to reflect the government-support ideology that art was frivolous, distasteful, blasphemous, and the antithesis of religiosity or morality.
Ahmed Umar in his studio. Photographed for Art21 by Ivar Kvaal in June 2026.
Ahmed Umar in his studio. Photographed for Art21 by Ivar Kvaal in June 2026.
Documentation of performance Talitin, The Third at the Venice Biennale. Image courtesy of the artist.
Documentation of performance Talitin, The Third at the Venice Biennale. Image courtesy of the artist.
Exhibition documentation of Glowing Phalanges. Courtesy of the artist and Uli Holz.
Ahmed Umar in his studio. Photographed for Art21 by Ivar Kvaal in June 2026.
Ahmed Umar's studio. Photographed for Art21 by Ivar Kvaal in June 2026.
Exhibition documentation of Glowing Phalanges. Courtesy of the artist and Uli Holz.
Ahmed Umar in his studio. Photographed for Art21 by Ivar Kvaal in June 2026.
Ahmed Umar's studio. Photographed for Art21 by Ivar Kvaal in June 2026.
Support for Art21’s READ comes from the Fleischner Family Charitable Foundation.
Interview conducted by Ruba El Melik Art21 in April 2026. Original photography for Art21 by Ivar Kvaal, all additional photography courtesy of the artist.
Ruba El Melik is a…
