بيان ••• bayān

Reflecting on a series of programs and gatherings surrounding Mohammad Omer Khalil’s work. Thank you to everyone who joined us for live music, exhibition walkthroughs, print workshops and meaningful discussions around Khalil and his influences from films, music, print and community. Curated by Jenna Hamed (@j7md ) and Amina Ahmed. From Give Me Your Ear: A Listening & Reading Room is every Monday 1–8PM (through June 1) with Jay Seven Inc.; live music with Zekkereya El-Magharbel (@zekkereyaa ) and Kweku Sumbry (@kwe.drums ), Alsarah and the Nubatones (@alsarahandthenubatones ); 12 Gates print workshop with Jazmine Catasús (@jaz_arelis ), and their panel with Isra El-beshir (@elbeshir ), Anna Arabindon-Kesson and Bayan Abubakr (@bayanstatement ). We welcomed IFPDA visitors for Print Week and Brooklyn Rail’s New Social Environment Joshua Chee Sanford (@jchsanford ). Pre-Order Catalog available rbpmw-efanyc.org/ UPCOMING Friday, May 15, 11AM | 1-54 Walkthrough & Archives Tour at Blackburn Study Center (VIP) Sunday, May 17, 2PM | Print Workshop at Queens Museum Saturday, May 30, 12PM | Africa Day at The Africa Center Saturday, May 30, 2PM | An Ode To You: Literary reading with Daad Sharfi, Dalia Elhassan, Mayada Ibrahim, and Mohammed Zenia PICTURED: Exhibition Walkthrough, Photo by Leslie Jean-Bart (@lesliejeanbart ); Blackburn Study Center, Amina Hamed; Blackburn Study Center with Ademola Olugebefola (@ademolaolugebefola ); Blackburn Study Center with Judy Reddy (@judithreddy568 ) and Devraj Dakoji (@devrajdakoji ); Blackburn Study Center Joshua and Cecilia Cano-Daly (@ceciliacanodaly ); MOK with curators Jenna Hamed and Amina Ahmed; Photo by Bill Phipps; Photo by Bill Phipps MOK, Gina and Kaleb; 12Gates Workshop with Jazmine Catasús; 12 Gates Workshop with Jazmine Catasús; 12 Gates Discussion with Isra El-beshir, MOK, and Bayan Abubakr; Live Music Zekkereya El-Magharbel and Kweku Sumbry, Photo by Samoel Gonzales (@samorius ); Alsarah & The Nubatones at the Study Center, @alsarahandthenubatones ; @maqam.studio.nyc Homage to Umm Kulthum Programming made possible by @teigerfoundation , and additional support from Jenni Crain Foundation.

Last Saturday's panel conversation was a very special afternoon at Twelve Gates. Bayan Abubakr and Isra El-Beshir were joined by special guest Mohammad Omer Khalil himself for a rich discussion around his work and legacy, moderated by Twelve Gates advisory board member and scholar of Black Diasporic Art, Anna Arabindan-Kesson. Co-curators Jenna Hamed and Twelve Gates advisory board member Amina Ahmed were drawn into the conversation as well, speaking to their curatorial process and interpretation of MOK's work. Thank you to our panelists, our curators, and to everyone who came out and shared the afternoon with us. The full panel recording is coming soon. Common Ground remains on view through May 15. #twelvegatesarts #commonground #mok #phillyarts #blackdiasporicart

Join us for a public scholarly conversation honoring the legacy of Mohammad Omer Khalil. “Seasons of Migrations: Exploring the Cross-Cultural Legacies in Mohammad Omer Khalil’s Work” takes place Saturday, April 18th from 1-3PM at Twelve Gates. The panel features Sudanese historian Bayan Abubakr and Common Ground co-curators Amina Ahmed and Jenna Hamed, moderated by scholar of Black Diasporic Art, Anna Arabindan-Kesson. Free to attend. Register via the Eventbrite link in our bio. Maximum of 2 tickets per person. #twelvegatesarts #commonground #mok #phillyarts #blackdiasporicart

i send gratitude to the healing years, the Istanbul apartment, my beloveds, and the Afro days. Poem by frank bidart

Recommended readings for this month on Archives, and how to navigate large amounts of information. The first is an article by Janet Malcolm, published in The New Yorker, which I believe anyone interested in understanding the modern obsession with archives should read. The article, published in the 1980s, provides a detailed account of the scandal in Freud’s archive and how the guardians filtered the documents. This incident was reflected upon by Jacques Derrida in the book that is often quoted on this topic. We understand the archive as a space that is filtered multiple times, by those who collect it, those who categorize it, those who guard it, and finally, by someone consulting the archives who decides how to narrate it. Gayatri Spivak reflects on what absences in the archives can indicate. This is followed by reflections on archival practices in close proximity to the field of architecture, as well as specific publications on particular archives. The initial encounter with an archive can be overwhelming due to its vastness. It involves finding ways to navigate it, as well as discovering alternative archives, sources, and stories within what is well-structured. Enjoy the Readings!

Back in December I photographed @sudanesekitchen Omer Al Tijani with The Sudanese Kitchen book, his heartfelt tribute to Sudanese food, stories, and heritage - awarded best first book by the Gourmand awards.

Across Sisi’s Egypt, post-Assad Syria, and counterrevolutionary Sudan, Bayan Abubakr writes, the pulse of imperialism is alive and well in the heartbeat of the universe. The histories entangled between the creation of the Israeli and Emirati empires reveal how imperialism, in the grammar of the Euro-American nation-building imagination, has sustained itself and developed into a highly sophisticated and precise technology. Israel and the UAE’s respective projects in Palestine and Africa and the broader region share a set of dangerous and universalizing justifications for “progress,” “democracy” and “revolution” that celebrate the technological and political advances they have funded, as well as the destruction these weapons have amassed in their colonies. Their genocidal campaigns go without any material consequence, and their attempts at foreign intervention, resource extraction and land grabbing, are written off as nation-building projects, globalization and development respectively. Read the full essay at the link in bio.

✨Join us tomorrow for the final installment of Cinema Sudania featuring Heroic Bodies followed by an engaging panel with Kholood Khair, Mai Elgizouli and Bayan Abubakr We are looking forward to an engaging evening focused on Sudanese women’s diversity, challenge harmful dominant narratives, and addressing Sudan’s history of state-sanctioned violence against women but the enduring resilience and persistence nonetheless. #keepeyesonsudan #sudan #sudaneseart #sudanesefilm #film #filmscreening

my contribution to @ntsradio ’s international migrants day is now up + archived on the site 📡🤍 sounds that range across decades of Sudanese sounds + regions - the versatility in the sonics of Sudanese music has no bounds - here are some songs and artists that are featured in / inspired the mix 🫂 i chose these artists and tracks as they truly underscored my sisters and i’s childhood, upbringing, many trips home, and my loved one’s many journeys of migration, to and from our beloved homeland. tracks that immediately transport me to a time and place, to a scent and sight. to a living room surrounded by the matriarchs of my family, to a Shabbal rehearsal, to a long car ride crossing Kubri Shambat, to a night out on the balakona sharing shamar and laughs with my family, to walking in to a glitched screen playing Sudan TV in to the late night in my late grandfathers bedroom - to visceral recollections. An ode to many. so many of us are still so immensely pained at what Sudan is today. there are no sufficient words, ever. and I’m often conflicted by reacting or sharing any romanticizations of Sudan especially while we are still in such a tragic state. In truth i had conflicts in participating - but I’m reminded & grateful that these shows are all part of a cause that directly addresses and brings reprieve through music programming to refugee communities that are impacted by migration, displacement, asylum seekers and the perpetual effects of border imperialism + violence. That said, this segment is for all, but primarily to Sudanese listeners, I pray this is a balm. 📿🤲🏾 Last few slides are current + ongoing initiatives to support. If you enjoyed this mix and enjoy Sudanese art - please consider also donating to these urgent causes. show + tracklist 🔗 in bio ❣️

please take a look through slides 2-7 for some context (2-3 @bayanstatement ; 4-7 @project.taghyir ); slide 8 is a more shareable version of this Greater Painted-Snipe boosting @sudansolidaritycollective and two linktrees containing so many campaigns that could use your support alt text is on and image descriptions will be in the comments shortly #KeepEyesOnSudan

Archive Africa Sudan 🇸🇩 via @bayanstatement "Photos of my grandparents Khogali Abubakr and Insaf Yasin taken in Abidjan, Ivory Coast and Halfayat al-Muluk, Sudan. Khogali and Insaf lived in Ivory Coast for six years during his tenure at the African Development Bank Group. My grandmother Insaf Yasin was born in Omdurman, Sudan, the eldest of a family of eight. Her uncle was Ahmed Mohammed Yasin who served as a member of the First Sudanese Sovereignty Council, which ended when General Ibrahim Abboud seized power in the military-led coup of 1958. Insaf and Khogali were married in 1967 and spent the majority of their marriage in between the Ivory Coast, Yemen, Kuwait, and eventually Sudan. I was lucky to have grown up with them in Kuwait and be surrounded by their endless warmth, generosity, knack for building community, and commitment to always striving for excellence and the pursuit of knowledge. My grandfather was an active participant in the October 1964 revolution as a student at the University of Khartoum, where his schoolmates referred to him as Socrates given his mastery of the English language and his passion for debate. He was fond of theater and acting in Shakespearean plays. He published a book in 1988 titled Crossing to the Other Side/العبور إلى الشاطئ الآخر about his getting trapped in Yemen during the South Yemen civil war and the near-death experiences he faced there. In one chapter, he describes the trance he entered as he watched the room he was staying in blow up. He had visions where my great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather received him on the "other side" and where he watched his body being taken from Yemen to Sudan and later attended his own funeral as a spirit. He describes his being consumed with the fact that he "died" far from his own homeland. In many ways...this vision turned out to be real. His description of his funeral mirrored the funeral he had in Sudan after he passed away in Kuwait in 2004." #archiveafrica #Sudan #Khartoum #eyesonsudan

📣 This weekend, we stand together for Sudan and global justice! The Sudanese Resistance Front (SuRF) is proud to support these powerful events, amplifying voices for liberation and transformation. 🔹 Seeing the World Through Sudan 📅 October 11-12, 2024 | 🕘 9 AM - 5 PM 📍 Brown University, Watson Institute Dive deep into Sudan’s history of struggle and resilience. This two-day conference brings together scholars, activists, and artists to explore Sudan’s counterrevolutionary war, focusing on building a just and revolutionary future. 🔹 Africa & Palestine: One Struggle, One Fight! 📅 Friday, October 11th | 🕕 6 PM 📍 The People’s Forum, NYC Join us as we unite movements from Africa and Palestine, resisting oppression and celebrating our shared struggle for liberation. 🔹 A Night for Sudan 📅 Friday, October 11th | 🕘 9 PM - 2 AM 📍 99 Scott Studio, NYC Experience a night of music and culture in solidarity with Sudan. Proceeds support the Sudan Solidarity Collective (SSC). Performances by Sami El-Maghrebi, DJ Moma, Love Bonez, Mo Yasin, and hosted by Bas. Let’s come together to resist, celebrate, and support the fight for justice. ✊🏾💚❤️🖤 #SudaneseResistance #SuRF #AfricaPalestineSolidarity #JusticeForSudan #OneStruggleOneFight