While many of you were tuned into the London 2012 Games this summer and Somalis celebrated the success of Mo Farah, Hargeisa was tuned into its 5th International Book Fair is far more than a book fair. It is now in its fifth year running and hosts authors, poets, musicians, film-makers, artists, playwrights, actors and circus performers, both Somali and non-Somali. The book fair was held in the Working Men’s Club in central Hargeisa, Somaliland and is the brainchild of Jama Musse Jama who lives in the Italian town of Pisa where he has a publishing house, a vibrant website and a family. He is the author of several books. Ayan Mahamoud is the other force behind the book fair. She organised numerous Somali events in the UK and elsewhere, including London’s Somali Week. For more visit the Book Fair’s website here.
Courtesy of vintagesomalia and Nicola Prisco: Archival image circa 1986 from Buurhakaba, Bay, Somalia.
In case you missed it, the Mataano Spring 2013 show debuted this week during New York Fashion Week. The Somali twin duo’s collection was heralded with critical acclaim which was visible through the packed attendance at their show. The debut was held at a remarkable old church which was outfitted with rows of seats and a performance space for singer Wynter Gordon who appeared after the show. This was the Somali twin sisters sixth collection which also featured Somali model Ayan Elmi. We’ve continued to celebrate the success of the design duo with features which you can find here. For more on their sixth collection, read more.
The Peace Tour continues, this time in the version of the Somali Sunrise Concert Tour in Washington DC tonight and in New York on 28 August. The tour consists of young Somali artists who put together the concert tour and documentary film featuring that brings together an alliance of Somalia’s top hiphop, Afrobeat, and r&b musicians. The group of artists are proving to be an unstoppable force for peace as they tour the world, from the US to East Africa, to perform the first modern concert in twenty years in war-torn Mogadishu, Somalia. The Tour’s ultimate goal is to persuade Somali youth through their hiphop, Afrobeat, and r&b concert jams and lyrics to unify, turn away from the gun, and peacefully resist extremism. It will also celebrate the reunification of the capitol, Mogadishu. Show some love and visit the Tour’s page here.
Nadifa Mohamed, the illustrious Somali author of Black Mamba Boy continues to push the boundaries with her new project which she collaborated with Shortfire Press and Ustwo design studio. Nadifa wrote a short story called ‘Summer In the City’ which has been transformed into a bass-pumping, saxophone-tooting cinematic wonderland which you can download on your mobile phone or tablet. In case you didn’t catch a feature of Nadifa’s great first novel, check it out here. While you’re at it, visit our Somali literature page here and learn of other amazing Somali authors.
Live From Mogadishu: A Somali Hip Hop Concert Tour and Documentary should be coming to a city near you! Despite all the negative images and the fallacy that some media outlets will have you believe that Mogadishu is the most dangerous city on earth, here goes a promotional tour that brings together Somali culture and music! The tour headlines the group Waayaha Cusub who were recently featured in the Rolling Stone Magazine. The group, along with Somali international music phenom K’naan will perform at one of the concert events in New York this Aug 22nd! Participate, learn more, and show some love! Be Inspired. Be Positive. Be Somali!
Referred to by some as the hip-hop renegades, Somali artists “Waayaha Cusub” (meaning “new era”) are taking the world by storm! The group was recently covered in a Rolling Stone Magazine article which canvassed their love for music as much as their love for Somalia! The group consists of Shiine Akhyaar, the lead singer and manager; his wife and lead vocalist Falis Abdi; and tenor singer Dikriyow Abdi. Shiine describes the harrowing tale of being forced out Mogadishu and eventually being shot several times because of his and the group’s love for Music and their need to spread peace through song and dance. For those of you wondering about Somali music, it refers to the musical styles, techniques and sounds of Somalia, which are centred on traditional Somali folklore. Most Somali songs are pentatonic in the sense that they only use five pitches per octave in contrast to a heptatonic (seven note) scale. While mostly singers are highlighted through Somali music, its songs are usually the product of collaboration between lyricists (midho), songwriters (lahan), and singers (‘odka or “voice”). Read Waayaha Cusub’s coverage in the Rolling Stone Magazine here and make sure to catch them play at the Somali Concert Tour for Peace on Aug 28nd in New York.
In case you missed it, the Hargeisa International Book Fair was held from July 13th - 18th under the theme, “Let books be your companion”! Now in its fifth year, the six-day Fair hosted authors, artists, filmmakers, musicians, actors, journalists, composers and singers from Somaliland and abroad with the support of the Somaliland authorities. Among the participants was Somali poet Mohamed Ibrahim Warsame Hadrawi who encouraged visitors to pay heed to the message of the fair and take advantage of the opportunity presented. In total, 5000 books were donated, most of which were to University libraries in Hargeisa while others were for sale, including new books in Somali and English. In addition to the Fair, a travelling library, part of the Redsea Online Culture Foundation’s efforts to strengthen reading and writing, visited Borama, Berbera, Sheikh, Burao and Erigabo between July 2nd and July 9th. All these efforts are aimed to ensure that the wonder of books are accessible to young Somalis! Visit the Fair’s website here and learn more.
Courtesy of vintagesomalia: To those that can’t utter religious tolerance and Somalia, here is an example that speaks truth to power. Mogadishu Cathedral (circa 1950’s) was a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Mogadishu, Somalia, and seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mogadiscio. It was built in 1928 in accordance with the Italian plan for the development of Mogadishu as capital of Italian Somaliland. It was built in a Norman Gothic style, and based on Cefalù Cathedral.
While we wait for the crown of Miss Somalia in the near future and while Somali models take the runways by storm, we should take a moment and rejoice in the efforts of Khadija Adam Ismail. Khadija was crowned Miss Kenya in 1984 and was a semifinalist at the 1984 Miss World contest which earned her the title “Queen of Africa”. In a recent article, Nairobi newspaper Daily Nation caught up with her. The newspaper notes that 27 years after she was crowned Miss Kenya, Khadija remains an epitome of African beauty and is still attracting attention, albeit in another arena -business. Khadija’s face has graced magazines such as Cosmopolitan and Time in 1987 and 1989 respectively, a feat any model would yearn for today. Described as “too radical and opinionated” by judges at the Miss World pageant in 1984, Khadija’s spirit to go against the grain is still intact. For 10 years since 1986, she modelled across four continents and in all of the five major fashion capitals with a major advertising campaign for Yves Saint Laurent’s couture. You can read more of the excerpt here. Visit the the following blog for a look at Khadija’s many graces on Magazines and billboards. While you’re at it, take a look at video footage of the Miss World 1984 contest here.
Interested in finding out more about the Somali diaspora in the United States? Read their heartbreaking and hopeful stories collected by photographer Abdi Roble and writer Doug Rutledge. Abdi and Doug documented the lives of Somali immigrants in the United States in a book titled “The Somali Diaspora”. Their book traces, through photographs and essays, the journey of a family from the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya to new lives in the United States. The work takes readers from civil war to the culture shock, growing roots in the Somali community, learning English, finding work, and—in a remarkably short time—participating fully in American life. Read more.
River Shabeelie, near Afgoye 1963 courtesy of vintagesomalia!
Did you know that Somalis in Norway equal to about 25,000? That number makes Somalis the 5th largest group in Norway and one of the largest populations from Africa in the Nordics! Take a listen to the above video featuring stories from this vibrant Somali community which was filmed in connection with the Nordic Somali Youth summit held this past March 2012. Enjoy and Be Inspired! Be Positive! Be Somali!
2012 International Women’s Day celebrations in Somalia.
Meet Somali visual artist Loul Samater, a painter, sculptor and teacher with roots in Saudi-Arabia and currently based in the United States. With an educational background in painting, fine arts and sculpting from Chicago and Florence, Loul has showcased in Los Angeles, New York and other galleries and institutions throughout the world. She recently returned from Somaliland, where she expanded the visual vocabulary that now fuels the work in her studio. Check out some of her installations as part of a recent New York showcase here and read more.
