Linh Hoang

On October 26th, 2017, I attended a panel discussion at the Minneapolis Institute of Art called "I am Somali.” This event gathered three artists who were displaying their art in the
“I am Somali exhibit”. One thing that made this panel so interesting was the three artists came from different generations.  Hassan Nor (81) and Aziz Osman (69) were both born and raised in Somalia. Only later in their lives did they migrate to the U.S in the 1990s due to the civil war in their home country. Ifrah Mansour (30), on the other hand, was born in Saudi Arabia and grew up in the United States. Due to these experiences, their art highlighted different things as well. (MIA). 

 

I learned so much about the Somali culture during this panel. Something that I never knew was how little art was regarded in the Somali community. There was a much larger focus on poetry, so art was more pushed aside. There are huge historical reasons as to why that is so. As mentioned in the exhibition page, this is due to "in part because of Somalia’s long Islamic tradition, which discourages the visual depiction of people while embracing the power of the spoken word"(MIA). Thus, it can be difficult to make it in art without receiving scrutiny from your own community. (Knowledge and understanding level 1-2)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Their art further shows the different experiences the artists had gone through. Nor and Osman highlighted life in Somalia. Nor really highlighted the daily life of an average Somalian, while Osman looked more at the transition into the war. Mansour, growing up in the U.S, highlighted the cultural ignorance, racism, and stigma which she and many other Somalians experience daily. (MIA).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This panel specifically helped me understand much more about the art which was being presented. I had looked at the pieces online before attending the panel, but afterward, it gave me more insight into the different works. It also reminded me how little I knew about the Somali culture. There was so much of which I was not aware of, and I generalized quite a lot of the Somali Experience (Self-awareness level 1-3). I thought their experiences would be like other African cultures, which I had learned was not the case, and did not know that many Somali people had come here to escape a war.

 

During the panel, there was time for questions. Someone who was an art teacher had asked how to better expose his students to more diverse art without being offensive. Then, a Somali woman in the audience stood up and replied: "you go and learn." She went on to give him some resources, including the Somali museum in Minneapolis. This segment stood out to me because I also connected to the artist. I was reminded again how much I need to go out and learn about the different cultures around me (Knowledge and Understanding Level 1-2). While there is still so much to learn, this panel opened my eyes and I feel like I am taking steps in the right direction.