Nature & Spirituality, Nujuum

Nujuum began her journey as a professional artist in 2019 and quickly made her mark in the art world. In 2018-2019, she showcased her work in her first art exhibition at Hargeisa cultural center. At the same time, she was teaching several art courses for adults and children, demonstrating her ability to inspire and guide others in their artistic pursuits.

In 2019-2020, she embarked on a mural art project at Mogadishu EU compound in Mogadishu, representing peace. Her passion for creating meaningful and impactful art shines through in this project.

In 2020-2021, she took on the role of an art teacher at Elman Peace Center in Mogadishu for three months while simultaneously participating in an online art exchange program. Later, she went to Nairobi to finish practical classes for two more months, showcasing her dedication to improving her craft and knowledge.

In 2021-2022, she focused on personal projects, honing her skills and continuing to innovate in her field. Currently, she is at Fundacion Antonio Gala in Cordoba, Spain, working on her own artistic project of introducing her African and Somali culture through her art.

Her dedication to improving her craft and inspiring others is truly inspiring, and we are excited to see where her artistic journey takes her next.

How do you view the evolution of your style and the themes you explore through your art?

My style is more like landscaping and nature, and appreciation of nature and God's creations. I describe it as a temporary style of landscaping through bold colours and brushworks. I showcase my appreciation to nature through my work and make the viewer admire its wonders as well, creating a feeling, calmness and relaxation.

What inspired you to pursue a career in the arts?

My love of art makes me fall in love. I never felt satisfied with other jobs I have done before and from childhood I knew I needed to pursue a career through art and dreamed about exhibiting my work to the world.

Your choice of colour is vibrant and lively, how do you decide on the palette when you are painting?

I only use primary colours, blue, red, yellow and black and white. To create my palette my favourite and mostly observed colour in most of my artworks is green and yellow. I usually create my new colours from the primary colours and I choose them based on visualising the way I think it will look in my work.

How do you approach creating art that is both visually engaging and socially conscious?

I create my pieces through feelings. I interpret my feelings through my art. I usually try to create a piece where the emotions are conveyed through the eye of the viewer, to make them feel the same way I felt when I was creating it. An artwork with is pleasant to the eye and strongly felt appreciated.

How do you merge the elements of visual appeal and social commentary in your art?

I allow the audience to interpret my work the way they think it means to them. But I give the viewer total freedom to engage with my work from their perspective, so I feel merging the elements of social commentary is a personal experience.

Can you discuss any challenges you have faced in your career as an artist and how you overcame them?

I faced lots of challenges when I started my career as a full time artist. The first challenge came from my family as they were unsure about me leaving my nursing job to fully pursue my dream job as a painter and artist. Also, clients most from my Somali community are not aware of the value of the artists job and hard work put in. They tend to buy your work at a cheap price or ask you to do the work for free. Also, material wise in Somaliland and Somalia it is not possible to get art materials to work with, so I had to bring art materials from neighboring countries like Kenya and Djibouti and that cost me a lot, most of which I couldn’t afford. Also religiously people used to tell me it's a cursed job or haram to do artwork depicting living things.

How do you see your art and advocacy evolving in the future?

I would love to advocate through my art. For a better future for my people and my country.

How do you see the role of art in promoting social change and raising awareness about important issues?

Art is an important tool to use for promoting a positive change to our communities. It's a strong weapon to fight against injustice and lack of peace.

What do you think Muslim artists and creatives can do to serve the community better?

I think Muslim artists should involve more on promoting peace in there communities and show the world the positive side of our Muslim ummah. And fight the global misperception of Islamic communities caused by a few.

For more information, check out @nujuumarts

The views of the artists, authors and writers who contribute to Bayt Al Fann do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Bayt Al Fann, its owners, employees and affiliates.