In the words of Rashid Diab
It is all gone now. The war ravaging Sudan at the moment is turning into a cleansing of our civilization. There is a darkness pending over the country. I am trying to portray the abrupt violence I have just been through and am still processing, the distancing from family and friends, uprooted from my house, my library, my property, my thousands of artworks, my gallery and my art centre. My whole career, countless awards, certificates… a whole 45 years of dedication to my people gone in an instant. I feel impotence in the distance, for the incessant abuse of human rights, the lack of humanity and emotion myself and the whole of Sudan have been subjected to. The destruction of infrastructure and more important of social unity and cohesion. Again, tribalism and racism rise, genocide and massacres are rampant.
As for my works, my main subject, it remains the delicate situation of women. A constant theme of mine for almost 20 years now. Women bearing the brunt of migration, navigating the infinite landscape of Sudan whilst the men kill each other. Husbands and sons are lost and the women must support the full responsibility of the future and sustenance of their family.
For me they are a symbol, an icon of our diversity, of our social variety and our unity. Their colorful and patterned aesthetical garments (toub), their curves and gestures, their stance when faced with the flat land, lost and in an insecure space. The explosion of violence always leaves our women more vulnerable to the most putrid and heinous acts. The violence has forced us all to nowhere, this was an escape from relentless destruction, psychopathic in nature.
These wars, civil conflicts, genocide and armed tribal attacks have plagued the nation since its birth. Now I have become part of the constant exodus I portray. Children and babies appear, as I feel impotence towards my situation. The women carrying heavy bags, whatever one can get…yet these are not just physical, but mental. For all the people of Sudan are now carrying with them agony and anguish, grief and deep nostalgic memories. Fauna reappears in my work in the form of birds perched on someone’s head, indicating lack of spirit, freedom, lack of self. I try to show in the most pleasant way the sad and excruciating reality, but not in an overt manner. Rather I use the elements of paint that reflect what I want so express and allow me enjoy my creation, the distance and abyss, the space, composition and use of color, the anatomy of the body, its movement and of course light. I endeavor to show what this has done to me and my people with lines and shapes that in harmony produce an uncomfortable truth.
Rashid Diab – Nairobi – November 2023
Rashid Diab - A short biography
Rashid Diab (1957) was born in Wad-Medani, a town on the bank of the Blue Nile River in Sudan. From a young age, what he wanted to do and could do best, was paint. To become an artist seemed like the only path in his destiny.
He enrolled at the College of Fine and Applied Arts in Khartoum. Graduating in 1978, he was awarded a scholarship to attend the Complutense University of Madrid where he graduated in both painting and printmaking. In 1991 he attained a PhD on the subject of ‘Traditional and Contemporary Sudanese Art and its multiple extensions’.
Since the 80’s, until the present, he has exhibited internationally, in both private and public institutions. His works are collected by national museums, libraries and private collectors, worldwide. In 1999 he moved back to Khartoum with his family to further the art scene in Sudan and he opened Dara Art Gallery, the first professional art gallery. In 2005 he inaugurated the Rashid Diab Arts Centre; a non-profit organization dedicated to ‘the eradication of cultural illiteracy’, as Diab would put it. The centre was an artists’ refuge, something which he lacked as a child and where he would pay homage to Sudanese Culture until the outbreak of war this April 15, 2023.
Rashid Diab has had to flee his home, family, his life and country, back to Spain where he continues to work as a painter.
Rashid Diab (1957) was born in Wad-Medani, a town on the bank of the Blue Nile River in Sudan. From a young age, what he wanted to do and could do best, was paint. To become an artist seemed like the only path in his destiny.
He enrolled at the College of Fine and Applied Arts in Khartoum. Graduating in 1978, he was awarded a scholarship to attend the Complutense University of Madrid where he graduated in both painting and printmaking. In 1991 he attained a PhD on the subject of ‘Traditional and Contemporary Sudanese Art and its multiple extensions’.
Since the 80’s, until the present, he has exhibited internationally, in both private and public institutions. His works are collected by national museums, libraries and private collectors, worldwide. In 1999 he moved back to Khartoum with his family to further the art scene in Sudan and he opened Dara Art Gallery, the first professional art gallery. In 2005 he inaugurated the Rashid Diab Arts Centre; a non-profit organization dedicated to ‘the eradication of cultural illiteracy’, as Diab would put it. The centre was an artists’ refuge, something which he lacked as a child and where he would pay homage to Sudanese Culture until the outbreak of war this April 15, 2023.
Rashid Diab has had to flee his home, family, his life and country, back to Spain where he continues to work as a painter.
Rashid Diab Selected CV 2023
EDUCATION / INSTITUTIONS
1978 B.A. (Honors) in Painting. Khartoum College of Fine Art, Khartoum, Sudan
1984 Fine Art Degree in Painting. Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
1986 Fine Art Degree in Etching. Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
1991 Ph.D. from the Faculty of Fine Art. Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
Sudanese painting: Traditional and Contemporary
1991 – 1999 Teacher at the Faculty of Fine Art. Complutense University of Madrid
1999 Founded Dara Art Gallery
2005 Founded Rashid Diab Arts Centre
2018 President of the Sudanese Artists Union
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2023 “Season of Bitter Migration” Barrak Naamani – Beirut, Lebanon
“Mis impresiones de España” Spanish Ambassadors Residence – Khartoum, Sudan
2022 “A trajectory of Etchings” Red Hill Art Gallery – Nairobi, Kenya
"Enhanced Visions" Mono Gallery -- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
"Echos du temps" at the French Institute -- Khartoum, Sudan
2021 Reopening exhibition at Dara Art Gallery -- Khartoum, Sudan
International Art Fair – Cairo, Egypt
2019 National Museum of Bahrain -- Bahrain
Dar Alfnoon -- Kuwait
2018 One Off Contemporary Art Gallery -- Nairobi, Kenya
Al Markhiya Art Gallery -- Qatar
2017 London Millennium Gloucester hotel -- London, U.K
2016 National Museum -- Caracas, Venezuela
Dara Art Gallery -- Khartoum, Sudan
2015 Rawaq Bab Al-Rawah -- Rabat, Morocco
2011 City Hall Gallery -- Oslo, Norway
2010 National Gallery -- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
OFID Headquarters -- Vienna, Austria
King AbdalAziz Center -- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2009 Korea Cultural Foundation -- Seoul, South Korea
SELECTED AWARDS
2013 Awarded King Juan Carlos award for excellent Service, Knight Class
2010 Awarded the Flame of Peace by Öfferl Gesmb, Vienna, Austria
2010 OFID Medal for Cultural Achievements, Vienna, Austria
2010 Climate Icon, an Ambassador for the Environment for the British Council, Khartoum
2008 Creativity award "WIPO" The World Intellectual Property Organization
2007 Ambassador of Peace, Japan
2006 Selected within the international personalities in the International Organization "Who is Who."
1991 Prize of Acquisition in Drawing Biennial X, Zamora, Spain
Maximo Ramos Prize in Serigraphy, El Ferrol, Spain
1989 Medal from the Cuban Fund of Cultural Goods, Havana, Cuba
1988 Medal from the Cairo Biennial III, Egypt
1987 Prize from Taipei Biennial III, R.O.C. (Taiwan)
1986 Medal from the Cultural Foundation of Abu Dabi, U.A.E.
1985 Honorary scholarship from Spanish-Arab Institute of Culture, Madrid, Spain
1979 Honorary scholarship from the Ministry of Exterior Affairs of Spain
SELECTED PRIVATE AND MUSEUM COLLECTIONS
OFID (OPEC Fund for International Development) Collection, Vienna, Austria
Wifredo Lam Centre of Contemporary Art, Havana, Cuba
Museum of Fine Arts, Alexandria, Egypt
Modern Museum of Etching, Cairo, Egypt
Arab World Institute, Paris, France
UNESCO, Paris, France
Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Amman, Jordan
African Centre of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Arab League, Madrid, Spain
Diputación de Zamora, Zamora, Spain
Junta de Andalucía, Seville, Spain
Ministery of Foreign Affairs, Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional, Madrid, Spain
Hindiyeh Museum, Amman, Jordan
Museum of Modern Art, Baghdad, Iraq
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León, León, Spain
Museo Municipal Bello Piñeiro, Ferrol, Spain
National Library, Madrid, Spain
San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Madrid, Spain
Spanish-Arab Institute of Culture, Madrid, Spain
National Council for Arts and Letters, Khartoum, Sudan
Life Museum of Fine Art, Tunis, Tunisia
Museum of Modern Art, Tunis, Tunisia
Arak Foundation, Doha, Qatar
Ramzi and Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation, Beirut, Lebanon
EDUCATION / INSTITUTIONS
1978 B.A. (Honors) in Painting. Khartoum College of Fine Art, Khartoum, Sudan
1984 Fine Art Degree in Painting. Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
1986 Fine Art Degree in Etching. Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
1991 Ph.D. from the Faculty of Fine Art. Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
Sudanese painting: Traditional and Contemporary
1991 – 1999 Teacher at the Faculty of Fine Art. Complutense University of Madrid
1999 Founded Dara Art Gallery
2005 Founded Rashid Diab Arts Centre
2018 President of the Sudanese Artists Union
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2023 “Season of Bitter Migration” Barrak Naamani – Beirut, Lebanon
“Mis impresiones de España” Spanish Ambassadors Residence – Khartoum, Sudan
2022 “A trajectory of Etchings” Red Hill Art Gallery – Nairobi, Kenya
"Enhanced Visions" Mono Gallery -- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
"Echos du temps" at the French Institute -- Khartoum, Sudan
2021 Reopening exhibition at Dara Art Gallery -- Khartoum, Sudan
International Art Fair – Cairo, Egypt
2019 National Museum of Bahrain -- Bahrain
Dar Alfnoon -- Kuwait
2018 One Off Contemporary Art Gallery -- Nairobi, Kenya
Al Markhiya Art Gallery -- Qatar
2017 London Millennium Gloucester hotel -- London, U.K
2016 National Museum -- Caracas, Venezuela
Dara Art Gallery -- Khartoum, Sudan
2015 Rawaq Bab Al-Rawah -- Rabat, Morocco
2011 City Hall Gallery -- Oslo, Norway
2010 National Gallery -- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
OFID Headquarters -- Vienna, Austria
King AbdalAziz Center -- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2009 Korea Cultural Foundation -- Seoul, South Korea
SELECTED AWARDS
2013 Awarded King Juan Carlos award for excellent Service, Knight Class
2010 Awarded the Flame of Peace by Öfferl Gesmb, Vienna, Austria
2010 OFID Medal for Cultural Achievements, Vienna, Austria
2010 Climate Icon, an Ambassador for the Environment for the British Council, Khartoum
2008 Creativity award "WIPO" The World Intellectual Property Organization
2007 Ambassador of Peace, Japan
2006 Selected within the international personalities in the International Organization "Who is Who."
1991 Prize of Acquisition in Drawing Biennial X, Zamora, Spain
Maximo Ramos Prize in Serigraphy, El Ferrol, Spain
1989 Medal from the Cuban Fund of Cultural Goods, Havana, Cuba
1988 Medal from the Cairo Biennial III, Egypt
1987 Prize from Taipei Biennial III, R.O.C. (Taiwan)
1986 Medal from the Cultural Foundation of Abu Dabi, U.A.E.
1985 Honorary scholarship from Spanish-Arab Institute of Culture, Madrid, Spain
1979 Honorary scholarship from the Ministry of Exterior Affairs of Spain
SELECTED PRIVATE AND MUSEUM COLLECTIONS
OFID (OPEC Fund for International Development) Collection, Vienna, Austria
Wifredo Lam Centre of Contemporary Art, Havana, Cuba
Museum of Fine Arts, Alexandria, Egypt
Modern Museum of Etching, Cairo, Egypt
Arab World Institute, Paris, France
UNESCO, Paris, France
Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Amman, Jordan
African Centre of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Arab League, Madrid, Spain
Diputación de Zamora, Zamora, Spain
Junta de Andalucía, Seville, Spain
Ministery of Foreign Affairs, Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional, Madrid, Spain
Hindiyeh Museum, Amman, Jordan
Museum of Modern Art, Baghdad, Iraq
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León, León, Spain
Museo Municipal Bello Piñeiro, Ferrol, Spain
National Library, Madrid, Spain
San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Madrid, Spain
Spanish-Arab Institute of Culture, Madrid, Spain
National Council for Arts and Letters, Khartoum, Sudan
Life Museum of Fine Art, Tunis, Tunisia
Museum of Modern Art, Tunis, Tunisia
Arak Foundation, Doha, Qatar
Ramzi and Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation, Beirut, Lebanon