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Arts Call for Darfur

Written by Rachel England
Tuesday, 07 April 2009 00:00

As the International Criminal Court issues an arrest warrant for Sudanese President, Omar al-Bashir, the eyes of the Western world again turn to the devastation, poverty and violence on-going in Darfur. In a crisis of such massive scale, idealistic notions of charitable donations are long gone. What people need, says a pioneering art collective in Wales, is hope.

In 2007, a group of artists from Wales, concerned about the increasing crisis in Darfur, came together with an idea. They wanted to create an arts project that would not only generate awareness of the conflict in Sudan and raise money for humanitarian aid but, more importantly, put those caught up in the crisis back in touch with their cultural roots which have been destroyed by years of famine, poverty and extreme violence. With these goals in mind, they launched Arts Call for Darfur, starting with 20 pieces of artwork and a small exhibition space in the History and Arts Centre of Cardiff’s Butetown, an area famed for its multicultural heritage.

The project now has 100 artists on board, many of them international, and the exhibition has travelled extensively around Wales. Strong links have been forged between the two countries, and, as project organiser Sian Hamza – who has been involved with Sudanese artists for ten years – said, the work is making a real difference.

“What’s happening over there is hideous,” she said. “But we’re able to help and make an impact because we’re talking about arts and culture rather than politics. We’re able to communicate with high up officials over there because we’re not discussing the whys or wherefores of the origin of the crisis. It’s not about giving the people food or money, it’s about giving them back a sense of who they are and hope for the future.”

Hamza and the Arts Call group are in regular contact with the Sudanese Ministers of Culture and Education, and a number of visits between the two countries have taken place. “We went to Darfur for a week and were shown one of the camps,” she said. “This was just one, mind. There are a huge amount of camps there. It was just devastating to see. There was one tap providing 30,000 people with water.”

The group took arts materials with them and spent time with the camp’s children, painting and drawing. In the evening, they held a concert with some of Sudan’s most famed musicians. “In some cases, you could see that it was the best thing that had ever happened to them,” Hamza said. “One man, who had been living in the camp for ten years, told me afterwards, ‘You have shown us we should forget about the guns and pick up our drums.’ This is what we’re trying to do, to help them see themselves, their heritage, their culture again. To help them communicate through art.”

Following the Sudanese visit to Wales last December, officials there are now prepared to set up an office in Darfur so that the project can be passed on to them eventually, giving them some control over, and re-establishing, the country’s arts and culture industry.

“The Ministers want change too, and the next step in the project is education,” explained Hamza. “We’re in talks about opening a women’s centre there and we’re in partnership with the University of Glamorgan and intend to build a small school. The sad fact is that many of these people will be stuck in those camps for years but, if we can empower them, even in a small way, it could make it slightly more bearable for them.”

The exhibition artwork is now on permanent display in The National Museum of Khartoum, in Sudan, but limited edition prints signed by the artists are available for purchase. 40% of each sale goes to Save the Children, 30% is re-invested in the Arts Call for Darfur project and the remaining 30% goes to the artists (to encourage ongoing involvement in the project and help create an income for artists around the world). Unfortunately, in these cash-strapped times people are buying less art and Hamza is concerned that the project might run into financial difficulty.

“To be honest, we thought we could have raised the money by ourselves,” she said. “But now we’re looking at funding opportunities so we can take art and craft items over to Darfur, as well as carry out our other plans.”

These other plans, which include the developmental projects in Sudan, also involve a proposed exhibition in the summer, incorporating work from Sudanese artists as well as those involved in Arts Call for Darfur.

“The Cultural Department of Sudan will be sending some funding,” Hamza said, “in order to help finance Sudanese art brought to Wales – paintings, crafts, traditional items depicting their cultural heritage.”

The exhibition is planned to travel around Wales before heading to London where the pieces will be auctioned and will make for compelling viewing given the contrasts between the Welsh and Sudanese artists’ work.

“Welsh artists are comfortable with their lives, so they tend to paint what they see. Emotions are depicted subtly,” explained Hamza. “Sudanese artists, however, paint from poetry; their plight, their dreams, anguish.”

While the Welsh – and indeed the Western world – are more comfortable with their lives, I asked Hamza if, given the current economic climate and increasing number of issues within our own country, people are beginning to overlook the crisis in Darfur.

“There are so many crises all over the world,” she sighed. “Right now, I think people in the West are concerned with what’s happening to themselves. We want to demonstrate that even though it’s tough for us, we’re still in a really good position. We eat, live and move freely. But people in Darfur are really, really suffering. Those [who are] more fortunate need to be directed to these issues, especially at this time of self involvement. Just a small amount can help us give hope to the people of Darfur, and let them see their future in a different way.”

You can support Arts Call for Darfur in a number of ways. See www.artscallfordarfur.org for more information.