A Guide for Younger Somali Generation

A Guide for Our Younger Somali Generation Amin Osman, Abdikadir Abdullahi, Hamsa Suleiman

A Guide for Our Younger Somali Generation is part of the group exhibit Six Feet from Home.

Six Feet from Home is an exhibit centered around the work of Ubah Medical Academy’s Photo & Design students. These courses began in person during the Spring 2020 semester and were completed online when students could no longer physically be in school. The title, Six Feet from Home, reflects the current pandemic of Covid-19 around the world and the required distance (6 feet) to be kept between people.

Students collaborated to finalize their projects whilst at home. They created books about various stories they wanted to share with the help of their teacher Mrs. Katie Do and teaching artists Mr. Mohamud Mumin and Mr. Kaamil A. Haider. These stories are of culture and religion, of a boy and a monster, of a dream and identity, and much more.

The first phase of the exhibit will take place online on Say Masha’Allah Gallery’s website. This will be followed by the physical printing of books and a physical exhibition at Ubah Medical Academy.

2020 © Say Masha’Allah Gallery. All rights reserved.

This activity was made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

www.saymashallahgallery.com

THE FORGOTTEN SOMALI CULTURE “The culture of Somalia is an amalgamation of traditions that were developed independently since the proto-Somali era through interaction with neighboring and far away civilizations, including other parts of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Indian subcontinent. The hypernym of the term Somali from a geopolitical sense is Horner and from an ethnic sense.”

— Wikipedia.

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“Somali artifacts and the cultural diffusion of Somali commercial enterprise can be detected in its exotic cuisine, which contains Southeast Asian influences. Due to the Somali people’s passionate love for and facility with poetry, Somalia has often been referred to as a “Nation of Poets” and a “Nation of Bards,” as, for example, by the Canadian novelist Margaret Laurence. Somalis have a story-telling tradition.”

— Wikipedia.

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our style “Somali art is characterized by its aniconism, partly as a result of the vestigial influence of the pre-Islamic mythology of the Somalis, coupled with their ubiquitous Muslim beliefs.”

— Wikipedia.

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our background “The cultural diffusion of Somali commercial enterprise can be detected in its exotic cuisine, which contains Southeast Asian influences.”

— Google.

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our history “Somali, a member of the Somalia Battalion, a pro-Russian military British destroyer Somali cat, a cat breed Somali, a character in the manga series Somali and the Forest Spirit See also Proto Somali, an ancient people.”

— Wikipedia.

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Say Masha’Allah Gallery is a teacher-led, student-driven art gallery housed inside Ubah Medical Academy high school in Hopkins, Minnesota.

Art instructor Katie Do has taught drawing, painting and sculpture for over 7 years to Ubah’s students. To enhance arts literacy at the school, Ubah has collaborated with local artists and institutions to provide students opportunities to engage with professional artists and access to resources to create art and enhance their artmaking skills.

Ubah has collaborated with photographer and visual storyteller, Mohamud Mumin, and graphic designer and visual artist, Kaamil A. Haider for over 3 years. Together with instructor Do, they guide participating students in projects where they explore photography and graphic design as a means of visual communication and creative expression in a culturally relevant context, as well as providing exposure to college arts learning environments.

Students in these courses get the opportunity to exhibit their work at Say Masha’Allah Gallery where the teachers, staff, students and the community at large can see and interact with their work.

Ubah Medical Academy is a public charter high school serving grades 9-12. Founded in 2004 by educational leaders in the East African community, it has consistently ranked as one of the state’s highest performing Title 1 schools by the Minnesota Dept. of Education.

All the exhibits and programming at Say Masha’Allah Gallery are free.

1600 Mainstreet Hopkins, MN 55343

(952) 540-2942

www.saymashallahgallery.com