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Soo Bood, Bood / Come Jump, Jump – Kaamil A. Haider

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SOOMAAL FELLOWSHIP EXHIBITION – 2019

Soo Bood, Bood / Come Jump, Jump – Kaamil A. Haider


August 1 – 29, Gage Gallery

Artists Talk & Reception: August 17, 2019, 6pm, Gage Family Art Gallery


Artist Statement

Soo Bood, Bood / Come Jump, Jump is a multi-channel video installation that uses traditional Somali dance as its starting point. The work examines the internal environment and logic of dance and its accompanying elements of movements and sound. Dance, as in all cultures, particularly in this Somali cultural context, call for many reasons, e.g., celebration, social connection, and self expression. This installation offers varied vignettes of the transformation and transcendence the body assumes as the dancers move, chant, clap and stomp in a unified frenzied rhythm.

In his practice, the artist’s engagement and preoccupation with rituals through repetition are related to his exploration of memory, archives and experiences of his community. Themes of discussion found in this installation, and in many other works by the artist, are constant discourse within the Somali diaspora communities such as the passage of knowledge, rituals and physical connection with their heritage as they forge a new life in their new homes.

Bio

Kaamil A. Haider is Somali born visual artist and graphic designer based in Minneapolis. He has received his B.F.A. in Graphic Design at the College of Design, University of Minnesota. In his art practice, Kaamil considers the power of memory and archives in relation to his personal experiences and that of his larger community. With over a dozen exhibitions, themes of discussion found in his artworks are constant discourse within the Somali diaspora communities such as the passage of knowledge, rituals and physical connection with their heritage as they forge a new life in their receiving societies.

In addition, Kaamil is a co-founder of Soomaal House of Art, a Minneapolis based Somali artists collective supporting a growing number of emerging and established Somali artists living in Minnesota and beyond. He is the recipient of the 2018 University of Minnesota Alumni Association’s U40 Alumni Leader Award for his academic achievement and community engagement through Soomaal. Kaamil is one of the two 2019 Soomaal Fellows, an initiative by Soomaal House of Art and in partnership with Augsburg University Art Galleries. He is also a 2019 Springboard for the Arts’ 20/20 Artist Fellow.


 

SOOMAAL FELLOWSHIP EXHIBITIONS – 2019

SOOMAAL FELLOWSHIP EXHIBITIONS – 2019

August 1 – 29, 2019 – Gage & Christensen Gallery

Artists Talk & Reception: August 17, 2019, 6 pm

Gage Family Art Gallery


Soomaal House of Art (Soomaal) is a Minnesota-based Somali art collective that provides studio space, studio critiques, artistic community, mentorships for younger Somali artists and an annual exhibition space with educational programming.

Soomaal House of Art provides a platform for Somali visual artists who want to create and use art to shape and frame critical discourse around vexing local and global issues of our time. Moving forward, we hope the collective action of this group will lead to sustained partnerships with Minnesota institutions and, together, inspire more Minnesotans, especially Somali Minnesotans, to harness the power of art as a tool for intellectual and civic engagement.

 

Soomaal Fellowship is an initiative by Soomaal House of Art and in partnership with Augsburg University Art Galleries. The artists considered for these fellowships work in a variety of visual art media, including both traditional and new media. During the twelve-month fellowship year, each artist receives studio visits, access to technical assistance and a culminating gallery exhibition at Augsburg University.

Khadijah Muse and Kaamil A. Haider, the selected 2018/19 fellows, have each produced a body of work that culminates in an exhibition on August 1–29, 2019 at Augsburg University’s Gage Family Art Gallery and Christensen Center Art Gallery. The exhibition will have educational components to supplement artworks such as public presentations and panel discussions around the show and contemporary Somali visual art.