(Re)Collecting Sudan: Art and Culture Archives

A person stands in front of a photograph of a fisherman displayed outside. Graffiti of a raised fist and the word “Power” can be seen in the background.

Larissa-Diana Fuhrmann at Georgetown University in Doha

At the invi­tation of Georgetown Uni­versity in Doha, Qatar, PRIF Researcher Larissa-Diana Fuhrmann participated in the first work­shop of the research initiative “(Re)Collec­ting Sudan: Art and Culture Archives” from April 10 to 12, 2025. In the current conflict-ridden moment of Sudan’s history, the pro­ject is dedicated to exa­mining the country’s tangible and intangible cultural contri­butions, surveying what has been lost, highlighting what remains, and actively supporting con­tinued artistic creation and knowledge production.

The event started with an artist talk with Khalid Albaih on the first eve­ning. On this occasion, Larissa-Diana Fuhr­mann curated a small exhi­bition of his work, which was then shown at the uni­versity. Khalid Albaih is this semester’s artist in residence at the Insti­tute for Inter­national and Regional Stu­dies.

During her stay, Larissa-Diana Fuhr­mann benefited from a very pro­ductive exchange with the work­shop partici­pants. Building on the research initia­tive, a confe­rence will be held in Septem­ber. Until then, the partici­pants are working on various publi­cation formats, the content and direc­tion of which were intensively dis­cussed and deve­loped during the work­shop. Among other things, the creation of a special issue is planned, which Larissa-Diana Fuhr­mann is working on.

In addition, Khalid Albaih, the curator Rahiem Shadad and she have been invi­ted to curate an accom­panying exhi­bition as part of the con­ference in September. In addition to the exhi­bition, a publi­cation is planned that will explore the artistic po­sitions on display and place them in the con­text of the current political vio­lence in Sudan.

Larissa-Diana Fuhr­mann is a Researcher in the Research Department Glocal Junctions, wor­king on her pro­ject “Conflict and Art: The Transformative Potential of Aesthetic Practices”. She recently pub­lished the article “'Decon­structed Bodies: In Search of Home' - Amna Elhassan's (Temporary) Memo­rial for the Khartoum Massacre 2019” in the special issue of the journal Cultural Dynamics edited by her and Sabine Mannitz.

Further infor­mation on the work of the research initiative “(Re)Collec­ting Sudan: Art and Culture Archives” at CIRS can be found on the web­site of George­town University, Doha.