The Hub Sudan: Purposefully Here to Serve the Community

Ever since things in Sudan changed after the glorious December revolution, the desire to make Sudan better rises coninuously. The initiative featured on this article is on that same motivated path.

The Hub Sudan is an idea that was born in a creative atmosphere, to serve creative purposes. Their motto ‘By Sudanics, for Sudan’ shows that the inititiave targets Sudan wholeheartedly.

How it all began

On one evening in January 2020, a group of people gathered in a café for a normal conversation. The gathering included architect Asim Mohammed, his brother Dr Alaa Mohammed, graphic designer Mohammed Omer, artist Israa Suliman, and marketing specialist Ayman Alnour. At a later stage, they were joined by Rayana Hamed.

Realising the variety of talents before his eyes, Asim suggested the creation of an entity to make use of the expertise of those present. The suggestion was welcomed, and it later became what is currently known as The Hub Sudan.

So who are behind this big idea?

During the first meeting, the five founding members agreed between them that each one would adhere to their talent, and work to deliver as many projects as possible based on it. After they became six, duties were distributed as follows:

1. Talent Manager, Israa Elamin Suliman
2. Public Relations Officer, Dr Alaa Mohammed
3. Marketing Manager, Ayman Mohammed Alnour, Holder of PhD in digital marketing
4. Logistics Manager, Asim Mohammed
5. Art Director, Mohammed Omer Elkhidir, graphic designer and experienced brand strategist
6. Artistic Manager. Rayana Omer Hamed, architect and visual designer

Scope of The Hub Sudan

As a space for creative individuals, The Hub Sudan concerns itself mainly with offering a chance for creativity to let loose, creating a platform to welcome unorthodox ideas with no judgement.

Acquiring financial sponsorship is a challenge in Sudan, despite the increasing interest in art in the community. Many galleries and art houses offer to host and showcase artworks, but not many offer funding. Certainly, it is essential for artists to be financially secured in order to bare exhibitions costs. Which is why The Hub Sudan intends to bridge this gap, and serve as medium between artists and sponsors.

The story of #SpokenArt

During the protests in 2019, many artists found it suitably inspiring to create artworks related to the situation. Israa was one of those who were inspired by the movement. She and Rayana released a caption that later turned into campaign hashtag #SpokenArt, and asked everyone to participate with what they are good at, whether it’s drawing, photography, videography, writing, or other art forms. The important thing was that it should express something specific. Furthermore, based on different quotes for 30 days, Israa made it a requirement that the artwork should be submitted in what is known as curatorial content. Rayana was responsible of managing online interaction. The results were massive. They received an overwhelming number of artwork, which motivated the team to bring the idea to her colleagues, and propose organising an event to welcome more talents and their artwork. The team was excited with this new idea, and quickly started to plan for and organise the event.

Like any other event, there were some challenges related to hosting and funding. Nevertheless, the team was able to overcome them, cooperating with USAID to sponsor the event, and host it at the House of Heritage.

Spoken Art exhibition took place in December 2020, showcasing mainly four categories of artworks: Paintings, photos, videos, and public speaking. During the event, the points which the judges’ panel based their opinions on were:

• Artworks meeting submission standards in size and clarity
• Artwork strength in idea and concept
• Artwork execution and quality
• Artwork representation and relation to curated content

Amount of participations was enormous. After unveiling the exhibition, the audience was shocked to see the many submitted, talented artwork. By the time of awards, two of the winners were below the age of 18, winning prizes for best drawing and best video. This was an opportunity for participating artists to receive much-needed motivation to continue practicing art and for winners to gain more exposure within the community.

Intended participation in the community

The Hub Sudan aims mainly to:

• Elevate the community’s standards in terms of practicing art.
• Raise awareness on art and talents, to convince the local community that art can exist within anything, and anyone can be an artist.
• Help Sudanese artists reach global standards, and support local talent to compete on an international level on the long run. 

The Hub Sudan is different

There are a handful of operational hubs in Sudan at the moment, what motivated the founding members to start yet again another hub? What would make this one stand out amongst other hubs? Well, such questions were not absent from the founders’ minds when discussing The Hub Sudan’s establishment. Eventually, two factors would make The Hub Sudan successful:

• Professionalism at work: Carrying out tasks at the very best to ensure jobs be well done. High levels of professionalism attract sponsors and guarantees their trust.
• Enabling creativity: team members and ideas from outside The Hub are welcome. If it’s possible, then it’s doable. That is the motto.

Other programmes offered by The Hub Sudan

The Hub Sudan have in their bucket as well:

• Podcasts: Weekly audio streaming, set to host interviews with various influencing individuals, plus share news about the artistic scene in Sudan and The Hub Sudan’s latest updates.
• Internship programme: This is divided into two: One professional, and one artistic. The goal of the professional programme is to equip participants with good practical skills and basic understanding of the occupational world, in order to help them determine from an early stage what they wish to become in the future. The second programme is meant to teach prospected artists the alphabets of the craft, how to create an artwork, how to understand art, and how to interact with other artworks.

What’s next for The Hub Sudan?

There are three events scheduled in The Hub Sudan’s 2021 calendar. Preparations are ongoing for the first event of the year, which is a virtual event for Mother’s Day in March, followed by a mid-year event that is yet to be determined, and then the second edition of Spoken Art, set to take place in September 2021. Furthermore, The Hub Sudan’s team is working on expanding, recruiting new members, and making agreements with new sponsors.

For more information on The Hub Sudan, find them on social media, Instagram: @Thehub.sdn, and Facebook: The Hub Sudan

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Tony Malik is a 27-year-old IT graduate of National Ribat University (Class of 2013), residing in Sudan and the UAE. His professional background includes marketing, IT, writing & translation, and business administration. He is a former writer for Sudan365.net and Goethe Institute-Sudan, and a member of German-Sudanese cooperation group.