Introduction:
The Muse Magazine is an annual publication by The Muse Multi Studios. Its first issue was released in September 2023, focusing primarily on Sudanese visual art. The magazine features visual, critical, and artistic work, including articles highlighting modern and contemporary art movements, as well as topics relevant to the Sudanese people and their regional connections. The Muse is currently the only magazine dedicated to visual arts in Sudan.
The first issue, produced between 2021 and 2022 but published in 2023 due to political unrest, sought to examine The State of Visual Arts in Sudan, attempting to redefine and reconceptualise it to establish a theoretical framework with a methodological approach to Sudanese art. This effort was not entirely new but rather an attempt to revive and repurpose existing ideas for the present and future. The issue included contributions and interviews with prominent Sudanese critics and artists, such as Dr. Mohamed Abdelrahman Hassan and Salah Elmur.
The second issue, published in 2024 amid war, displacement, and migration, centred on Documentation and Archiving as its main theme, guest edited by Sara Hagalhassan. If art is a creative act rooted in consciousness, then the traditions, customs, and rituals practiced by a society throughout its long history can be considered a living archive that frames and preserves its collective knowledge. The Muse approached this issue as an experimental archival practice—not from the perspective of fixed memory or official institutional archives, but from that of community archives. We invited readers to engage with archives as a dynamic, creative, and collective process rather than as static, unchallengeable records.
The third issue focuses on “Borders and Intersections,” opening a discussion on the evolution and expansion of Sudanese visual arts across the Arab and African regions (particularly Egypt, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Ethiopia, and Kenya). It invites diverse perspectives and creative exchanges, reflecting the magazine’s goal of fostering dialogue on new visions and experiences in visual arts—both within Sudan and its diasporic extensions.
This theme provides space for critical essays, artistic analyses, and personal narratives from artists, critics, and audiences alike. It also seeks to reframe artistic discourse in Sudan and the region in light of contemporary challenges and opportunities. The issue emerges as Sudanese artists disperse across the region, engaging with new artistic scenes. While these contexts may be new, Sudanese art has long been present—from Cairo’s galleries featuring works by masters like Hassan Ali Ahmed, Mohamed Otaybi, Salah Elmur, and Mutaz Elemam, to the Sharjah Art Foundation’s decades-long display of Khartoum School pioneers such as Ibrahim El-Salahi and Kamala Ishaq.
In the contemporary scene, Sudanese artists are integrating into local communities and reshaping perceptions of Sudanese art. For instance, in Kenya, a vibrant community of contemporary artists has emerged, hosting exhibitions that challenge external views of Sudan’s art scene.
If you are a writer, researcher, artist, or art enthusiast with experience or interest in the proposed themes, you may submit your contribution via email to info@musesd.com , including:
Submissions are open to all nationalities and disciplines, provided they align with the issue’s themes.
Submission Period: May 09, 2025 – June 30, 2025
Critical Essays:
Art Projects:
Articles:
Note: Submissions may be in Arabic or English (translation will be provided). Please include a biography and all relevant materials.
