BIOGRAPHY
THE ARTIST
The artist was born in Port Sudan on the Red Sea and grew up in Khartoum, where dust, unfinished construction, and an undercurrent of political tension left a lasting mark on her visual language. She studied business before turning to painting as a way of working through memory and personal experience — a practice that has grown into a wider inquiry into identity, power, and resistance within Sudanese society.
Her work carries the imprint of a generation raised amid curfews, sudden unrest, and moments of collective upheaval, from the assassination of John Garang to the 2019 revolution that brought an end to Bashir's thirty-year rule. In the years that followed, Sudan's art scene briefly flourished, and murals and street art gave visual form to the revolution's call for "Freedom, Peace and Justice."
Human figures fused with architecture appear throughout her paintings, evoking shelter as a source of comfort, safety, and belonging. It is an idea she returns to with particular weight, having witnessed how completely it can unravel: since the war broke out in Sudan in April 2023, millions have been displaced, including the artist herself.
Her work also confronts the violence that preceded and followed this rupture — including the June 2019 massacre and the ongoing conflict between the RSF and the Sudanese army — taking up displacement, gendered violence, and survival as recurring themes in her paintings.
aRTIST STAtement
THE ART
Grounded in lived experience and critical observations, my work opposes the systems—historical and ongoing—that shape collective memory, marginalization, and justice. After graduating business school, my focus has shifted towards exploring the complex intersection of identity, power and resistance within the Sudanese community.
Oil paint is central to my practice — its forgiving nature, the richness of its color, and the timeless quality it brings to a surface. Working on premium linen canvas, in earthy tones of raw umber, burnt sienna, and yellow ochre, I paint with a palette knife, building up texture in layers that mirror the roughness of unfinished concrete and exposed rebar. Figures are often integrated into scenes of incomplete construction, a visual language that reflects Khartoum's dusty atmosphere and its quietly apocalyptic undertone — a city perpetually caught between building and ruin.
As a self-taught artist, my practice has been shaped through independent exploration, experimentation, and sustained curiosity. Without a formal artistic pathway, mentorship came from a range of sources — artists, curators, and writers — each offering distinct perspectives rather than a single prescribed method. This openness allowed the work to evolve organically, informed by dialogue, observation, and critical exchange. Over time, these varied influences have strengthened discipline, sharpened voice, and grounded the practice in both autonomy and continual learning.
EXHIBITIONS
2025
A Black Art Fair, NIA Center — Toronto, Canada
A Black Art Fair is dedicated to showcasing and selling original works by Black-Canadian artists from all career stages.
The Legendary Power of Creativity on Paper — Osaka, Japan
Moleskine and Moleskine Foundation present DETOUR, the travelling exhibition of artists’ notebooks, Italy Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka.
Detour at the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana — Milan, Italy
An experience, which transports the visitor into the heart of the creative process, from the mind of the artist to the page of the notebook.
2024
The Other Art Fair, Barkar Hangar — Santa Monica, USA
Houston Art Fair, Matthew Reeves Gallery — Texas, USA
2023
Detour at Saatchi Art Gallery — London
Ici Le Soudan at the Institut Français d’Egypte — Cairo
Sudan Heritage at Lamasat Art Gallery — Cairo
2022
Pink Flame at the Village Market — Nairobi, Kenya
Solo Exhibition "A Place Named Embrace", Savanna Innovation Lab — Khartoum, Sudan
Fragrance of Sudan at Karim Francis Gallery — Cairo, Eygpt
2019
Blanc et Noir at the French Cultural Center
L’effet Papillon at The French Cultural Center — Khartoum
Women for Social Change at Khartoum International Community School — Khartoum, Sudan
PRESS & MEDIA
Painting a canvas of revolution and resilience in Sudan
In the dusty streets of Khartoum, Dahlia Baasher found her voice in the earthy tones of her homeland. Her works are poignant narratives of resilience and identity, mapping personal and collective histories to show a world that must not be forgotten.
