Jasour Abualgasim reflects on displacement, collective memory, and the itinerant exhibition that traces Sudan’s cultural landscape across borders.
25 June 2026
As Sudanese communities continue to navigate war, exile and dispersal, ‘Scattered Memories’ emerges as a travelling platform for artistic reflection, dialogue and remembrance. Developed across multiple countries before arriving in Berlin, the exhibition brings together artists, researchers, and cultural practitioners whose works explore memory not as a fixed archive but as a living, evolving process. In this conversation, Jasour Abualgasim discusses the project’s origins, the challenges of creating amidst displacement, and the role of art in sustaining cultural memory during a time of profound rupture.
Working closely with the Goethe-Institut Sudan team, including Sylke Berlin, Faten Faiz, Mohamed Al-Mujtaba and Hadeel Osman, Abualgasim oversaw several iterations of the exhibition across East Africa, including Addis Ababa and Kampala. The Cairo presentation was developed in collaboration with South African curator Michelle Miati.
Photo by Monaim Tohami
Suzette Bell-Roberts: ‘Scattered Memories’ unfolds across multiple cities before arriving in Berlin. How did the idea of an itinerant exhibition emerge, and in what ways does movement itself become part of the project’s conceptual language around displacement, exile and memory?
Jasour Abualgasim: The concept of the ‘Scattered Memories’ project emerged from several dimensions: the Humboldt Foundation’s inquiry into memory, the question of place and the transformations occurring within it, and their impact on the public/citizen. It also stemmed from the question raised by Sudanese people after the war – how what used to be normal and routine in daily life has now become arduous and complex. Forgetfulness… What was the name of that street? When did we last meet? Who was with me that day? These questions seem simple and easy on the surface, but following the repercussions of the war, the displacement and scattering of Sudanese people across various countries, they now provoke distress, tension, and anxiety. Forgetfulness is the affliction of humankind, especially when one is thrust into an unfamiliar, barren environment that distracts you and offers entirely different meanings and narratives from your own. This is particularly true with the changes in countries, languages, customs, and traditions.
The exhibition foregrounds memory as something embodied and collective rather than fixed or archival. How did the curatorial team navigate the tension between preserving memory and allowing it to remain fluid, subjective and evolving?
This was one of the most difficult challenges and questions we faced – not only as a working team, but also for the dialogue participants and artists. In its early stages, the project drew upon many interested researchers, artists, experts, and even mothers outside of conventional artistic circles. The Memory Project belongs to the public, across all their diverse cognitive and life backgrounds. When we first began planning it, we engaged these individuals in diverse working groups to discuss, debate, and pose deep, fundamental questions. These questions open the mind to numerous topics and ways of thinking about what we remember. How do we remember? And why do we remember? These are questions that do not merely seek ordinary answers; rather, they explore how an individual attempts to coexist in a different environment, how they interact with what is happening around them, how they navigate rapid changes, and what kind of future they aspire to. Following this, broad outlines regarding memory began to take shape. From these outlines, we took what could be transformed and translated into an artistic form that expresses these conflicting, highly charged emotions. What stirs your feelings might be painful, but it also makes sense that you have lost, and what can be gathered into a new mould.
Given the ongoing conflict in Sudan and the dispersal of artists and communities across different geographies, what practical and emotional challenges shaped the development of the project over the past two years?
Most of the participating artists found their solace in art, viewing it as a space that offers hope – a medium through which they can feel grounded, think creatively, and engage in diverse production. This process took them a long time to move forward, resembling a journey of healing and recovery in general. I also believe that the diversity of the environments and communities they live in, in one way or another, stimulates them to express themselves and stand out in unique ways. For instance, an artist based in Kenya strives to showcase their Sudanese art, which carries something distinct from Kenyan culture, giving them a profound sense of the importance of bringing it to light. It is a completely different environment, climate, and general atmosphere, requiring time to adapt, clear the mind, and begin creating art. Furthermore, the variation in themes or how each participant perceives the same subject differs. For example, expressing a public space in Sudan varies from one person to another based on their personal experiences there; one might remember the place with sadness because they parted with a loved one there, another with love because they used to visit it with a friend or a father, and another with bittersweet regret, and so on. Thus, the challenge lay in establishing a framework within which everyone could work and produce in diverse forms. The exhibition encompassed several art forms, including theatre, photography, film, music, research writing, animation, painting, storytelling, fashion, traditional folk practices (such as henna body art), and live cooking.
The partnership with the Humboldt Forum carries particular weight within broader debates around restitution, colonial collections and institutional accountability. How does ‘Scattered Memories’ engage critically with the museum context while centring Sudanese voices and lived experiences?
We believe that the space available at the Humboldt Forum provides the exhibition and the project with a broader, more welcoming scope and a larger audience. At the same time, it raises questions about the importance of archiving and documentation in diverse contexts. It also elevates the Sudanese issue to an advanced interactive level, intersecting in multiple ways with communities that have faced similar challenges at different times. Among the fundamental questions – especially following the war in Sudan – is whether what is displayed in museums and galleries truly represents the majority of Sudanese communities, or if it merely represents a specific class or a group that has the privilege of access and engagement with the exhibits. While the exhibition’s current works do not directly address the nature of content related to antiquities or ancient Sudanese civilisation, we aim in the future to hold extensive discussions with UNESCO, given its interest in museums and antiquities in Sudan.
The exhibition incorporates sound, food, oral storytelling, performance and sensory environments alongside visual art. Why was it important to move beyond conventional exhibition formats in order to address questions of cultural memory and loss?
The multiplicity of productions and artistic choices places numerous groups within the project’s artistic framework, seeking to connect artists and cultural practitioners from diverse fields. In this exhibition, our endeavour was to have at least two artists collaborate on a single theme, ensuring their presentation reflects this diversity, such as by pairing research-based writing with music, film, or photography. Live cooking was introduced as an alternative medium of expression to convey what lies ‘beyond the taste’, namely, the regions where the plants, dishes, or juices presented in the exhibition are cultivated. With a simple description, it seamlessly transports you to the geographical and ethnic landscapes of the communities that cultivate these products in their native environments. Consequently, this indirectly stimulates memory, reminding the audience of what they once possessed or prompting them to explore their new environment in search of what might evoke a similar taste, sensation, or feeling.
How have participating artists responded differently to the notion of “scattered memories”? Were there recurring themes or unexpected divergences that emerged across the collaborative process?
The good thing about the project was that it provided space for discussion and dialogue in various forms. This contributed significantly to bringing ideas and themes closer together. Through group discussions, specific themes were identified, including women, spaces, music, land, mobility as an ongoing process, and displacement, given that Sudan has experienced ongoing wars since the middle of the last century. Naturally, however, agreeing on how to present the artistic works required many concessions and mutual understanding. An artist wants to showcase their product in a specific way, but the project’s nature is rooted in the ideas of conflict and instability. Following the war, a Sudanese citizen might find themselves in one country, only to need to move to another or return to Sudan for various reasons. Therefore, we need to be more flexible, even in how we engage with and present the material in the exhibition.
Sudan’s cultural production has often been underrepresented within global contemporary art discourse. What role do you hope ‘Scattered Memories’ will play in reshaping international understandings of Sudanese cultural histories and contemporary artistic practices?
We are following the post-war Sudanese cultural scene, and I believe that the new spaces (the countries hosting the Sudanese) have produced a different dynamic. Over the past three years, many Sudanese artists have showcased their work in diverse markets and on multiple stages at higher levels, whether at international festivals or through partnerships with local institutions in East Africa (Kenya/Uganda), Egypt, and the Arabian Gulf. This has contributed to shaping a different perception of Sudanese arts and cultural output, opening doors to learning about cultural practices, customs, and folk traditions that might intersect with those of the host nations. Through this exhibition and its journey across Egypt, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, and Berlin, we are contributing in some way to introducing communities and art institutions to highly evolved, quality-driven Sudanese artists who can present their ideas at a level that meets the standard of competition.
At a moment when so many Sudanese communities are experiencing rupture and uncertainty, what kinds of conversations, solidarities or forms of healing do you hope this project might create for audiences both within Africa and internationally?
The exhibited products reflect the diverse facets of Sudanese communities, thereby serving as an indirect medium that projects the values of peaceful coexistence, celebrates Sudanese heritage, and bridges differing perspectives. It sheds light on the crisis and addresses it primarily from a humanitarian standpoint. Although the issue is inherently linked to political and social dimensions, our efforts focus on emphasising what unites people rather than what divides them. Through the exhibition, side dialogues are facilitated – either following panel discussions or within an immersive space for film screenings and culinary experiences. We harness this atmosphere to foster indirect dialogue among a diverse Sudanese audience and the host country’s public (such as Egyptians, Ethiopians, Ugandans, etc.), who are also part of the exhibition’s target audience. While the exhibition’s overarching concept aims to stimulate Sudanese collective memory, it also opens doors for non-Sudanese to explore Sudanese culture, understand it, and discover common ground.
This exhibition was on view at the Goethe-Institut Sudan office in Cairo from 1 to 3 May 2026.
