Khalid Albaih or Khalid Wad Albaih ( ar, خالد ود البيه; born 22 April 1980) is a Sudanese

political cartoonist An editorial cartoonist, also known as a political cartoonist, is an artist who draws editorial cartoons that contain some level of political or social commentary. Their cartoons are used to convey and question an aspect of daily news or curren ...

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life ...

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fr ...

and

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance ...

journalist, who grew up as member of the Sudanese

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews afte ...

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the c ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...

. He has published his social and political

caricature A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, a ...

s and articles mainly in Arab and international

online media Digital media is any communication media that operate in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital media can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, and preserved on a digital electronics device. ''D ...

, and his

graphic art A category of fine art, graphic art covers a broad range of visual artistic expression, typically two-dimensional, i.e. produced on a flat surface.

has also been

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

ly exhibited internationally.

Life and artistic career

The son of a former Sudanese

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

, Albaih grew up outside of his home country. Apart from his freelance work as

and

, he was employed as Head of Installation and Design by the Qatar Museum Authority. Since 2017, he has been living in Copenhagen, Denmark, where he has been invited by the International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN) programme as a city artist. Albaih publishes his written or graphic social and political commentary in newspapers or magazines like

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazee ...

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

, and his cartoons on his

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social me ...

pages under the name “Khartoon!,” a

word play Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, pho ...

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of imag ...

and

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...

, the capital of Sudan. In September 2016, when he was a

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

fellow at

Colby College Colby College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. It was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, then renamed Waterville College after the ...

in Maine, United States, Albaih created a cartoon of

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

player and civil rights activist

Colin Kaepernick Colin Rand Kaepernick ( ; born November 3, 1987) is an American civil rights activist and football quarterback who is a free agent. He played six seasons for the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League (NFL). In 2016, he knelt d ...

, kneeling with his

Afro hairstyle The afro is a hair type created by natural growth of kinky hair, or specifically styled with chemical curling products by individuals with naturally curly or straight hair.Garland, Phyl"Is The Afro On Its Way Out?" ''Ebony'', February 1973. ...

in the shape of a black fist, that quickly went viral. With this widely shared cartoon, Albaih wanted to evoke the historic images of other

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-dev ...

s who took a firm position on civil liberties. Also in 2016, Albaih and ten other visual artists from the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

took a

road trip A road trip, sometimes spelled roadtrip, is a long-distance journey on the road. Typically, road trips are long distances travelled by automobile. History First road trips by automobile The world's first recorded long-distance road trip by ...

across parts of the United States, exploring and commenting on US civil rights and relations with the citizens of other countries. In 2019, and in cooperation with the German Cultural Centre in Khartoum, Albaih co- edited an illustrated book, called ''Sudan Retold''. This art book presents artistic renderings of the

history of Sudan The history of Sudan refers to both the territory of the Sudan, Republic of the Sudan, including what became in 2011 the independent state of South Sudan. The territory of Sudan is geographically part of a larger African region, also known by ...

by 30 different young Sudanese artists, including graphic stories about the country's colonial history, cartoons about its diverse languages or changing ideals of feminine beauty in Sudan. In 2019, he was awarded the ''Freedom Artists Residency'' by Artists at Risk Connection (ARC) in New York City. Albaih's cartoons have been publicly exhibited in group and individual

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibiti ...

s in

Gulf countries The Arab states of the Persian Gulf refers to a group of Arab states which border the Persian Gulf. There are seven member states of the Arab League in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. ...

, Europe, and the United States. In 2020, Albaih's work and activism were presented as a virtual exhibition on

Google Arts & Culture Google Arts & Culture (formerly Google Art Project) is an online platform of high-resolution images and videos of artworks and cultural artifacts from partner cultural organizations throughout the world. It utilizes high-resolution image technol ...

Activism for civil rights and freelance journalism

As activist for universal civil rights, Albaih not only comments on political events in his home country Sudan, but also has published cartoons and given talks about other current events, like the popular uprisings known as the

Arab Spring The Arab Spring ( ar, الربيع العربي) was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in Tunisia in response to corruption and econom ...

or the fate of refugees of the Syrian Civil War, exemplified in his cartoon on the death of

Alan Kurdi Alan Kurdi (born as Alan Shenu), initially reported as Aylan Kurdi, was a two-year-old Syrian boy (initially reported as having been three years old) of Kurdish ethnic background whose image made global headlines after he drowned on 2 September 20 ...

. On

online from

Albaih made a personal statement about the continuing dangers of a

counter-revolution A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "counter-revoluti ...

against the Sudanese revolution of 2018/19, as he wrote "that replacing old dictators with younger ones will not solve the region's problems." In the British newspaper

, he declared: "Coming from Sudan, a country that is both located in Africa and part of the Middle East, I carry the baggage of one of the most “complicated” areas in the world. That’s according to the western narrative – as if the West were not one of the main complicating factors in the region. Stressing the importance of Sudanese citizens living abroad for political changes at home, he was quoted in Harper's Bazaar Arabia: "This is a very important time for the Sudanese

to stand up for those fighting for freedom and hope back home. Now is the time for the international community to amplify the voices of those fighting for their freedom on the ground.” Another of Albaih's aims is supporting

social networks A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for ...

for artists living in countries with restrictions of artistic expression and lacking public recognition. With this aim in mind, he participated in the independently organized arts festival in the Sudanese village of Karmakol, the birth place of the prominent Sudanese writer

Tayeb Salih Tayeb Salih ( ar, الطيب صالح, aṭ-Ṭayyib Ṣāliḥ; 12 July 1929 – 18 February 2009) was a Sudanese writer, cultural journalist for the BBC Arabic programme as well as for Arabic journals, and a staff member of UNESCO. He is best ...

in December 2017. Another of his projects for networking is FADAA, a non-for-profit online platform, that aims to offer meaningful connections between art

patrons Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

and artists. In February 2021, the Sudanese cultural magazine ''Andariya'' published an article about the cartoons and personal comments of Albaih on the

Covid-19 pandemic in Sudan The COVID-19 pandemic in Sudan was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was confirmed to have reached Sudan in March 2020. __TOC__ Backgro ...

. At the 2022 art exhibition

documenta fifteen Documenta fifteen is the 15th edition of documenta, a contemporary art exhibition held in Kassel, Germany between June and September 2022. Overview Documenta is a major contemporary art exhibition held every five years in Kassel, Germany. Wh ...

in Germany, Albaih participated with ''The Walls Have Ears'', his sound installation of stories about asylum seekers in Denmark.

Major exhibitions and awards

* ''Africans and Hague Justice'', selection of African cartoons that reflect on the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individua ...

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a list of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's ad ...

, 2014 * ''It’s Not Funny: Political Cartoons by Khalid Albaih,'' The Arab American Museum, Dearborn, MI, 2015
''#Khartoon! - @khalidalbaih at Harvard'', The Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University
2016
do it بالعربي
, Group Exhibition organized by the

Sharjah Art Foundation The Sharjah Art Foundation ( ar, مؤسسة الشارقة للفنون) is a contemporary art and cultural foundation based in Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates, founded in 2009 by Hoor Al Qasimi, daughter of Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi, a me ...

, Sharjah, UAE, 2016
''Project Atrium: Khalid Albaih'', Museum of Contemporary Art in Jacksonville, 2019
*''Oak Fellow at the Oak Institute for the Study of International Human Rights,'' Colby Center for the Arts and Humanities, 2016 *City artist of the International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN) programme, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2017 *Soros Arts Fellowship, 2018 *''Freedom Artists Residency'' by Artists at Risk Connection (ARC), New York City, United States, 2019 *''Stumbling is Not Falling'', ArtX cultural platform, Manhattan, New York City, 2019 *''The Walls Have Ears'', documenta fifteen, Kassel, Germany

References

External links

Khalid Albaih's own webpageKhalid Albaih
on

Cartoon of Khalid Albaih
by Brazilian cartoonist

Carlos Latuff Carlos Latuff (born 30 November 1968) is a Brazilian political cartoonist. His work deals with themes such as anti-Western sentiment, anti-capitalism, and opposition to U.S. military intervention. He is best known for his images depicting the ...

Works by Khalid Albaih at the Barjeel Art Foundation, UAE

''"How to get the other side on your side?"'' Khalid Albaih , HagueTalks
on YouTube *
Crossing The Line
', a project of
Culturunners
' artists social enterprise
''Sudan Retold'', an art book about the Future and History of Sudan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Albaih, Khalid 1980 births Living people Sudanese graphic designers Sudanese journalists Sudanese contemporary artists 20th-century Sudanese artists 21st-century Sudanese artists

Life and artistic career

Activism for civil rights and freelance journalism

Major exhibitions and awards

See also

References

External links