Alaa Satir

After her graduation in architecture at the University of Khartoum, Satir became known through her cartoons and other graphic illustrations reflecting her critical views of society and politics in Sudan. Besides publishing her work on social media, she worked as a freelance graphic artist for NGO's, Sudanese media and as an independent cartoonist in Khartoum. In 2017, she organized her first personal exhibition, called Morning Doodles, reflecting her views on women's rights, social media and politics in her country.{{Cite web|last=UNESCO|date=2019-04-04|title=Alaa Satir|url=https://en.unesco.org/world-press-freedom-day-2019/alaa-satir|access-date=2021-05-28|website=UNESCO|language=en}} In 2018, the French cultural institute in Khartoum presented an exhibition dedicated to her graphic works on the topic of violence against women.See the video of Alaa Satir explaining her exhibition on violence about women at the French institute of Khartoum in 'External links'.

Before and during the Sudanese revolution of 2018/19, her work became more widely known through large-scale mural paintings in Khartoum, stating the importance of women in the revolution, thus lending an artistic voice to the demands of the protests.{{Cite web|last=Lamensch|first=Marie|title=Sudan's Artists of the Revolution - An interview with Alaa Satir|url=https://www.themantle.com/arts-and-culture/sudans-artists-revolution-1|access-date=2021-05-30|website=www.themantle.com}} Following this period, she moved to the United Kingdom to acquire an M.A. degree in Fine and Applied Arts at the University of the Arts London.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2019-12-22|title=Interview with Alaa Satir|url=https://shado-mag.com/do/3-changemaker-series/|access-date=2021-05-28|website=Shado Magazine|language=en-US}}

According to Vogue Magazine, "Alaa Satir set off a chain of artistic expression in Sudan when she painted a bold blue and yellow mural of a crowned woman, arm defiantly stretched, alongside a rhyming chant translating to "Hey ladies, stand your ground, this is a woman’s revolution" on a blank wall..."{{Cite web|last=Mukhtar|first=Amel|title=The brilliant women making a difference in Sudan's female-led revolution|url=https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/sudanese-female-revolutionaries-speak-out|access-date=2021-05-28|website=British Vogue|language=en-GB}} As Satir said in another interview, creating street art was important to her, as “the street is very much traditionally dominated by men (...) it is different for a woman to take up this space.”{{Cite web|last=Egyptian Streets|date=2021-01-22|title=Should artists consider themselves "artivists"?|url=https://egyptianstreets.com/2021/01/22/should-artists-consider-themselves-artivists/|access-date=2021-05-28|website=egyptianstreets.com|language=en-US}} Through her publicly visible murals, she wants to reach diverse groups of people, from different age groups and educational backgrounds, as they all can have access to her work on the streets. One of her most widely known murals shows a group of women with the caption "We are the revolution".{{Cite web|last=monlinebus|date=2021-04-19|title=Alaa Satir – The woman who uses art towards empowerment|url=https://doha-style.com/alaa-satir/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419154110/https://doha-style.com/alaa-satir/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=19 April 2021|access-date=2021-05-28|website=doha-style.com|language=en-US}}

Since 2019, she has been a member of the international association Cartooning for Peace, founded by renowned French cartoonist Plantu and other cartoonists from different countries.{{Cite web|last=Cartooning for Peace|title=Alaa Satir|url=http://www.cartooningforpeace.org/|access-date=2021-05-28|language=fr}} As such, she participated in a conference and exhibition in early May 2019 to honour World Press Freedom Day in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.{{Cite web|last=Cartooning for Peace|date=May 2019|title=Cartooning in Africa|url=http://www.cartooningforpeace.org/|access-date=2021-05-28|language=}} In May 2021, Cartooning for Peace published a collection of press cartoons in a French book, entitled Africa, with Satir's graphic art featured alongside fifty other cartoonists from African countries as well as on the book's cover page.{{Cite web|last=Plantu and Cartooning for Peace|date=May 2021|title=Africa|url=https://calmann-levy.fr/livre/africa-9782702167526/|access-date=2021-05-28|language=}}

{{Blockquote|text=Freedom of speech was not commonly practiced here, so the idea of people going out chanting things against the regime, making demands, that's very new to us. I wouldn't have thought that one day we could be painting murals in the street. Poetry or music or visual art, it's a way for us to practice using freedom of speech more.|author=Alaa Satir, Sudanese graphic artist and social activist}}

• Visual arts of Sudan

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• {{Cite book|last1=Plantu|author-link1=Plantu|last2=Guitton|first2=René|title=Africa|publisher=Calmann-Levy|year=2021|pages=|isbn=9782702167526|location=Paris|url=https://calmann-levy.fr/livre/africa-9782702167526}}

• [https://www.instagram.com/alaasatir/ Alaa Satir] on Instagram
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoeVklURC5I Video of Alaa Satir describing her exhibition about violence against women at the French Institute, Khartoum, 2018] on YouTube
• [https://500wordsmag.com/art-and-culture/sudan-uprising-on-an-artistic-note/ Sudan Uprising: On An Artistic Note] - magazine article on 12 Sudanese politically engaged graphic artists

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Category:1991 births

Category:Living people

Category:Sudanese graphic designers

Category:Sudanese contemporary artists

Category:21st-century Sudanese artists

Category:Sudanese activists

Category:21st-century Sudanese women