Asmaa is a Danish-born Somali poet and multidisciplinary artist, interested, in ancestors, ghosts and diaspora lines. Currently, they are thinking about rituals + ceremonies around water + migration in East Africa. Asmaa is the co-founder of the feminist art collective Dhaqan Collective, along with fellow resident Fozia Ismail and Ayan Cilmi.

As a writer they have been published in print and online, in places like The Poetry Review (in print)The Good Journal, Ambit, and Popshot Magazine. And have been commissioned by places like Hayward Gallery, Arnolfini and Jerwood Arts. Their poetry has been shortlisted for the Wasafiri Writing Prize, The Brunel African Poetry Prize and the James Berry Poetry Prize and longlisted for the National Poetry competion.

In 2019 they competed in the semi-finals of BBC 1XTRA Words First. Prior, to this Asmaa was a writer at Rife Magazine.

In 2020, Asmaa was a BBC New Creative, and in collaboration with Gouled Ahmed, create Before We Disappear, an interactive experience looking at hypervisibility/invisibiltiy. This year, they were commissioned by Bristol Old Vic, to create The Season of Burning Things, a moving image film exploring transience. This was screened at Venice Architecture Biennale as part of 100 ways to say we.

Asmaa is currently a curator in residence with Encounters film festival.  They are also a performer in Dorothee Munyaneza's Mailles. 

 

Studio themes