Check Out Eiman Yousif’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eiman Yousif.

Hi Eiman, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I am a self-taught artist who started to paint five years ago. My art is mainly abstract and it represents Feminism, Africanism, and Islamic and Sudanese cultures. My work is a result of my upbringing in Africa, in the deep-rooted Sudanese culture, as well as my life journey in the United States and the UAE.

This mixture of cultures and ethnicity influenced my work and produced paintings that tell stories of myself, my experiences and many faces of people and cities.

I am the recipient of “The Visitors choice Award” at NOON exhibition –Sharjah Ladies club 2016, for my collection “Kandaka”.

I was honored to represent my countries three years in the International Women Art Exhibition in 2018, 2019, 2020;

And was featured in “100 Women Artists around the World” book in its 2019, 2020 editions.

I am also an educator with a great passion for teaching and motivating young people to reach their goals.

Last year during the pandemic, I started the first free online education initiative for students in Sudan who were out of school for nine months. With the help of 28 volunteer teachers, we were able to teach 1400 K-12 students through WhatsApp groups. I received a Hero’s Award from Teachers without Borders for this initiative.

I moved to the States October of last year from the Middle East. Although I did not continue my career as a teacher, I stayed in the education field by working in KC Girls Prep Academy, with hopes of continuing to inspire young women of color and minorities around the globe.

My first exposure to art in KC was “The First Fridays” and I was fortunate enough to participate in the Latinos Art Festival at ElCentro in October where I met great people, enjoyed the culture and introduced myself as an artist.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Starting late with my art has its drawbacks for sure. I was not known in the artist nor did I have any formal knowledge of arts, artists or exhibitions. However, I was driven and full of excitement to enter the world of creativity and I pushed through and had to find a place in the art scene with much younger and more skilled artists. Many times I was criticized for my style or for the lack of perfection and symmetry in my work which hindered my progress for a few years but soon, I discovered that this is my style and art does not have to be perfect. With the support of my children who encouraged me throughout this journey and continue to do so, I was able to continue and create and sell more art and participate in many exhibitions such as World Art Dubai and the International Women Art Exhibition.

Working full-time as a single mother to support my family also took time from pursuing my art and becoming a full-time artist. Getting lost in a world of colors and paintings brought me great joy and satisfaction but I can paint only when I have time.

Now that I am in the States, I also need to figure out my way into the art scene and establish connections so I can exhibit my work and share it with the people around here.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a teacher by profession. I have a Master’s Degree in Education Leadership and have been a teacher for over 20 years. I taught English as a second language in Sudan, USA and, Dubai, UAE. I am mostly proud of my students and the love and respect they have for me. One of my students, in a message he sent me, called me “a lifesaver” and continued to say how he always looked forward and will miss the laughs, debates and discussions that we had in class.

I am also greatly proud that I was able to help the students in Sudan continue their education during the crisis in 2020 with quality education that was free and accessible for all. We continued to serve the community after schools were opened in 2021 with after school enrichment classes in every subject, despite the struggles with electric outages and weak internet signals.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I would like to host a solo exhibition in the near future and open a small boutique for my hand-painted clothing line QueenKandaka. I also would like to get a degree in art and attend one of the great art schools here in Kc and have my own studio and create art full time.

Contact Info:

• Email: mimiyousif@gmail.com
• Website: www.beamsoflight.online
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/artbyeimanyousif https://instagram.com/queenkandaka