Dhaqan Collective

Dhaqan collective is a Somali feminist art collective led by Ayan Cilmi and Fozia Ismail.

Their practice seeks to find ways of building imaginative futures that support Somali people here and in East Africa to resist the threats over our cultural heritage. Cilmi and Ismail are Spike Island Studio holders & Pervasive Media Studio residents in Bristol.

The collective uses everyday materials, cassette tapes, food, textiles, to create spaces of communion, joy and healing that centre the full range of Somali diasporic experiences.

“Our practice asks and seeks to find ways of building imaginative futures that support Somali people here and in East Africa to resist the threats over our cultural heritage. We are a feminist art collective of Somali women, centering the voices of womxn and elders in our community, and privileging co-creation and collaboration.

Our creative ecology is rooted in the collective thinking of Somali nomadic life and the creativity at its heart. In the last few decades, Somali nomadic life has become endangered due to environmental collapse.”