The rich and varied music of Sudan has traditional, rural, northeastern African roots and also shows Arabic, Western or other African influences, especially on the popular urban music from the early 20th century onwards. Since the establishment of big cities like Khartoum as melting pots for people of diverse backgrounds, their cultural heritage and tastes have shaped numerous forms of modern popular music. In the globalized world of today, the creation and consumption of music through satellite TV or on the Internet is a driving force for cultural change in Sudan, popular with local audiences as well as with Sudanese living abroad.
Jean Plantureux, who goes by the professional name Plantu, is a French cartoonist specializing in political satire. His work has regularly appeared in the French newspaper Le Monde since 1972.
Sudanese literature consists of both oral as well as written works of fiction and nonfiction that were created during the cultural history of today's Republic of the Sudan. This includes the territory of what was once Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, the independent country's history since 1956 as well as its changing geographical scope in the 21st century.
Kamala Ibrahim Ishaq is a Sudanese painter and art teacher, known as one of the founders of The Crystalist conceptual art group in Khartoum. This group rejected common conventions in Sudanese modern painting of the 1960s and strived to find "an aesthetic and critical language that would emphasise the notions of pleasure and knowledge in order to permanently abolish differences and boundaries". Based on her artistic career spanning more than fifty years, Ishaq has been called one of the most important visual artists in Africa.
Nadia Khiari is a Tunisian cartoonist, painter, graffiti artist and art teacher. She is best known for her chronicles and cartoon collections about the Arab Springs, particularly for her character 'Willis from Tunis', dubbed the "Cat of the Revolution" in some sources.
Islam Elbeiti is a Sudanese bass player, radio presenter, and social change activist.
The Sudanese revolution was a major shift of political power in Sudan that started with street protests throughout Sudan on 19 December 2018 and continued with sustained civil disobedience for about eight months, during which the 2019 Sudanese coup d'état deposed President Omar al-Bashir on 11 April after thirty years in power, 3 June Khartoum massacre took place under the leadership of the Transitional Military Council (TMC) that replaced al-Bashir, and in July and August 2019 the TMC and the Forces of Freedom and Change alliance (FFC) signed a Political Agreement and a Draft Constitutional Declaration legally defining a planned 39-month phase of transitional state institutions and procedures to return Sudan to a civilian democracy.
Kandake of the Sudanese Revolution is a photograph of Alaa Salah, a 22-year-old student, standing on top of a car, dressed in white and gold, and leading a crowd of demonstrators in chant during the Sudanese anti-government protests on 8 April 2019. The photograph, taken by activist Lana Haroun using a smartphone, gained world-wide media attention and went viral in April 2019, and was described by several media organisations as iconic, representing women's participation in the revolution who were dubbed the Kandakas.
Photography in Sudan refers to both historical as well as to contemporary photographs taken in the cultural history of today's Republic of the Sudan. This includes the former territory of present-day South Sudan, as well as what was once Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, and some of the oldest photographs from the 1860s, taken during the Turkish-Egyptian rule (Turkiyya). As in other countries, the growing importance of photography for mass media like newspapers, as well as for amateur photographers has led to a wider photographic documentation and use of photographs in Sudan during the 20th century and beyond. In the 21st century, photography in Sudan has undergone important changes, mainly due to digital photography and distribution through social media and the Internet.
The 2019–2022 Sudanese protests were street protests in Sudan which began in mid-September 2019, during Sudan's transition to democracy, about issues which included the nomination of a new Chief Justice and Attorney General, the killing of civilians by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the toxic effects of cyanide and mercury from gold mining in Northern state and South Kordofan, opposition to a state governor in el-Gadarif and to show trials of Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) coordinators, and advocating the dismissal of previous-government officials in Red Sea, White Nile, and South Darfur. The protests follow the Sudanese Revolution's street protests and civil disobedience of the early September 2019 transfer of executive power to the country's Sovereignty Council, civilian prime minister Abdalla Hamdok, and his cabinet of ministers. Hamdok described the 39-month transition period as defined by the aims of the revolution.
MANSAM or Women of Sudanese Civic and Political Groups is an alliance of eight political women's groups, 18 civil society organisations, two youth groups and individuals in Sudan that was active in the Sudanese Revolution.
Assil Diab is a Sudanese visual artist, graphic designer and graffiti artist, based in United States.
Khalid Albaih or Khalid Wad Albaih is a Sudanese political cartoonist, civil rights activist and freelance journalist, who grew up as member of the Sudanese diaspora in Doha, Qatar. He has published his social and political caricatures and articles mainly in Arab and international online media, and his graphic art has also been publicly exhibited internationally.
Ola Alsheikh, also known as Ola Abbas Alsheikh Omer, is a Sudanese freelance documentary photographer. She is mainly known for her pictures of everyday life and social events in Khartoum. In her work, she has placed a special focus on images of women and girls, as well as on the social and ethnic diversity in Sudan.
The visual arts of Sudan encompass the historical and contemporary production of objects made by the inhabitants of today's Republic of the Sudan and specific to their respective cultures. This encompasses objects from cultural traditions of the region in North-East Africa historically referred to as the Sudan, including the southern regions that became independent as South Sudan in 2011.
Soudan 2019, année zéro is a book about the Sudanese revolution, published in French in 2021. It contains descriptions, commentaries and photographs of the protestors' sit-in area during the weeks in May and June 2019 that led up to the Khartoum massacre. As additional visual documents, the book contains images by Sudanese documentary photographers, illustrating different stages and social backgrounds of the revolution up to the destruction of the sit-in by security forces on 3 June 2019.
Eythar Gubara, is a Sudanese freelance photographer and activist for human rights. She is mainly known for her documentary images of everyday life in Sudan and of events during the Sudanese Revolution. In her work, she has placed a special focus on images of women, as well as on social diversity in Sudan.
On 25 October 2021, the Sudanese military, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, took control of the Government of Sudan in a military coup. At least five senior government figures were initially detained. Civilian Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok refused to declare support for the coup and on 25 October called for popular resistance; he was confined to house arrest on 26 October. Internet outages were reported. Later the same day, the Sovereignty Council was dissolved, a state of emergency was put in place, and a majority of the Hamdok Cabinet and a number of pro-government supporters were arrested. As of 5 November 2021, the list of those detained included "government ministers, members of political parties, lawyers, civil society activists, journalists, human rights defenders, and protest leaders", who were held in secret locations, without access to their families or lawyers.
Amna Elhassan is a Sudanese visual artist and trained architect, who lives and works in Khartoum. Her artistic work is often focused on the perception of Sudanese women in public and private life, expressed in a variety of media, including printmaking and painting.
The College of Fine and Applied Art in Khartoum is the only public art school in Sudan. Its predecessor was founded by the British administration in 1945 as School of Design in the former Gordon Memorial College. In 1951, it was incorporated into the Khartoum Technical Institute that became the Sudan University of Science and Technology (SUST) in 1971, and the school was renamed College of Fine and Applied Art.
