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Friday November 24, 2023
By Amina Isir Musa
Hafza Yusuf’s vibrant creations celebrate Somali culture and her own artistic vision.
Hafza Yusuf is a London-based artist and textile designer who creates traditional Somali clothing with a contemporary flair. Credit: Photo by Hajara Osman, courtesy of Hafza Studio.
Hafza Yusuf, a London-based artist and textile designer who creates captivating traditional Somali clothing with a contemporary flair, will premier her first international exhibit on Saturday, November 25, at Soomaal House of Art in Minneapolis.
Her Hafza Studio designs and sells scarves, traditional Somali guntiinos (an off-the-shoulder traditional Somali dress that’s also wrapped around the waist), and tote bags. The exhibit of her work is titled “Ilays,” which means light in Somali.
Hafza said she is excited to visit Minnesota for the first time and meet her supporters and customers.
Born in Somalia but raised in London, she started her career as an artist. Then, with the support of her parents, she earned a degree in textile design from London’s School of Art, Architecture and Design.
After years of soul-searching and experimenting, she came to realize that women in the Somali diaspora wanted clothing that was culturally rooted but also contemporary and beautiful. She launched her first clothing collection in 2019.
Her first collection, called Hido Iyo Dhaqan, was inspired by the traditional alindi fabric used to make guntiinos. Hafza’s addition of classic floral designs made for a bold collection that honors Somali culture but also features her distinctive eye for style.
Hafza’s designs are intricate, illuminating and beautiful. Her current Shamsa scarf collection and Shaash guntiinos reimagine traditional Somali Shaash prints with bright colors and her signature floral designs.
“It’s very special to me [to come to Minnesota], as I know the Somali community is quite large there and I’ve heard about it for so long,” she said. “Most of my customers and online supporters are based in Minnesota, so I’m looking forward to meeting a lot of them.”
Hafza Studio’s work is deeply rooted within the Somali community. In addition to creating and selling textiles and other items, she teaches art classes in London. She said she has always been interested in how she could use art to give back to the community she comes from.
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“Art can mean so much more when it’s something meaningful to your heart,” Hafza said. “After some experimenting and soul searching, [art] was a way for me to connect to my heritage.”
One example of her connection to her community is the art workshops she offers elderly Somali women. What began as a summer volunteer opportunity blossomed into a fruitful experience. The elderly women shared the ways in which they engage with Somali art, poetry, and textiles. Some who had been weavers in Somalia brought in fabric they had made.
For Hafza, the class became an opportunity to link Somali history and heritage to the present.
A focus on light
The Minneapolis exhibit’s name came from a suggestion by her mother. Hafza previously had used the name “Shamsa,” a Somali word that also translates as light. Her work, she reasoned, was not only shining a light on the Somali textile industry, which was robust before the Somali civil war, but also on the creativity of Somali diaspora cultural production.
The multimedia exhibit will feature her bright, colorful fabrics and include a video of her artistic practice. Another display will highlight guntiino designs.
A three-dimensional digital display will show various fabrics she works with. “I want to challenge this notion that Somali cultural textiles are only things from the past and that culture is stagnant,” Hafza said. “It is not. Art is a beautiful way to evolve any culture and celebrate it in so many different and unique ways. I hope this exhibit starts this conversation.”
Alongside the exhibit at Soomaal House, there will be an artist’s talk.
Hafza will also hold a daylong workshop on December 2 at the Somali Museum of Minnesota. To see more of her work, or shop from her collection, go here.You can also see her work at instagram.com/hafzastudio.
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