In Sudan, art is expressed in many forms and ways. There are remarkable talents and personas that paved their path through countless challenges and hardships facing each and every one of them. But with the gear of determination to make a change and the artillery of knowledge, courage and discipline – the gift of creativity continues to inspire them.

Lovin’ had a chat with Rayan Khalil; An artist and a visual painter that took us through her life, career, challenges and dreams she wishes to paint for herself, Sudan and its people, and we can’t wait to share the details with you so without further ado, let’s get on with it!

Photo Credits: Osman Nezam Aldeen

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Getting to Know Rayan

Rayan is an artist and a visual painter that graduated as an architect from UofK, she is a professional editor and proofreader as well. Rayan mentioned that many architecture students wanted to study art in the first place and that was their primary passion.

Architecture had a remarkable addition to Rayan’s art style; helping with refining her observation of objects, shades, colours etc. She pointed out that architecture and art in general originate from the same source, with their history and theories bound strongly for centuries.

Woman of Many Talents!

It’s noteworthy to say that, besides her profound love for art, Rayan never made an official career shift – she is in fact a Master’s Degree holder in Architecture and a lecturer with teaching experience at different universities!

Rayan went professionally into art after eight years of practising it and took a big step towards establishing her own space, safe haven and creativity fount known as Rayank Studio.

 

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A post shared by Rayan Khalil (@rayank.studio)

Challenges Along the Road

Rayan described that there are a couple of challenges that faced her through her journey so far; finding time for both architecture and art was such a hurdle, all whilst striving to build an audience and grow popularity in the city, despite the lack of support from communities who did not believe art could be a stable career.

 

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A post shared by Rayan Khalil (@rayank.studio)

Memorable Moments

As we asked her about the most notable moments in her journey so far, Rayan reminisced and told us, “Establishing my own studio brought a large impact on my career, and helped with acknowledgement from the senior artists and audiences.”

Rayan also dedicated a special message of gratitude to Khartoum Arts Center (KAC) as they were an intrinsic factor in her growth and adventure as an artist.

Two years before founding the studio I studied at KAC where I honed my skills and learned a lot of quality work. The motivation and support I had from everyone there was boundless and I feel infinitely grateful to them for where I am today.

Walk-through Rayank Studio

The studio started as a room within an office when it was established back in December 2020 in AlRiyadh district. It remained there for more than a year and then relocated to Shambat by the end of 2021.

Rayank Studio gives you the feeling of transcending to another dimension and separates you partially from reality into a world of floating dreams. It brings such an exquisite sight, a canvas of vibrant colours assembled into inspiring pieces everywhere!

Rayan’s idea was to separate herself in her own studio which pumps her to work more professionally since she tends to avoid procrastination once being there. It is one of her timely pieces of advice to artists who face commitment issues with their work and deliverables.

Motivated To Make a Change

The challenge with the community starts with families who do not usually support the idea of offspring pursuing art as a career. Usually perceived wrongly, and often thought of as a careless activity to be doing, these have been only some of the challenges that women face within the industry.

In a field that has also been majorly dominated by men, women around the city have struggled to receive recognition and appreciation for their art – and this helped motivate Rayan to carry on with her passion for art, and create her very own space.

Lifetime Goals

Rayan strives to work towards an era where women are liberated from anything undermining them and allowed to earn the right to have their dreams recognised.

Lastly, Rayan wanted us to send a Lovin’ message to all the women out there, artists or not, that her studio is always open for them to grace her with their visits and that she is ready to give all the support and advice they need with their art, dreams and well-being overall!

Make sure to go and follow her page which serves as an outlet of consistent elegance in creativity and art.

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