Renowned activist and author Waris Dirie celebrated her debut as a visual artist on Wednesday evening at the Bank Austria Kunstforum Vienna with the opening of her exhibition "Mogadishu Blues." The five-day show offers a deep insight into Dirie's eventful life story, from her childhood in Somalia and her escape to personal emotions and the pain of loss, expressed in 29 powerful acrylic paintings.
Dirie's self-taught works impress with their clear composition and decisive brushstrokes. Ö1 presenter Christine Scheucher emphasized that Dirie's paintings move impressively between figuration and abstraction, and that each painting speaks of survival, identity, and self-assertion. Dirie herself explained that the work on canvas is the result of her life, which she wanted to share with visitors.
The exhibited works are not for regular sale, but can be purchased as part of a donation to the Desert Flower Foundation, founded by Waris Dirie. This foundation campaigns against female genital mutilation worldwide and supports educational projects. Walter Lutschinger, director of the Desert Flower Foundation, emphasized the shocking number of approximately 250 million women affected worldwide and the eight schools the foundation has already established.
The vernissage attracted numerous personalities from the arts, culture, and business world. The exhibition "Mogadishu Blues" will be on view at the Bank Austria Kunstforum Vienna until April 27, 2025, before embarking on an international tour with planned stops in Paris and several German cities. Waris Dirie, who gained international recognition through her autobiography "Desert Flower" and has been committed to the fight against female genital mutilation for decades, presents a new facet of her artistic expression with this exhibition.
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