Uman (artist)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Uman (born 1980) is a self-taught Somali-born contemporary artist whose work blends abstraction and figuration, with references to Arabic calligraphy and the natural world. She is based in upstate New York.
Uman was born in Mogadishu, Somalia.[1] At age nine, her family relocated to Mombasa, Kenya to escape the Somali Civil War.[1][2] Uman moved to Denmark to live with an aunt at 13.[1][2] As a teenager, she visited art museums in Vienna, Austria.[3]
Uman does not have a formal arts education, but spent a lot of time drawing and sewing as a child. She reportedly got in trouble at school for doodling on her desk.[4]
In the early 2000s, the artist moved to New York City, where she sold her artwork on the street.[2] Uman has lived and worked in upstate New York since 2010. She has not returned to Africa since her childhood, partly due to fears about her safety as a trans woman.[3][5]