work statement
in the whiteness is a poetic exploration of identity through the eyes of a Harari-Ethiopian woman, displaced via war, now living in Canada. She uses poetry and movement as a meditative method of reconnecting with her roots and in doing so, establishes a magical bond with her ancestors.
artist bio
Niya Abdullahi is a Multidisciplinary Artist, Technologist and the founder of @Habasooda, a collective dedicated to sharing the richness of the Muslim experience through a variety of storytelling avenues including short films and data-based graphics. Themes of identity, liberation and resistance inform her work. She uses art as a vessel to promote social change. Her films have screened at TIFF Next Wave, Nuit Blanche Saskatoon, Breakthroughs Film Festival, Gallery 44, amongst others. She was a 2021 Hot Docs Accelerator Fellow and currently sits on the Advisory committee for the Nia Centre of the Arts BLACKOUT project and the City of Toronto’s Artworks TO program.