The Soomaal House Library & Archives Center, established in 2021 under the aegis of Soomaal House of Art, plays an imperative role in preserving and celebrating Somali art and culture. The center’s archival collections—organized into Contemporary Somali Art and Artists, the History of Somali Minnesotans, and the Historical Archive of Somalia & Somalis—invite critical engagement with the intersections of art, history, and identity.
This talk will further explore how the center's approach to archiving goes beyond traditional methods, using art as a lens to view personal narratives, community histories, and cultural memory. By combining the creative work of artists with historical materials, the center aims to generate archives that reflect not only the past but also the present-day experiences of Somali Minnesotans. As a result, these archives become living, evolving collections that inspire research, creativity, and knowledge production, prompting critical questions about identity, locality, and the connections that bind Somali artists and communities worldwide.
In addition to preserving the artistic and historical legacy of the Somali community, the center emphasizes the dynamic relationship between art and archives. This relationship fosters new forms of archiving that capture the lived experiences of the Somali community, contextualizing their stories through both historical documentation and contemporary artistic expression.
