{"id":5783,"date":"2025-04-29T19:30:06","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T17:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/p-hug34t.project.space\/waris-diries-ausstellung-mogadishu-blues-im-bank-austria-kunstforum-wien\/"},"modified":"2025-04-29T19:36:43","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T17:36:43","slug":"waris-diries-ausstellung-mogadishu-blues-im-bank-austria-kunstforum-wien","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/p-hug34t.project.space\/en\/waris-diries-ausstellung-mogadishu-blues-im-bank-austria-kunstforum-wien\/","title":{"rendered":"Waris Dirie’s Exhibition \u201cMogadishu Blues\u201d at the Bank Austria Kunstforum Vienna"},"content":{"rendered":"

Impressive Opening of Waris Dirie’s Exhibition \u201cMogadishu Blues\u201d at the Bank Austria Kunstforum Vienna<\/span><\/h2>\n

With the opening of \u201cMogadishu Blues\u201d on April 23, 2025, Waris Dirie made her first public appearance as a visual artist, revealing a new, deeply personal facet of her extraordinary life journey. The five-day exhibition offers intimate insights into a biography marked by rupture and new beginnings \u2014 turning the Bank Austria Kunstforum Vienna into a place of encounter with memory, emotion, and artistic self-assertion.<\/p>\n

Dirie’s 29 acrylic paintings \u2014 powerful, intuitive, raw yet sensitive \u2014 immerse visitors in a visual diary: memories of her childhood in Somalia, the hardships of fleeing, the tenderness of a mother\u2019s love, the pain of loss, and the strength of friendship. Despite being self-taught, her works impress with their clear compositions, confident, decisive brushstrokes \u2014 and the authenticity of an artist who tells her story through colors rather than words.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy life is shaped by action. The work on canvas is the result of my life, which I want to share with you,\u201d<\/em> explains Waris Dirie.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Entrepreneur Christian J\u00e4ger was not only a guest that evening but also shared moving words. He shares a long-standing friendship with Waris Dirie, as well as a commitment to social engagement in Africa. Since 2024, Christian J\u00e4ger has been building and operating the “Dr. Manfred J\u00e4ger Educational Centers” in Africa, named in honor of his father \u2014 a project implemented in collaboration with the *Desert Flower Foundation* founded by Waris Dirie. Both J\u00e4ger\u2019s schools and Dirie\u2019s foundation work to protect girls from female genital mutilation and promote sustainable education initiatives.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince founding the Desert Flower Foundation in Vienna in 2002, we have pursued one central goal: ending female genital mutilation. Worldwide, around 250 million women are affected \u2014 a shocking figure! To bring about sustainable change, we are currently working with 15 international partner organizations. A major milestone was the opening of our first center for the holistic treatment of affected women in 2013. However, prevention is crucial \u2014 and education is the strongest tool we have. Eight Desert Flower schools have already been established, and a ninth is currently in planning \u2014 in close cooperation with Christian J\u00e4ger,\u201d<\/em> says Walter Lutschinger, Director of the Desert Flower Foundation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The artworks in the exhibition are not available for regular purchase but can be acquired through a donation to the *Desert Flower Foundation* founded by Waris Dirie.<\/p>\n

Waris Dirie<\/strong>, born in 1965 in Somalia, gained worldwide recognition through her autobiography \u201cDesert Flower\u201d and her decades-long fight against female genital mutilation. As a UN Special Ambassador, bestselling author, and founder of the Desert Flower Foundation \u2014 which implements education and protection projects for girls worldwide \u2014 she has played a key role in shaping the global discourse on human rights and female empowerment. With \u201cMogadishu Blues\u201d, she now presents herself for the first time also as a visual artist.
\nMore information at: desertflowerfoundation.org<\/p>\n

Information about the Dr. Manfred J\u00e4ger Educational Centers in Africa: Dr. Manfred J\u00e4ger Educational Center<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the opening of \u201cMogadishu Blues\u201d on April 23, 2025, Waris Dirie made her first public appearance as a visual artist, revealing a new, deeply personal facet of her extraordinary life journey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5771,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[186,182,153],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2025-en","category-dr-manfred-jaeger-educational-center-en","category-unternehmensgruppe-jager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/p-hug34t.project.space\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/p-hug34t.project.space\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/p-hug34t.project.space\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p-hug34t.project.space\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p-hug34t.project.space\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5783"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/p-hug34t.project.space\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5783\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5786,"href":"https:\/\/p-hug34t.project.space\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5783\/revisions\/5786"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p-hug34t.project.space\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/p-hug34t.project.space\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p-hug34t.project.space\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p-hug34t.project.space\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}