Ahmed Ibrahim Abdel Aal

A painter, writer, and scholar, Professor Ahmed Abdel Aal is the Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts in Khartoum, Sudan and the founder of the School of One, one of the most influential groups of artists in contemporary Sudan. Abdel Aal regularly publishes articles and books which he illustrates himself with calligraphy works and inspiration from Arabic, Muslim and African cultures. Whilst living and studying in Paris for 6 years he obtained a doctorate in "The Aesthetic Principles of Islam Based on a Study of the Thought of Ibn Arabi". Upon returning from Paris he founded the School of One in Sudan. According to Thierry Quinqueton, director of the French Cultural Centre in Khartoum, Abdel Aal is "undoubtedly one of the great witnesses of the Sudanese identity of the new century.