Somalia’s Balloon by Ifrah Mansour

Ifrah Mansour to perform Somalia’s Balloon at the 2019 Festival of Nations 2019.

Somalia’s Balloon is a short play where a young girl retells the colonial history of Somalia using balloons and movement. The play explores Somali history from the perspective of children’s in hopes of gaining more understanding about the Somalis in Minnesota.

Ms. Mansour is a Somali, refugee, muslim, multimedia artist and an educator based in Minnesota. Her artwork explores trauma through the eyes of children to uncover the resiliencies of blacks, muslims, and refugees. She interweaves poetry, puppetry, films, and installations. She’s been featured in BBC News, VICE, OkayAfrica, Star Tribune, and City Pages Minneapolis. Her critically-acclaimed, “How to Have Fun in a Civil War” premiered at Guthrie Theater and toured to greater cities in Minnesota. Her first national museum exhibition; “Can I touch it” premiered at Minneapolis Institute of Art. Her visual poem, “I am a Refugee” is part of PBS’s short Film festival. “My Aqal, banned and blessed” premiered at Queens Museum in New York. Learn More: www.facebook.com/ifrahmansourart

The 15-minute performance will be repeated five times during the afternoon.