Asmaa Jama

Asmaa Jama is a Danish-born Somali artist, poet, and co-founder of art collective Dhaqan Collective.

They work in-between languages and write about ghosts, hauntings, and archives. Last year, they were writer-in-residence at Arnolfini. They have been published in print and online – in places like Ambit, Ifa Gallery, ANMLY, and The Good Journal – and they have also been invited to perform at Southbank and Poetry Society. Asmaa’s work has been translated into French, Swahili, Somali, Spanish, and Portuguese.

They are currently performing in Mailles, a touring production. Most recently they were shortlisted for the Specimen Press translation prize “To Speak England in Different Languages” (awarded by Specimen Press, The Babel Review of Translation) and were a recipient of the White Pube Writers Grant. Asmaa was a semifinalist in BBC’s spoken word competition “Words First” and among the inaugural alumni of the Obsidian Foundation.

This year, they received an artist’s commissioned from BBC, under the “New Creatives” talent development scheme.