Kamala Ibrahim Ishaf was amongst the first women artists to graduate from the College of Fine and Applied Art in Khartoum in 1962, which she followed with studies in Mural Painting at the RCA in London between 1964 and 1966 and Lithography, Typography and Illustration from 1968 - 9.
Recent exhibitions were held at Sharjah Art Foundation (2016) and Prince Claus Fund, Amsterdam (2019). Solo exhibitions include several at the Institut Francais of Khartoum (2014 and 2015), Shibrain Art Centre, Khartoum (2014), and Sudan National Museum, Khartoum (1974) and Akhnaton Gallery, Cairo, Egypt (1970). Group exhibitions include Camden Arts Centre, London, UK (1969), National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington DC, USA (1993), the Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK (1995), University of Brighton Art Gallery, Brighton, UK (2000), Royal Society of Fine Arts, Amman, Jordan (2002), and Saatchi Galleries, London, UK (2018). In 2019 Ishag was awarded the prestigious Principal Prince Claus Award for Culture, and in 2020 she participated in the Lahore Biennale. Her work is held in international collections including The Jordan National Museum of Fine art, Sharjah Art Foundation, Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington DC and Museum of Modern Art, New York. She lives and works in Khartoum, Sudan.
