Fozia Ismail: A Song for the Xeedho – The Knot Makers

Fozia Ismail is the founder of Arawelo Eats and co‑founder of dhaqan collective. Her practice moves across food, sound, textiles, and found objects to create material‑led artworks exploring migration, climate, identity, and diasporic memory.

Rooted in nomadic feminist pedagogy, her work positions everyday cultural practices as living archives of care and knowledge. Her project Camel Meat & Tapes marked a shift toward a participatory practice grounded in Somali oral traditions and shared acts of listening, eating, and making, reframing domestic and communal spaces as sites of collective learning and authorship.

Central to her practice are objects inherited from her mother’s Somali nomadic roots—vessels, spices, textiles, cassette tapes, and sound recordings are activated through collective use and transformed into sculptural, time‑based, and archival works foregrounding lineage, care, and shared authorship.

With dhaqan collective, Ismail has exhibited internationally at the British Textile Biennale, Southbank Centre, Biennale Architettura Venice, Weltmuseum Vienna, Playable Cities Osaka, and Jodhpur Art Week, supported by the British Council. The collective’s work has received recognition from the MyWorld Playable Cities Award, Counterpoints Platforma Award, and Columbia University’s Digital Dozen.

Ismail’s ongoing research continues to expand between social practice, inherited material culture, and Somali feminist ways of knowing and making.

Counterpoints Arts is a leading national and international organisation in the field of arts, migration and cultural change.

Our mission is to support and create transformative art by, with, and about migrants and refugees – so their stories shape our culture and help change how we see displacement.

Our work takes place at the intersection of climate, racial justice, mental health and displacement and we produce a range of programmes including Refugee Week, Counterpoints Film Productions and Platforma festival.

Central to our mission is our belief that art is much more than an aesthetic experience; that it can open spaces for people to talk across differences, inspire community participation and foster a more compassionate society.

We work across all art forms and collaborate with a range of people and partners, including artists, arts/cultural and educational organisations and civil society activists.