MA Alum Illustrates Book Published By Simon & Schuster

MA alum, Munir Mohammed is an artist whose murals grace a good number of Providence buildings. But he has most recently been challenged to scale his work down to 12" x 12" in a book authored by Mary Wagley Coop for which he has created some stunning illustrations. Munir shared with me that his debut into the world of illustration and publication was somewhat akin to "going to school" However, now with a literary agent on hand, Munir is eager to explore more work on this scale.

The press release for the book "Wherever I Go" states that "in light of the unprecedented number of refugees all over the world seeking sanctuary, this subject matter is, sadly, more timely than ever. This book shines a light on their plight and can help foster sympathy and understanding. Though it engages with heavy concepts, Mary Wagley Copp brings a respectful positivity and energy to the text, emphasizing hope. Having worked with refugee groups for 20 years, Copp, and #OwnVoices debut illustrator Munir D. Mohammed, draw on their own experiences to tell this tale about a spirited little girl living as a refugee. While Abia is fictional in our story, she is based on children the author met at the real Shimelba Refugee Camp. Shimelba, in northern Ethiopia, was the first Eritrean refugee camp to open in 2004 and it now houses more than 6,000 refugees".

Munir is a native of Ghana, West Africa. He is the co-founder and Artistic Director of The International Gallery for Heritage and Culture in Providence, Rhode Island, where he has supervised an average of 35 AmeriCorps artists per year, providing art and cultural education programs in schools and in the community. Today, Munir is still active in his studio, and was Project Open Door's - the Rhode Island School of Design's college access program for teens - first muralist-in-residence at William Davies Career Technical High School in Lincoln, Rhode Island

Munir Mohammed, 2020 - A detail from "Wherever I Go"