Abdalsalam Alhaj

During his CoMuse Fellowship, Abdalsalam is developing an immersive audio experience drawn from the cassette archive of the Tonjela project. The work explores Sudan’s sonic memory and transforms archival material into a living auditory space. Through layers of sound and music, the soundscape reconnects past and present, inviting audiences to encounter Sudan’s musical heritage as a dynamic and evolving cultural memory.

Tonjela is an archival project dedicated to preserving and activating Sudan’s sonic memory through collection and digitisation. With a growing archive of more than 15,000 cassette tapes and over 2,000 recordings already digitised, the project safeguards fragile sonic heritage at a moment when the ongoing war in Sudan threatens cultural archives and personal collections.

„My artistic practice explores how archives can become active spaces for reflection, dialogue, and imagination.“
— Abdalsalam Alhaj

Abdalsalam Alhaj is a Sudanese artist and immersive media producer working across photography, sound, film, and virtual reality. Rooted in lived experience and archival research, his work reflects on the passage of time and shifting social contexts, weaving together personal and collective memory into layered forms of expression.

Abdalsalam is the founder of Rift Digital Lab, a creative studio crafting immersive digital cultural productions that contribute to an emerging and inclusive digital transformation in Sudan and across East Africa.