Somali-American Painter Draws Somalia Before the War
Aziz Osman of Colombia heights has been quietly painting gorgeous drawings of Somalia before the war. His work is displayed in public and private spaces across the twin cities. Vibrant paintings by Aziz can be found in Hennepin county Medical Center in Minneapolis, Thrivent financial services building and The African development center in Cedar riverside just to name a few. Aziz migrated to Minnesota in 1991 escaping a war torn Somalia to find a better life for him and his family. As an Italian educated painter, after arriving in Minnesota, Aziz had the urge to paint but did not have the money to buy supplies. So he improvised, Aziz used anything from Cereal Boxes, to shipping containers to create art he could sell. As a parking attendant during the day, Aziz found a small market for his very low budget paintings. “I want to remind these kids where they come from, to tell them: You have a lot of treasure,” said the soft spoken artist. Aziz paints murals and oil canvasses of scenes from back when Somali was peaceful. One of his main motivations is to keep the Somali American youth informed on how Somalia used to be and what…
