Omar Badsha
Omar Badsha is a self-taught artist who first received mentorship from his father, who was also an artist and a commercial photographer. His career dates from the early 1960s when he was part of a generation of artist-activists of the immediate post-Sharpeville era. His early work consisted of drawing and woodcuts. He was influenced on one hand by his father’s interest in Arabic calligraphy, and on the other by the work of Cecil Skotnes (qv.) and later, by Dumile Feni (qv.). Badsha was a full-time artist from about 1966 to 1972, after which he became involved as a leader in the revival of the trade union movement and the Natal Indian Congress. Read More…
