Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Noun Abdelaziz and Fatuma Fadhil . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Noun & Fatuma , thanks for joining us today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?

“We hope that AOY is known for its ability to bring people together, and build on the growing potential of all creatives. We hope to touch and bring inspiration to people worldwide and remind them of the power of creativity. We hope to be remembered as a space that refuses to give up on community, but rather uses those spaces as a fuel for inspiration and collective creativity.” – Noun Abdelaziz

“I hope when people think about AOY, they remember it fondly. I hope they remember its authenticity and its push for creative equity. Abundance of Youth was created to enhance the creative community and challenge it to see beyond what was already established. I hope when someone mentions AOY they remember that everyone is an artist no matter what age you are. Abundance of Youth is a reminder that creativity has no limits.” – Fatuma Fadhil

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Abundance of Youth was an idea envisioned back in the summer of 2021 in San Diego, by two neighbors/bestfriends Noun Abdelaziz and Fatuma Fadhil (Uma) after attending a local gallery event organized by another known creative in the city. Fatuma and Noun sat outside the gallery at the end of the event and asked each other, “why don’t we do something like this? Just bigger, and more inclusive?”. In that moment that paused and asked each other to say the first word that came to mind. Noun shouted “abundance” and Fatuma shouted “youth”. And that was the beginning of the Abundance of Youth. Since then, they both entertained the idea for a few months, just back and forth visions of what AOY could be. Many people in the city started to ask and wonder what “AOY” was, word was going around, and around that time Noun and uma started to pitch the idea to creatives around the city, and outside the city. Slowly, AOY reached Arizona, San Francisco, New York, Minnesota, Los Angeles, London, Egypt, Germany, Hawaii, Dubai, and France. Shortly after the word got out, the AOY team, which included 7/8 of the creatives, dropped a promotion video on January 31st 2022 displaying what AOY is. The 1 minute promotion video blew up with 20k+ views and over 300+ shares in a matter of a week. It received a lot of love from local and international artists, one being rapper Kalan frfr. Following the 7 month period from January till the exhibit date July 30th, the AOY team worked tirelessly on promoting AOY, prepping their creatives, planning the event, while building their own projects for the show. “Our identities don’t always allow us the luxury of indulging in our creative endeavors entirely, because there is barely any space for people like us, with marginalized identities.” That is why AOY has selected non-binary, fem, immigrant, indigenous, Black, first generation, Muslim, and all marginalized identities to be the creatives for the first community exhibition. Presently AOY has gained 400+ continuous supporters on their instagram, created a clothing line, and reached people worldwide with a powerful message “there’s abundance in collective creativity, when there is no space MAKE space”. All of this was birthed from a single conversation from two powerful Muslim Black women; Noun and Uma.
“Abundance is a word that we use to encompass everything. So as an indigenous Black woman, the most fundamental part of life is its abundance. We do not live in a mentality of scarcity, because that derives from the systems of greed and capitalism. So abundance encompasses the idea of wholeness, of community, of collectivism.”- NOUN
“Now, if you take a look at all of the AOY creatives (the lineup of creatives in AOY exhibition) all of them literally come from different forms of youth, different intersectional communities. To reiterate the circle in AOY’s logo, it goes full circle, because these people are our everyday people. We want to highlight everyone’s youth because for all of the creatives, I see everyone’s project kind of corresponds with who they are and to who they were when they were younger as the source of their inspiration.” – UMA

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Limits lack of resources: AOY was an idea that started with two individuals who had to take a chance on something that might not catch on with their intended audience. Not only did the funds start with the co-founders but the time spent was also taxing. “Something we had to unlearn when it came to public funding was that we had to go find the organizations and put in twice if not 3 times more work into outreach and networking with various organizations and creative communities.” It wasn’t until they changed their mindset on the potential of what AOY could be. The longevity of the AOY movement was solely based on the co-founders’ drive to continue to create and the constant involvement of their community. At times the numbers weren’t at what it “should have been”. This halted and discouraged the co-founders and they oftentimes found themselves facing creative blocks. “It’s important to find your voice again… Revisiting the roots of your work is what you should do when faced with voices that are not your own.” – Noun Abdelaziz
“It’s easy to compare your work with others around you. The creative world is moving so fast and oftentimes it’s hard to contextualize your own art space. Working on AOY has taught me to trust your own process. In better words stated by my co-founder Noun, “we make our own deadlines.” – Fatuma Fadhil
When working with a large group of people, you have to consider your capacity and yours as well. When we first started AOY, we had to unlearn that we can not do our job and other people’s jobs too, which meant setting forth boundaries and deadlines plus clear expectations. The first exhibit we hosted, we had two creatives drop last minute 2 weeks before the exhibit which left us at a vulnerable place and set the production back a bit. We deeply believe in community, and their ability to create, however, we had to learn that potential won’t cut it. Every creative needed a mix of passion and discipline to maintain their place in the AOY roster. With this in mind, we were able to facilitate a better creative space this year, because we were more clear with our expectations and goals.
Asking for help as a new agency can be tough sometimes, because you are still figuring out your structure and needs. The two founders Noun Abdelaziz and Fatuma Fadhil were the heads of all operations when the agency first launched, while also being creatives themselves. It was challenging to switch hats seamlessly while managing everything at once. Thankfully the community in San Diego was very generous and supportive. The day of the exhibit, they had over 15 volunteers from the community that showed up before the show to help put together the place before the opening. “It is very easy to get burnt out and lose sight of the roots of your work, when you don’t have support, especially in such an overwhelming project.”

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

AOY aims to shelter creatives in different mediums of art from international and local cities. AOY is a movement founded by ethical sustainability. It embraces abundance; a fundamental indigenous philosophy which honors the power of collectivism within creativity. Abundance allows us to take space, and pulls us away from scarcity and tactics of fear, stemming from systems of greed. AOY honors youth, who are at the forefront of this movement, to take up space through their artistic outlets as a tribute to their younger selves. As a community, we must mobilize our abundance and the preservation of our youth.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://abundanceofyouth.myshopify.com
• Instagram: a.oy___

Image Credits
@sawdaamagazine