Mr Simko Ahmed joined teamUKTS as our newest ambassador
Simko is a fine artist and writer born in Sulaymaniyah, a city in Kurdistan. He is the first Kurdish national to be granted Japanese citizenship after moving to Tokyo in 1996.
Aside from being widely recognised as an exhibited artist, he is a qualified civil engineer and a board member of the Japanese international Art Association of JAALA (Japan, Asia, Africa and Latin America Art Association). He is also in charge of curating and selecting art works from the Middle East and Latin America for Jaala Biennale which is held in the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum and is a founder of Baran Art Association.
Simko has also held over 14 solo art shows so far in Japan, Iraq, Canada, USA, UK, European and Asian countries. He has also participated in over 50 international art shows and Biennale in Tokyo and Seoul Metropolitan art museum and Asia’s famous Kwangju Biennial 2000 ” Man + Space in South Korea.
When he first moved to Japan in 1996, while working for a Japanese NGO called “Peace Winds Japan “. He also worked with other international humanitarian NGOs, helping refugees and people in need around the world from Asia to the Balkans, Kurdistan, Kosovo, Albania, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Japan, Afghanistan and Pakistan by creating workable assistance programmes for war-torn zones and natural disasters areas.
Simko, combines art with human rights issues, he explained that art and human rights could be linked together like “fingers and rings”. The pain he witnessed and experienced over the years prompted him to use his paint brushes as a medium of expression and the positive feedback and love generated from his creations has given him the drive to continue. His works are all originals and tell stories of his own life experiences.
Simko, moved to the UK in 2012, working in a full-time post, and his most recent show was at the NSH Gallery in East London. As a published author, his most recent book, Sparrows of Paradise, was published in 2018. Some of his earlier books are Spring Never Dies, published in 2010 and Colours of Paradise, published in 2011.
During his work, Simko has been in contact with people living with thalassaemia and understands what it is like for some, especially in some areas where there are problems accessing optimal care. He has been an advocate over the years and would now like to formalise it by becoming an ambassador for the charity to lend his voice towards spreading awareness of thalassaemia, encouraging everyone to check their carrier status and take control of their future.
Simko also speaks 4 languages (English, Kurdish, Arabic and Japanese) and has networks in Middle East which will benefit UKTS with its programme and networking.
