Muslim artists presented St David’s Award by First Minister of Wales

Muslim co-founders win St. David Awards for Culture 2023

Last night at the St David Awards, the co-founders of creative brand UNIFY – Yusuf Ismail and Shawqi Hasson received recognition for their contributions to Welsh culture.

The national awards scheme brought together key players from across the county who have made notable contributions to Welsh society.

Finalists from a variety of industries were presented awards by Mark Drakeford, First Minister of Wales and the co-founders were namely awarded for their “My City, My Shirt” campaign which changed the narrative on Cardiff City FC fans through portrayals of people of colour wearing the football club’s shirt.

UNIFY’s contributions to Welsh culture have paved the way to see Black, Brown and minority communities represented in Wales through art.

We asked co-founder, Yusuf Ismail what the award meant to him;

“What makes this award significant to us is about our contributions to culture, as Muslims. Our very first piece was based on a Muslim woman and we’ve never hidden our religion and we’ve always felt like it was our greatest characteristic. Acknowledgement of our contributions through a Muslim lens is something that’s very special to us and just inspires us to do more and open the door for others.”