Skip to main content

Digital Library

UAL Decolonising Arts Institute hosts various events including ongoing series of Conversations, Roundtables and Visiting Speakers.

We develop dialogues with staff and students across UAL, and nurture networks and collaborations with colleagues nationally and internationally.

We also publish a range of podcasts with artists, researchers and other institutions to share insights, perspectives and positions.

Browse our YouTube and Soundcloud channels for a digital library of our recordings.

Recordings

20/20: Reflections

Chelsea Space and the Decolonising Arts Institute at UAL present 20/20: Reflections, a series of talks and screenings that look back on the Decolonising Arts Institute's ambitious 20/20 project.

Holly Graham

Holly Graham and artist-curator Wanja Kimani lead a roundtable discussion exploring potentials and challenges of decolonial and reparative justice work within arts and heritage collections.

Cora Cuthbert

Cora Sehgal Cuthbert reflects on a prayer for Coventry, life starts here (forever), the film she created during her residency at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum.

Christopher Samuel

Christopher Samuel in conversation with Rachel Fleming-Mulford discussing themes of stigma, belonging and agency that underpinned his 20/20 residency research into the experiences of disabled people of colour at Birmingham Museums Trust.

Zoë Tumika

Zoë Tumika presents a cartography of thoughts and considerations that emerged during their residency at MIMA, in conversation with Adjoa Armah, anti-disciplinary artist, writer and educator.

Gayle Chong Kwan

Gayle Chong Kwan explores themes in her wider practice in relation to ‘The Taotie’ - diasporic rituals and histories, neolithic funeral vessels, miniature portraits worn on the body, and the politics and provenance of collections.

Yuen Fong Ling

Exploring risk and care in the gallery space, that arose from the context of his residency, artist Yuen Fong Ling was based at Sheffield Museums Trust. Hear his thoughts about his 20/20 residency.

Hannah Sabapathy

Artist and designer Hannah Sabapathy is in conversation with curator Uthra Rajgopal as they delve into the reproduction and appropriation of designs and patterns in historical textile production.

Explore more recordings

Browse recorded sessions via playlists on our YouTube channel.

Please note these videos may not be fully accessible.

  • Collection of black and white illustrations
    CSM Degree Show 2, Vitoria Bastos, 2017 BA (Hons) Graphic Design and Illustration, Central Saint Martins, UAL | Photograph: John Sturrock

    Conversations series  

    We present a series of UAL and public-facing conversations introducing Institute researchers and practitioners.

  • Image of legs covered by a sari
    Raksha Patel, Untitled, 1996 Acrylic and oil on canvas, 51cm x 51cm. Private Collection, Courtesy and © the Artist From New Recordings: Raksha Patel, compiled by Alice Correia, 2021.

    Cultural Urgencies  

    Cultural Urgencies: Actions Toward Representation, Equity and Well-being was a series of UAL and public-facing roundtable discussions, convened by Institute Research Fellows and Associates.

  • View of a gallery space
    Postgraduate Curating and Collections Show, 2023, Chelsea College of Arts, UAL | Photograph: Kristy Noble

    Curating Nation  

    A series of 3 workshops exploring how existing narratives of British art might be expanded through curatorial and art historical interventions. Conceived by Hammad Nasar and developed in collaboration with the British Art Network’s Black British Art sub-group.

  • Image of a museum collection
    The Past is Now, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. Photo by David Rowan, 2017. Copyright Birmingham Museums Trust

    Decolonising British Art: British Art Network Seminar Series  

    The British Art Network seminar series on Decentering, Resituating and Reviewing Artworks and Collections was a series of 4 events that looked at recent and historical exhibition practices and curatorial strategies with partners including Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA), Birmingham Museums Trust, and Iniva (Institute of International Visual Art).

  • Photograph of a projected screen in a gallery space
    Keith Piper, Surveillance: Tagging the Other, 1991. Acquired by the Contemporary Art Society for the New Art Gallery Walsall through the Rapid Response Fund, 2020. Photographer: Ilona Zielinska.

    Doing the Work  

    The Contemporary Art Society partnered with the Decolonising Arts Institute to run a dedicated seminar programme across 2021 called Doing the Work: Embedding anti-racism and decolonisation into museum practice. The 6 recorded seminars aimed to support staff working in museums, art galleries and public art collections to engage meaningfully with anti-racism and decolonial practice.

  • Two figures silhouetted against the sky on a plinth
    Samson Kambalu’s Antelope on the Fourth Plinth, in London's Trafalgar Square, with Nelson's Column in the background. Photograph: Joe Newman

    Sculpting Civic Space  

    This discussion convened by AKO Storytelling Institute at UAL was chaired by award-winning broadcaster and UAL honorary doctor Brenda Emmanus OBE, in collaboration with the Decolonising Arts Institute and the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group. The panel featured artists Samson Kambalu and Yuen Fong Ling and Maureen Salmon, Senior Lecturer at LCC and Eleanor Pinfield, Head of Art on the Underground.

Podcasts

Foregrounding Central American Art, hosted by Dr Ileana L. Selejan

For many decades Central American art was perceived as residing on the periphery of the periphery. This series features key figures in Central American contemporary art who have helped to profoundly alter the landscape of art in the region.

Episode transcripts

  1. Benvenuto Chavajay Ixtetelá - read the transcript in English and Spanish (PDF 455KB)
  2. Patricia Belli - read the transcript in English (PDF 264KB)
  3. Gladys Tzul Tzul - read the transcript in English and Spanish (PDF 327KB)
  4. Marton Robinson - read the transcript in English (PDF 361KB)
  5. Aldeide Delgado - read the transcript in English (PDF 280KB)
  6. Rolando Castellon - read:

Ultimatum Orangutan Radio, hosted by Dr Khairani Barokka

Ultimatum Orangutan Radio interviews creators working from an anticolonial standpoint. It draws on themes in Dr Barokka's book Ultimatum Orangutan - anti-imperialism, environmental justice, archives, and creative work.

Episode transcripts

  1. Archives, Art, Ethics, and Palestine, with N.A. Mansour - read the transcript (PDF 413KB)
  2. Island Histories and Others’ Stories, with Shiraz Bayjoo - read the transcript (PDF 295KB)
  3. PhDivas with Dr Liz Wayne and Dr Xine Yao - read the transcript (PDF 405KB)
  4. Plantations, Making Home, and Academic Colonisation, with Eunike Gloria Setiadarma and Pepe Roswaldy - read the transcript in English and Indonesian (PDF 356KB)
  5. The East is A Podcast with Sina Rahmani - read the transcript (PDF 358KB)

More to explore

  • A statue in the middle of an exhibition
    Sheffield Museums, Graves Gallery. Photo © Andy Brown

    UAL Decolonising Arts Institute

    Find out more about UAL Decolonising Arts Institute.

  • Gallery with placards made out of magazines
    Sonia Boyce, Devotional Wallpaper and Placards, 2008-2020. Acquired by the Contemporary Art Society for the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA) through the Rapid Response Fund, 2020.

    Projects

    Find out more about collaborative projects in arts and education across UAL and beyond.

  • Pamphlets and booklets on a table.
    Image: Daniel Day, AHRC Black Artists and Modernism project, David Medalla Study Day. Image: Daniel Day

    About us

    Find out more about our vision and ambitions for decolonising arts.

  • Wide angle view of students sitting at desks on computers amid lots of pot plants
    Students using digital facilities at London College of Communication. Photo: Alys Tomlinson

    Related UAL activities

    Explore wider UAL activities and Research centres.