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Decolonising the Arts Curriculum zine

Decolonising the Arts Curriculum is a UAL co-production between Arts Student Union and UAL's Teaching, Learning and Employability Exchange.

The 2 zines were published as part of ongoing work to address disparities in experience and attainment for international students and students of colour.

They are aimed at staff and students, as a tool to raise awareness and open up conversations that deepen creative and pedagogic practices.

Close up of a magazine being held and read in someone's hands
Visitors reading students' magazine, Show at Oxo Tower. Image: David Poultney.

The story behind the zines

This podcast tells the story of the 2 Decolonising the Arts Curriculum zines. Both zines make space for the expression of different perspectives and approaches to decolonisation. They contain a wide variety of media, from the literary to the visual.

Interviews with curators and contributors


June 2021 marked the third anniversary of the launch of Zine 1. Key curators and contributors shared how they continue to use the zines to drive forward decolonising work at UAL.

Video reflections

Watch videos made by and with contributors to Decolonising the Arts Curriculum, zine2:

Colonial Bombay

by Hansika Jethnani

Why I want to talk to other white people about race

by Silke Lange

Life in Lumicang Hutong

by Siyan Zhang

View the zines

Visit the Decolonising the Arts Curriculum zine website

Find out more

Print copies of the zines are available to staff and students via all UAL Libraries. During 2018-2020 over 10,000 print copies were distributed across UAL College sites.

The project has served as a catalyst for further decolonising projects at the University and beyond.

The team invite you to share your perspectives on, and examples of, decolonising the arts curriculum.

More to explore

  • Brenda Emmanus and UAL Professor Sonia Boyce
    BBC Broadcaster Brenda Emmanus and UAL Professor Sonia Boyce on the set of 'Whoever Heard of a Black Artist? Britain’s Hidden Art History' documentary

    Black Artists and Modernism

    UAL looks into how artists of African and Asian descent in Britain feature in the story of 20th century art.

  • 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.

    Decolonising Arts Institute projects

    Learn about Decolonising Arts Institute activities.

  • People looking at artworks in an exhibition
    Image: Andrew Brooks, AHRC Black Artists & Modernism project, Speech Acts exhibition opening, Manchester Art Gallery. Image: Andrew Brooks

    Events

    Explore our recorded events.