Activity: A short talk and discussion
Sponsor: Private sponsor
Topic: Art
Date: Tuesday 29th July 2025
Time: 5.00 PM
Event: Launch of a booklet entitled ‘Art in Resistance’ by DesmondAlli
Date: Tuesday 29th July 2025
Time: 5 PM
“My teachers wanted me to draw flowers and Christmas Cards. I had very little interest in those themes, for I was always consumed with an overwhelming sense of history.”
Desmond Alli in an interview.
DESMOND ALLI is a self-taught artist: he began as a sculptor in the early 1980s. He travelled extensively through Latin America in the 1970s and lived in Brazil and Argentina for several years. Desmond describes himself as a continental artist: his oeuvre has been influenced by the cultures of Latin and South America rather than those of Europe. His work also references political thinkers and historians of the southern hemisphere like Eduardo Galeano (Open Veins of Latin America) and Dr Walter Rodney (How Europe Underdeveloped Africa), prompting one critic to describe his paintings and sculptures as ‘manifestos of art’: work that makes a strong visual impact, is suffused with metaphor and meaning and incorporates themes of oppression, resistance, liberation and unity.
The talk began with an introduction written by Alim Hosein and read by Vanda Radzik, who hosted the session. Desmond spoke a little about his mission and his art and there was a sustained session of questions and comments from the small audience.
Vanda Radzik and Desmond Alli
One of Desmond Alli’s paintings on display at the talk.
A Desmond Alli sculpture