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UAL Decolonising Arts Institute

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

Challenging colonial legacies and disrupting ways of seeing, listening, thinking and making.

The UAL Decolonising Arts Institute seeks to challenge colonial and imperial legacies, disrupting ways of seeing, listening, thinking and making in order to drive cultural, social and institutional change.

We imagine the Institute as a decentred, disruptive, evolving and porous space. As the Institute grows, we aim to amplify local and global movements to decolonise and address the complex genealogies and geographies of postcolonial, decolonial and intersectional thinking and practice.

Highlights

  • A side profile photo of a young boy wearing a helmet
    Larry Achiampong Relic 2 4K colour video with stereo sound 2019 © The Artist. Courtesy of Larry Achiampong & Copperfield London. Image courtesy of British Council Collection

    Transforming Collections: Reimagining Art, Nation and Heritage

    Find out how we're dissolving barriers between collections, surfacing patterns of bias and uncovering hidden connections.

  • Exhibition of an abstract castle
    Sonia Boyce, In the Castle Of My. Photograph by Rachel Deakin. Courtesy of MIMA

    20/20

    See how we're catalysing artists’ careers and change in UK collections through 20 residencies, 20 commissions and 20 new acquisitions.

Our work

  • 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

    Read about Decolonising Arts Institute activities.

  • Girl wearing headphones at a private view event
    Ana Escobar, Girl with headphones at a private view, London College of Communication, UAL

    Podcasts and publications

    Browse our latest podcasts and publications.

  • 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

    91ÊÓƵ

    Explore our recorded events.

  • Students talking in the library
    Studying at the Library Group Zone, Central Saint Martins. Photo: John Sturrock

    Related UAL activities

    Learn about decolonising activities across UAL.

  • 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.

Stories

  • People stood looking at an instillation with various screens and colours
    Yu-Chen Wang, 2020-2022, 'If there is a place I haven't been to', installation view at Le lieu unique, Nantes (2022) and MoCA Taipei (2020).

    Transforming Collections: Reimagining Art, Nation and Heritage – Announcing the Practice Research Residencies

    Four artist researchers have been selected to undertake a 15-month virtual practice-based research residency as part of the Transforming Collections: Reimagining Art, Nation and Heritage project.

  • Image: Outside the British Pavilion at Venice, 2022. © Cristiano Corte, British Council
    Image: Outside the British Pavilion at Venice, 2022. © Cristiano Corte, British Council

    91ÊÓƵ announces 5 postgraduates awarded British Council Venice Fellowships

    91ÊÓƵ is delighted to announce that five UAL postgraduate students have been selected to take part in the 2024 British Council Venice Fellowships Programme - through partnerships with Decolonising Arts Institute and London College of Communication.

  • Jessica Ashman, 2022, still from Utopia Portals
    Jessica Ashman, 2022, still from Utopia Portals

    Announcing the second cohort of artists to the 20/20 project

    Twelve emerging and mid-career artists with an extensive range of practices are joining the second cohort of 20/20: a national commissioning and network project led by Decolonising Arts Institute to directly invest in the careers of a new generation of ethnically diverse artists.

Our people

  • Susan Lok
    Susan Lok

    Professor of Contemporary Art and Director UAL Decolonising Arts Institute

  • Danah Abdulla
    Danah Abdulla

    Reader in Anti/Post/Decolonial Histories Theories Practices and Praxes Decolonising Arts Institute


  • Research Fellow UAL Decolonising Arts Institute

  • Victoria Odeniyi
    Victoria Odeniyi

    Research Fellow UAL Decolonising Arts Institute

See all of our people

Contact us