ETC Artist Talk: Alvin Kofi

Join the webinar with THIS LINK

Our second artist interview in our winter ‘Oil Painting’ term will be with artist and educator Alvin Kofi. The event is free and everybody is welcome, so please feel free to share this link as widely as you would like.

About Alvin Kofi

A second-generation West Indian, based in UK, Alvin Kofi’s career has been strongly associated with the Black UK arts movement. His creative perspective is very much African-centred through which the Black body becomes his muses as he explores traditional notions of African culture and their place in the historical narrative of the Diaspora.

Kofi's paintings re-examine universal themes drawing from those ancient mythological stories that he feels still have relevance today. Exploring these themes he plays with the representation of ideas repositioning and replacing black bodies in the conversation of how we tell stories our history past and present.

Recognised as a major contributor to the Black visual arts in the UK, he is one of the individuals presented as 'Caribbean Influencers', a collaboration between the National Portrait Gallery and The Museum of Croydon. As part of Windrush 75 commemoration events, he is leading a portrait mentoring project, 'Memories of our Future’, with Lambeth Council encouraging the next generation to re-examine the contribution the Windrush generation made to UK culture.

​ In 2020, Kofi was a finalist in the Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year Award, one of only two black artists to reach the finals. Further commissions include the creation of a globe for the prestigious national project ‘The World Reimagined’ conceptualised by Yinka Shonibare in 2022 improving our understanding of the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade and its lasting impact on the political and social environments we live in today.

Also recently completed is a larger work commissioned by the organisation Hospital Rooms for whom he created a mural supported by written text for the brand new cutting edge Springfield Hospital due to be open later this year.

Regularly returning back to portraiture, he was a highly-commended artist participating in the Ruth Borchard Self-Portrait Prize 2021 online exhibition; and the portrait of his son, entitled ‘Emanuel’, was shown at the Black Cultural Archives’ 2023 exhibition celebrating 40 years of Black UK arts.

How to join

If you'd like to join the online talk via Zoom you just need to click the link above on the day of the talk - your image will not be visible on screen and you will be able to type questions for our guest artist.  

Past ETC talks

You can find all of our past interviews on our YouTube channel HERE. Thank you to our Patreon supporters for providing the support and funding for these free talks! 

Supporting the sessions 

Draw's ETC programme of artist talks are free to attend and are funded by the Draw Patreon, with the artists paid for taking part. If you enjoy these talks, and would like to support them to continue, why not become a supporter by signing up to the Draw Patreon from just £3.60 per month.  You’ll get the in-person concessionary rate, plus Patreons get tiered access to a wealth of resources including our extensive artist’s photo reference library, live online life drawing & portrait drawing classes, online recorded courses and much more.