Local creative - Kevin Diallo
Kevin Diallo is a multidisciplinary artist who has been running his professional practice for the past two years from Curl Curl Creative Space as part the Northern Beaches Studios program.
Kevin’ projects are rooted in post-colonial discourse and race politics and investigate how institutionalised ideas of Black and African authenticity can be deconstructed and challenged through a variety of mediums.
With the support of an Arts and Creativity Grant, Kevin is curating an exhibition at Curl Curl Creative Space titled Binta, which explores themes of defiance, agency, self-determination and ingenuity from the perspective of artists of African ancestry, living and working in Australia. Through an artist-led curation, Binta celebrates the contemporary practices of this selection of African voices working across diverse media.
Binta will be opening at Curl Curl Creative Space from Wednesday, 20 April – Sunday 1 May 2022. Find our more.
Image: Kevin Diallo in his studio at Curl Curl Creative Space. Courtesy Kayapa Creative Studio, 2022
You have been part of the Northern Beaches Studios program for the last couple of years, how has working from your studio at Curl Curl Creative Space developed your connection to the local arts community?
Working from the Creative Space has opened many doors. I was able to get familiar with other program participant's practices and I have met some incredible artists/collectives through the exhibitions that are presented at the Creative Space. I was hoping to make more collaborative work during my residency but unfortunately Covid has made things a lot more difficult.
Your exhibition Binta will include the work of other artists with African heritage, living and working in Australia, who will be featured and how did you first discover them?
I've met most of the artist of the show either in person or online. Some had invited me on their projects in the past and some I have discovered along the way and really fell in love with their work. In total 5 artists will be presented as part of Binta. Roberta Rich, H.Mur, Gianna Hayes, Omar Raf Diallo and Richmond Kobla Dido. I have also had the opportunity to work with Brian Obiri Asare (Leila Gallery/Firsdraft) on the catalog essay.
What do you hope audiences will experience when they visit Binta?
I am not sure to be honest, I think I'll let the audience decide. Binta is my first curatorial project and I wanted to show work that I thought was important and which deserved more visibility. I hope that the public will enjoy the variety of practices and that people will sign up to Gianna Hayes Natural Dye workshop.
You have a diverse practice across various media, what inspiration keeps you motivated to continue to make new work?
I usually draw inspiration from reading music and also things that happen in my day to day life. I have been quite fortunate to be invited to show at galleries and work on projects in Sydney and interstate. I guess having these kinds of deadlines are a good thing, it forces me to be productive, I also think making art and spending time in the studio keeps me sane.
