ART AND POLITICS: Aubrey Williams and Barack Obama

WEDNESDAY 20 January 2010, 18.00 – 21.00 at The Walker
An Evening of Art and Politics: A Reflection of Aubrey Williams and a Celebration of Barack Obama is the Walker Art Gallery’s joint celebration of the anniversay of Obama’s inauguration and the recent opening of its stunning exhibition Aubrey Williams: Atlantic Fire.  The FREE event includes panel discussion, musical performance and food and drink.

The panel will explore the work of Aubrey Williams, a gifted artist as well as a political soul who was an early member of the Caribbean Artists Movement (1966-1972), concerned with forging independent cultural identities for new nations and for black British people.The performance by Tayo Aluko will also consider the significance of Barack Obama’s election as president of the USA.

Walker Art Gallery is home to a version of Hope by George Frederic Watts, an inspiration for Obama’s book The Audacity of Hope and reported to be his favourite painting.

The panel:

Errol Lloyd: An artist, a writer and a friend of Aubrey Williams. He has written published work and journals critiquing Williams’ work. Lloyd was a student of Williams and will share personal accounts and memories on the artist himself.

Reyahn King: Director of art galleries at National Museums Liverpool, King will share her experience as curator of Aubrey Williams: Atlantic Fire, providing an insight into Williams’ paintings and touching on the themes that are threaded through his work.

Tayo Aluko:A professional actor, Aluko will be performing an excerpt from his musically illustrated show, I Got A Home In Barack. The performance for the evening is a section that focuses on Kenya’s struggle for independence, and highlights the brave work of thousands of Black activists that led to the inauguration of President Obama.

Venue details