ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Afterall Reading Group Explores Colour, Race, and Abstraction

other · 2026-04-22

As part of the UAL Research Season, Afterall is organizing a reading group called 'Colour, Race, Abstraction,' facilitated by writer Hussein Mitha. Participants will delve into four selected texts from the Afterall archive: Kobena Mercer's 'Kerry James Marshall: The Painter of Afro-Modern Life' (Issue 24, 2010), Hannah Black's 'Fractal Freedoms' (Issue 41, 2016), Alice Ming Wai Jim's 'Lee Wen: Performing Yellow' (Issue 46, 2018), and Heather Davis's 'Blue, Bling: On Extractivism' (Issue 48, 2019). The sessions are scheduled for 19 and 26 February in CSM Library Pod A, with a focus on exploring 'colour' in art through the lenses of gendered, racialized capitalism and environmental crises, emphasizing decoloniality and representation.

Key facts

  • Reading group titled 'Colour, Race, Abstraction' led by Hussein Mitha
  • Part of UAL Research Season
  • Four texts from Afterall archive: Mercer on Kerry James Marshall, Black on Malevich, Jim on Lee Wen, Davis on extractivism
  • Sessions on 19 February and 26 February
  • Limited space in CSM Library Pod A, booking essential
  • Focus on decoloniality, representation, and reading 'colour' in art
  • Session I covers Kerry James Marshall and Lee Wen
  • Session II covers Hannah Black and Heather Davis texts

Entities

Artists

  • Hussein Mitha
  • Kobena Mercer
  • Kerry James Marshall
  • Hannah Black
  • Kasimir Malevich
  • Alice Ming Wai Jim
  • Lee Wen
  • Heather Davis
  • Mary Mattingly
  • Otobong Nkanga

Institutions

  • Afterall
  • UAL (University of the Arts London)
  • CSM (Central Saint Martins)

Locations

  • London
  • United Kingdom

Sources