Diversity Art Forum (formerly AAVAA)
Diversity Art Forum, formerly the African and Asian Visual Artists Archive, has a collection of visual images that it has inherited from the old archive. This part of the collection includes many images from different parts of Africa and Asia who are not necessary living in India, Pakistan, China or Japan, Nigeria but have made their homes in others parts of the world including Britain. New contemporary additions of the archive have started to include work by artists who come from these countries as well as Germany, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and New Zealand. Artists don't necessarily have to be British based. The archive section of Diversity Art Forum now includes sound art and internet art, as well as video, DVD and film. The Archive now houses approximately 6,000 slides and a number of printed works, 900 of which have been catalogued to date. Racial identity is no longer the main criteria to include artists into the archive. Other criteria linked to art practice and critical debate form the archive critical forum. By naming countries in this paragraph it is easy to make assumptions that everyone one is included into the archive element of DAF because of their cultural background or location. Secondly it is easy to assume that'diversity' operates within a capitalist construction of 'diversity'. Diversity Art Fourm is aware that there are other ways considering diversity outside these points. Art Forum was formerly the African and Asian Visual Arts Diversity Arts Forum is now based in the Archive Suite in the Learning Resources Centre (LRC) at UEL’s Docklands Campus. The archive is staffed by a full-time Archivist and access is open to both staff and students of the University and any external researchers wishing to use the Collection. We would recommend that external researchers contact the Archive in advance of their visit, to confirm that a member of staff will be available to assist them.
More venue information >
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Alison Marchant, Class Histories
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African
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Asian
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Cross-cultural
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Eastern Europe
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Near & Middle East
African
Krydz Ikwuemesi "Untitled" (No Date).
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The material in this section of the archive contains a number of slides, videos, photographs, dvds, internet art, art books and books on African artists from the Continent including artists living in Britain. The subject matter is diverse as well as exploring different art practices. There are many artists who explore their relationship with America, the Caribbean, Cuba as well as Africa. For Example: Chris Ofili Lyle Ashton Harris Tam Joseph Frank Bowling Rotimi Fani-Kayode S. Douglas Camp
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Asian
Hsia Yaw "Figure" 1996.
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The material in this section of the archive contains a number of slides, books, photographs from artists living in various parts of Asia which includes China and Japan. The subject matter is diverse and there are many bilingual books to enablepeople to gather information about artists. This section of the archive is small but is slowly increasing. For Example: Perminder Kaur Shaheen Merali Rasheed Araeen Yoshiko Shimada Henry Tsang Carol Sun Susan Pui San Lok Chila Kumari Burman
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Cross-cultural
Nudrat Afiza "Lunch Break. Muslim Girls Community School". 1990s.
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Diversity Art Forum has made sure that is present and inherited collection provides cross-cultural dialogues within the archive. Different notions of the self, body, sexuality, concerns around text and vision, sound and other forms of art practice are explored in each area of the archive. The archive has constructed this dialogue to ensure that each country, community has no total ownership or dictates the way art should be constructed and presented. For Example: Lubaina Himid Keith Piper Sutapa Biswas Zineb Sedira Lesley Sanderson Veronica Ryan Eddie Chambers David A. Bailey
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Eastern Europe
The material in this section of the archive contains photographs, sound, internet art and slides of various subjects produced by artists working, visiting and living in Eastern Europe. Some of the material have been produced by artists living in Britain who havecome from Eastern Europe.
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Near & Middle East
Jananne Al-Ani "Untitled" 1996
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This section of the archive contains a number of images that looks at the cultural exchanges between people in the Near/Middle East and those who have been living in Britain. There are photographic images, works on video, dvd and sound pieces but few paintings. Books on the relationships between these areas can equally be found in the archive. For Example: Bashir Makhoul Jananne Al-Ani
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