Organised by Royal Academy
Join artist Michael Armitage and Curator and Director of RA Schools, Eliza Bonham Carter, as they discuss his painting practice and the cultural, historical and political narratives in his work.
To coincide with his exhibition Paradise Edict at the RA, Michael Armitage joins us for this live online event to explore his practice.
With influences from East African contemporary artists such as Jak Katarikawe and Chelenge van Rampelberg as well as Titian, Goya and Gauguin, Armitage’s paintings draw from the history of East African and European art and ideas. Painted on Lubugo bark cloth, a culturally significant material from Uganda, his multi-layered narrative compositions explore East African politics, society and culture. In this event, Armitage, in conversation with Eliza Bonham Carter, considers the intersection of art traditions within his painting practice. He also talks about his vision for the Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute.
Michael Armitage is a Kenyan-born artist who works between Nairobi and London. He received his BA in Fine Art from the Slade School of Fine Art and has a Postgraduate Diploma from the Royal Academy Schools. He has had solo exhibitions across the UK and internationally as well as numerous group exhibitions. He is the founder of the Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute, non-profit visual art space dedicated to the growth and preservation of contemporary art in East Africa.
This is an online event. There will be an opportunity for audience questions at the end of the event.
The event will be accompanied by speech-to-text transcription courtesy of Stagetext.