Alvin Kofi
A second-generation West Indian, based in UK, Kofi’s career has been strongly associated with the Black UK arts movement. His creative perspective is very much African-centred through which the Black body becomes his muses as he explores traditional notions of African culture and their place in the historical narrative of the Diaspora.
Recognised as a major contributor to the Black visual arts in the UK, he received a Royal Mail stamp commission for Windrush 75 celebrations. ‘Hospital Rooms’ charity commissioned Kofi to design and install several projects, one for the Brand New cutting edge Springfield Mental Hospital in the UK.
Further commissions include the creation of a globe for the prestigious national project ‘The World Reimagined’ conceptualised by Yinka Shonibare in 2022 improving our understanding of the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade and its impact on the political and social environments we live in today. In 2020, Kofi was a finalist in the Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year Award, one of only two black artists to reach the finals. Regularly returning back to portraiture, he was a highly-commended artist participating in the Ruth Borchard Self-Portrait Prize 2021 online exhibition.