My practice involves fictional narratives (made up stories stemming from the original), a play on found visuals (illusion), language and text (manipulating meaning). This is done through altering images, experimenting with photographic process, drawing and writing on analogue film (direct animation). I am interested in correspondence, communication, connectivity and collaboration and this is extended through my international curatorial projects.
My current practice is about storytelling, travelling and personal identities and histories. I go somewhere, get lost and collect found and hidden images. I document stories from my own and others experiences and how they can obscure meanings. Some are about political responses and reactions, cultural and language boundaries, human interactions and bringing different fragments of cultures into one space.
Biog:
Diana Ali was born in Rusholme, Manchester to Bengali parents and is now based in Nottingham, UK. She actively works nationally and internationally taking her practice to different cities and spaces. Diana has a BA (Hons) Fine Art from Nottingham Trent University and a Masters in Contemporary Fine Art Curating/ Practice from Sheffield Hallam University. She is also a Fellowship in Higher Education (HFEA Status). She is a BAFTA nominee, has an outstanding alumni award from NTU and has CLORE leadership training status.
As a Visual Artist, she has exhibited regionally, nationally at the TINAG festival, London and Site Gallery, Sheffield and solo at the Airspace Gallery, Hanley. Her international exhibitions include The Library Artspace, Victoria, Australia, The Crafts Fair in San Francisco, The Roaming Biennial in Tehran and the Other Asia’s exhibition ‘ReDo Pakistan’ in Karachi, Pakistan and has been featured in The Disarmory Newspaper in New York.
To date she has independently curated sixteen shows. National projects include ‘Up & Coming’ at the CUC in Liverpool, an event showcasing 60 emerging national and international artists, ‘Subversive Correspondence’ featuring fifty artists in London and Bristol and ‘Dialogues: A Fake Romance?’ in Swansea with thirty artists. Internationally, she has curated in countries with cultural divides; ‘A State of Un-Play’ at Atelier 35 in Romania, ‘Engagement and Entrapment’ in Israel and Palestine, Cyprus and South Korea. ‘Loss & Lucidity’ in California and Lisbon, which was her largest show featuring 60 international artists and more recently ‘Hide Me, Steal Me, Be Nice to Me,’ in Madeira with 46 artists.
She is currently working with promoting and advocating the importance of creative thinking and making in different sectors outside of art. She has given presentations and workshops at the Institute of Mental Health, Nottingham University, Southwark Cathedral, KPMG, Archaeology groups (DNMGS), Haringey Council (Business & Art) and schools and community centres (well-being, domestic violence issues, race and disability). She currently teaches at Loughborough University and Open College of the Arts.
Roles:
-Visual Artist
-Independent Curator
-Lecturer, Arts Educator
-Workshop Leader (national/international),
-Judge/ selector/ application assessor: The Big Draw, Nottingham Women’s Awards, Inch Arts, Surface Gallery, RBSA, Creative Change Makers (head judge), a-n bursaries, Axis fellowships.
-Creative Mentor
-Board of Trustees (Nottingham women’s Centre)
-Board of Trustees (Axisweb)
-Professional mentor TV work
Current Employment:
- Visual Artist
- Independent Curator (Click here to see projects)
- Creative mentor
- Fine Art Lecturer, Loughborough University
- Art tutor for degree pathways in Fine Art (levels 4,5,6) Open College of Arts. Course author & assessor
- Board Member: Nottingham Women’s Centre
- Board Member Axisweb
- Visiting Lecturer and Speaker at various educational and non-educational organisations
- Workshop Leader for various formal and non-formal education establishments. (Click here to see workshops offered)
- External Moderator for OCR
- PREVIOUS:
- a-n The Artist Information company: artists council- bursary panel, recruitment
- ‘Drawers Off!’- Channel 4 (Art Mentor & Consultant)
- BBC4 – Life Drawing Live (presenter)
- BBC 1- The Big Painting Challenge (Professional Mentor-series, 2,3,4)
- -Advisory group (NTU), Arts Council focus group.
- Team Leader for Art & Design department, Course Leader Foundation Diploma, Games Development lecturer.
- Life Long Learning lecturer at Warwick University. Art and Design Lecturer at Hunghai University, China.
Achievements/Qualifications:
- 2021 BAFTA Nominee for ‘Life Drawing Live’ (Live event category)
- 2020 Outstanding Alumni award -Nottingham Trent University
- 2020 CLORE Cultural Leadership Training
- 2020 Nominee ‘Drawers Off’- Broadcast Awards
- 2018/19 Nominee ‘life Drawing Live!’- Broadcast Awards
- 2018 Fellow in Higher Education (HFEA Fellowship status)
- 2010 MA Contemporary Fine Art: Curating & Practice
Sheffield Hallam University, UK - 2006 Cert Ed (PG)Derby University
- 2001 BA (Hons)Fine Art, Nottingham Trent University, UK
- 1998 BTEC Diploma Foundation Art & Design, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK