Mobile Subjects: Contrapuntal Modernisms (1945-1989) investigates the circulation of artists from the decolonizing world through the colonial and artistic capitals of London and Paris. This tale of two cities considers how these capitals of decolonizing empires functioned as critical meeting places, anti-colonial hubs, and sites of exchange in the decades after World War II due to postwar mass migration.
It proposes a new analytical model that sees metropoles not as points of origin or as global training grounds, but as spaces of intersection and flow that allow us to understand the transnational condition of modern art. In 2017, the project received a SSHRC Insight Development Grant, in 2018, a fellowship from the Paul Mellon Centre for British Art in London (PMC), and in 2023, a SSHRC Insight Grant.
Among many presentations on the subject were the lectures Paris from the Outside In: Representation Under Siege at ici Berlin, Slade, London, Asia: Intersections of Decolonial Modernism at the Paul Mellon Centre for British Art, and a co-publication of some of the project findings as Slade, London, Asia: Contrapuntal Histories between Imperialism and Decolonization, 1945-1965 (British Art Studies).
Work in Progress: Building a Shared History
This is not a finalized research report, but rather a living website that highlights our ongoing research and evolving data. It reflects a collaborative methodology that we believe is essential to doing global art history—especially for a project of this scale.
We are always eager to welcome new collaborators and contributors, and no contribution is too small.
If you have a story to share—about a key node (a place), a pivotal event (like an exhibition), or a hinge figure (a person or even a group)—that helped connect artists across countries or regions in London or Paris, we would love to hear from you. You are welcome to propose a microhistory as a signed contribution, and we can either work with you to develop it collaboratively or take on the research ourselves based on your suggestion
For more research outputs, see:: Outputs
