Not currently on display at the V&A

Roads to Freedom

Costume Design
2005 (designed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Costume design by Ali Pretty for the carnival band Roads to Freedom, 2005. The section was designed to celebrate the role women played in emancipation. The design uses screen printing rather than the use of dyes and is inspired by African textiles, with the colours being drawn from African flags.

Roads to Freedom was a large carnival band and touring performance designed by Ali Pretty to celebrate the African influence in carnival and traced the journey from slavery to emancipation, from West Africa to Trinidad and finally London.

Different groups of the band performed as part of a touring project with Kinetika, before its appearance in full at Notting Hill Carnival in 2005.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleRoads to Freedom (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Brief description
Costume design by Ali Pretty for Roads to Freedom, Notting Hill Carnival, 2005
Physical description
The design shows a forward facing female performer dressed in a patterned yellow and white layered skirt holding a large yellow flag in her left hand. The flag is yellow, with a white patterned design on the right side and a gold flagpole with a African style pattern at the top. The swirling pattern is repeated on the performers headdress and patterned skirt, emphasising the African style of the performance. The performer is also wearing spiked leather arm bands, wrist bands and a yellow bandana over the head with a large feather attached.
Dimensions
  • Height: 40.4cm
  • Width: 30.4cm
Marks and inscriptions
Ali Pretty '05
Credit line
Given by Ali Pretty
Associations
Summary
Costume design by Ali Pretty for the carnival band Roads to Freedom, 2005. The section was designed to celebrate the role women played in emancipation. The design uses screen printing rather than the use of dyes and is inspired by African textiles, with the colours being drawn from African flags.

Roads to Freedom was a large carnival band and touring performance designed by Ali Pretty to celebrate the African influence in carnival and traced the journey from slavery to emancipation, from West Africa to Trinidad and finally London.

Different groups of the band performed as part of a touring project with Kinetika, before its appearance in full at Notting Hill Carnival in 2005.
Other number
THM/426/24/1/3 - Archive number
Collection
Accession number
S.301-2016

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Record createdMay 23, 2016
Record URL
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