Roads to Freedom
Costume Design
2005 (designed)
2005 (designed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The costume designed by Ali Pretty for The Coloniser, in the carnival band Roads to Freedom, 2005. The Coloniser was inspired by the Trinidadian character the Midnight Robber, using a large hat and cape to depict the transatlantic slave trade with a map of Africa decorated with Ghanaian Adinkra symbols appliqued into the cape. The attachment above the performer is intended to reflect the sails of colonial boats as part of Britain's slavery and imperial policy.
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.
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 | |
| Title | Roads to Freedom (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | |
| Brief description | Costume design by Ali Pretty for The Coloniser in Roads to Freedom, Notting Hill Carnival, 2005 |
| Physical description | The design shows a forward facing male performer with his arms outstretched displaying a red cloak and large backpack attachment displaying the sails of ships above the performer. The large red cloak appears delibrately worn to reveal Ghanaian Adinkra symbols. The performer is wearing a wide brimmed bicorne hat, in black and red with a gold attachment. The performers clothing is also in an emphasised nineteenth century colonial style with a red and black buttoned waistcoat and black trousers with gold chain decorations. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Marks and inscriptions | Ali Pretty '05 |
| Credit line | Given by Ali Pretty |
| Associations | |
| Summary | The costume designed by Ali Pretty for The Coloniser, in the carnival band Roads to Freedom, 2005. The Coloniser was inspired by the Trinidadian character the Midnight Robber, using a large hat and cape to depict the transatlantic slave trade with a map of Africa decorated with Ghanaian Adinkra symbols appliqued into the cape. The attachment above the performer is intended to reflect the sails of colonial boats as part of Britain's slavery and imperial policy. 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/426/24/1/7 - Archive number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.302-2016 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | May 23, 2016 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
