KAMAL EL ALAOUI
1959 -
As a youngster in London, Kamal El Imam El Alaoui enjoyed Carnival and the beautiful and powerful voice it portrays of the rich cultural heritage of the black communities in the UK. His Primary and College education took place in Morocco, while his higher education occurred in London at the Central London Polytechnic, John Cass School of the Arts and at St Martin School of the Arts, University of Central London. The courses ranged from sculpture, printing, modelling and casting to production management.
As a student he worked with some of the leading carnival designers of the time. He describes himself as a designer and sculptor by trade. Kamal has worked on film, theatre, TV and large-scale public events over the years. The skills and techniques he gained in those disciplines, are now being utilised in Carnival Mas making.
Multicultural educational programmes in the UK introduced him to teaching arts at community level. This has become the base of his work for a series of international projects. Arts education and management were aspects of his contribution to a number of organisations in South Africa, where he helped introduce carnival events as a new discipline since there was a lack of local capacity. In partnership with Afrika Cultural Trust and with City Johannesburg Arts and Culture, they together developed strategies around the promotion of carnival. This included training, fundraising, financial & administrative aspects, logistical and legal support, with the aim of establishing an annual carnival. The assessment conducted of the carnival in Johannesburg, documented the rich impact it has on communities. It is now an established annual event. In 2021 local SA communities would have been celebrating their 25th Anniversary of the Johannesburg Carnival. Unfortunately, it had to be cancelled due to Covid. Kamal’s work has been influenced by many great artists in films, theatre and carnival. He combines movements, colour and sound in his creative expressions by using methods and techniques like vacuum forming, moulding and printing, and by mixing traditional and contemporary materials such as cane, fiberglass and foams.
Since his return to the UK, Kamal has designed and produced costumes for major carnival events in London and other parts of the UK.
Currently he is the resident Designer with Flamboyan Carnival Arts.
- Afrika Cultural Centre: Afrika Cultural Centre – Johannesburg – Artfactories
- Afrika Cultural Trust: Afrika Cultural Centre – ESAT (sun.ac.za)
- Johannesburg City: Arts, culture and heritage (joburg.org.za)
Kamal’s links
- Instagram: kamalalaoui4374
- Facebook: (20+) Kamal El Alaoui | Facebook