Courses for Dis-Course(s)

The Art Activisms research cluster invite you to join a book launch, with artist Roo Dhissou in conversation with Stuart Whipps.

Thursday 3 April 2025, 6 - 7pm at Birmingham School of Art

Page display from Courses for Dis-Course(s), Image by Reece Straw, 2023

Courses for Dis-Course(s) is a 500 page publication and podcast project that Roo Dhissou has been working on for the past 2 years. It is a legacy for a rich multidimensional artwork that sought to raise the voices and experiences of artists working at the intersections of visual practice, often excluded due to their experiences and heritages.

“This artist publication is written for all those who identify with the term “British South Asian woman artist” (BAWA), those that defy it, those that loosely define it, those that sit on the margins of it and those that find themselves in the mess of it all.” - Roo Dhissou

Artist/researcher Roo Dhissou works with communities, diasporas and her own histories. Using community engaged practice, craft, cooking, performance and installation she explores how communal and individual identities are formed. They have worked with BMAG, New Art Gallery Walsall, Niru Ratnam, The Bluecoat, Tate Liverpool, GLOAM, Primary and internationally in Spain and Canada. Their work is represented in permanent collections including Arts Council Collection and they won the Tate Liverpool award in 2020 and Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2024 and Serpentine Support Structures 2024.