This August, multi-disciplinary artist, carnivalist and DJ Linett Kamala will create a brand-new carnival themed mural outside Studio West Gallery, Notting Hill ahead of this summer’s long-awaited return of the Notting Hill Carnival.
In its subject matter, the mural will shine a light on the largely unknown story of Rhaune Laslett (b.1919), a community activist and the principal organiser of the first Notting Hill Festival, which later evolved into the Notting Hill Carnival. Live painting will take place outside the gallery on 24 and 25 August, and the mural will be on show throughout the bank holiday weekend and beyond.
Commissioned by Studio West Director Caroline Boseley, the mural will be created by Linett Kamala in collaboration with young creatives that Kamala mentors. The public artwork will celebrate the last 50 years of Notting Hill Carnival from its founding moments through to its contemporary iteration honouring the beloved annual event, which triumphantly returns this year after a three-year hiatus.
Linett Kamala comments, “I hope the mural will make more people aware of local activist Rhaune Laslett. She had the vision to organise a small children’s street fayre back in the 1960s to ease racial tensions which would later grow into what we now know as Notting Hill Carnival. Her message of unity and community endures to this day”
Caroline Boseley: “I wanted to highlight Rhaune Laslett as I knew very little about her connection to Carnival and when I mentioned her to local people, few knew of her either. Her mission to celebrate community and to build strong connections between local residents by organising a street festival, reflects part of my aims for Studio West. Rhaune wanted participants to enjoy themselves, have fun and feel included and I hope Studio West’s programme gives its visitors a similar experience.
Working with the superbly talented multidisciplinary artist and educator Linett Kamala and some of her Lin Kam Art Collective is such a privilege and I can’t wait to see the finished mural!”
Interdisciplinary artist, educator and carnivalist, Linett Kamala has a deep connection to Notting Hill Carnival spanning over 36 years. At the age of 15, she became one of the event’s first female DJs, now 37 years later she is the manager of the same static sound system at which she first performed, Disya Jeneration. She is currently a Board Director of Notting Hill Carnival, and has been dubbed the ‘Sound System Queen’.
