International Artist

Kevin is an international artist and he creates powerful artwork informed by his pedagogic practice. Kevin is on the Board of Directors and Trustees and proudly serves Manchester's long-standing institution.

Thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Manchester's Portico Library has received a transformative boost of nearly half a million pounds. This funding is a catalyst for the £7m redevelopment of the 218-year-old building, and it marks a new chapter in the Portico's rich history.

The Board of Trustees, in partnership with experts and the community, will trial plans for the project, which will transform the Portico into a creative space. The project will see all three floors brought together for the first time in over 100 years, making it an exciting and innovative place for everyone to enjoy.

Kevin is a Black professional artist, teacher and academic driven by an incredible passion for self-expression and decolonisation through art. His many artworks are often noted for their unique powerful style and technique. He has developed an innovative style that blends his experiences as a Windrush first generation British-Jamaican with his pedagogic practice and doctoral research. Through the conflation of crafted practices, seeks to decolonise, emancipate and celebrate Blackness to promote equality and openness.   Kevin's sculptures, paintings and installations have been featured in galleries and museums across the international stage and they appear in numerous private collections. 

Kevin has used his sound pedagogic practice to explore the Afro-Caribbean education experience, a topic of significant concern, has seen little change since the publication of Bernard Coard’s seminal work, How the West Indian Child Is Made Educationally Subnormal (1971). This work, which remains relevant today, sheds light on the persistent issues of black underachievement and exclusions. Despite policy changes and evolving terminology, Black professionals and students are still grappling with a pedagogy that perpetuates white supremacy. 

 Through research at Manchester Metropolitan University, Kevin aims to discover how Afro-Caribbean teachers, who face unique challenges, cope with the profession's demands to emancipate Black professionals on the frontline of education by highlighting their exceptional contribution to education.   

Kevin is an exceptional professional artist, teacher, and academic, driven by an incredible passion for self-expression and decolonisation through art. His remarkable artworks are widely recognised for their unique and powerful style, resulting from his innovative technique that blends his experiences as a first-generation British Jamaican with his pedagogic practice and doctoral research. Kevin is committed to decolonising, emancipating, and celebrating Blackness to promote equality and openness. His sculptures, paintings, and installations have been featured in galleries and museums worldwide and are in numerous private collections. He is undoubtedly a trailblazer in the field of art with his incredible talent and vision.

Kevin, Dr Sylvia Theuri, Rayvenn D'Clark (International artist), and Marlene Wylie spearheaded the highly anticipated VISUALISE report launched today in our APPG for Art, Craft, and Design in Education. The report has uncovered a startling truth - a mere 2.3% of artists referenced in GCSE Art exam papers come from Black or South Asian backgrounds. The Runnymede Trust and Freelands Foundation report, spanning an extensive 119 pages, unapologetically highlights the significant under-representation of minority ethnic artists in school curricula. The report boasts a treasure trove of qualitative and quantitative data, making it an indispensable read for educators, policymakers, and researchers keen to drive change and promote diversity.

Systemic racism has been a formidable barrier for many individuals for far too long. However, it is crucial to acknowledge that change is possible, even when it sits at the heart of the education system. In this inspiring masterclass, Kevin Dalton-Johnson shares his personal experience of the British education system as a student, teacher, and leader, shedding light on the negative impact of systemic racism. As an international artist, teacher, and academic leader, Kevin uses his art to present a non-discursive view of the oppressed, which academia often overlooks. The insights he shares in this masterclass are genuinely eye-opening and empowering.