Episode 347

An Artist Blazes His Path with Abdul Abdullah

Abdul Abdullah is an artist from Perth, Australia, five-time finalist for the Archibald – the famous Australian portrait competition, and the recipient of many other awards and recognitions for his provocative artworks about race, racism, introspection and identity.

In this interview Abdul shares his story about growing up in Perth, engaging in some kinds of juvenile delinquency, being raised in humble beginnings but with the consistent support of his family, going to art school and being willing to experiment with his art.

A key challenge came to Abdullah when he submitted a portrait to the Archibald prize. He met Muslim Australian author and academic Waleed Aly, painted his portrait and became a finalist in the national competition for the first time. To Abdullah’s surprise, he started receiving hate mail, a dozen letters a day.

Apparently these people hated Abdul just because of his new mentor’s politics, and because of his name. It was then that Abdul had to decide – would he stay angry, or would he transmute his anger into something positive, through his art?