M. P. Alladin

Mahmoud Pharouk Alladin[fn 1] (1919–1980) was a Trinidad and Tobago artist, poet, writer, teacher and public servant.

Alladin played a major role in the expansion of art education and was an important influence on a wide range of Trinidad and Tobago artists.

[1] In 1966 Alladin was appointed by Prime Minister Eric Williams to chair a committee to look into the problems of the steelband movement.

[6] Alladin worked for the "liberation of the arts from overseas influences as far as expression, experiences and choice of subject matter went".

[3] As part of a group of painters which included Boscoe Holder, Sybil Atteck, Amy Leong Pang and Carlisle Chang, Alladin was part of a mid-twentieth century art movement in Trinidad and Tobago that began to be representative of the country's cultural and ethnic diversity.

These artists, according to gender and cultural studies professor Patricia Mohammed, were "search[ing] for a new vocabulary of art" and were in the early stages of developing a local identity.

[2] Alladin, who spoke Urdu, Hindi and Arabic,[1] included words and phrases on Trinidadian Bhojpuri in his poetry.