IT IS NOT UNUSUAL to be moved by the ocean, stirred by frothy swells of salt water rolling onto the sand and withdrawing in perpetuity. Still, I did not expect to tear up looking at a photograph of the ocean on the second floor of New York’s Museum of Modern Art on a rainy Wednesday afternoon.… Continue reading Nigeria in focus at MoMA’s “New Photography 2023”
On 25 February, Nigerian voters went to the polls to elect a new president. But will the election mark a moment of transformation for Nigeria’s museums? Stakeholders in Nigeria’s cultural sector are unsure. Many think the general election has served to encapsulate how far behind the Nigerian state remains in comparison to the country’s private… Continue reading The Art Newspaper: After a landmark election, will Nigeria now invest in its museums?
After his father had two strokes and his mother was diagnosed with high blood sugar, Ebi Ofrey had an epiphany: with vigilant healthcare, both events could have been avoided. But in Nigeria, there are very few health services dedicated to taking care of the elderly and health insurance coverage – both private and government-run –… Continue reading How the pandemic kickstarted a health tech renaissance in Nigeria
LAST MONTH, when Benin’s Palais de la Marina in Cotonou opened its doors, a belated history class swung into session. Organized by the president’s office and titled “Benin Art from Yesterday to Today, from Restitution to Revelation,” the exhibition paired work by thirty-four contemporary Beninese artists with a trove of twenty-six royal objects pillaged by the… Continue reading Artforum: Kingdom Comeback – the spectacular return of Benin’s looted art
Editors at leading international publications like The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times are looking for stories from all over the world, including Africa. Getting your byline on those pages begins with a great pitch! In this episode of ArtWork, (by Paystack) I share tips on how to set your pitch apart to… Continue reading ArtWork: Crafting winning pitches
Speaking to journalist, media consultant and SOGI advocate, I share my journey and what it means to be a freelance journalist. writing to the world, from Nigeria. https://player.captivate.fm/episode/8fd21501-bf07-424d-ba6b-10d4020129c1
Last Monday in Paris, auction house Christie’s proceeded with the sale of two Nigerian artefacts in the face of public outcry over their suspicious provenance. As art historian Chika Okeke-Agulu noted in a 21 June article for The Guardian, the pair of sacred Igbo sculptures, known as Alusi, were likely stolen from Nigeria during its civil war… Continue reading Frieze: To Stop Auction of Looted Art, International Law Must Change
Charly Boy decided he would wear rouge. It was the 1970s, the height of the sexual revolution in the West, so it wasn’t unusual for men to be seen in makeup. But for a young student in the United States coming from a small town in Nigeria, dressing in ways that drew attention to himself… Continue reading New York Times: What It Means to Dress in Lagos
For ‘Symphonie au Kente’ (Symphony of Kente), Abdoulaye Konaté has merged two rich, long-standing textile traditions from Ghana and his native Mali. This is an unlikely pairing: although located in the same region, the two nations do not share a language or a political system, and travel between both countries often requires patience with knotty… Continue reading Frieze: How Abdoulaye Konaté Knits Together West African Cultural Heritage
On 3 October, two days after Nigeria’s Independence Day, a grainy video was posted to Twitter that purportedly showed an attempted murder. A shooting at point blank range. Two unarmed men dragged from a hotel in Delta State by a group of armed men. A gun pointed to the floor. A loud, familiar crack. Smoke...… Continue reading #EndSARS: The first seven days
The Rotinwa Read 