Tag: Nigeria

ArtWork: Crafting winning pitches

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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

Frieze: To Stop Auction of Looted Art, International Law Must Change

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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

New York Times: What It Means to Dress in Lagos

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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

The Guardian: Loving Fela, a tale of two Kalakuta queens

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On February 18, 1977, a black Range Rover sped through the open gates into Kalakuta Republic, No 14. Agege Motor Road, Idi-Oro, Mushin – the home of Afrobeat legend, and one of the most successful African musicians of the 20th century, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti .One of Fela’s assistants, Roy Smith, who had been driving the Range… Continue reading The Guardian: Loving Fela, a tale of two Kalakuta queens

Financial Times: Nigerian musicians inspired by deep cultural legacy

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Credit: Joseph Okpako/WireImage When ClassiQ, a singer and rapper born in Bauchi state, wanted to connect old Hausa music from northern Nigeria to his contemporary sound, he bought an MP3 player. He loaded on about 400 songs by Hausa music legends such as Mamman Shata, Alhaji Musa Dankwairo and Dan Maraya Jos. ClassiQ listened to… Continue reading Financial Times: Nigerian musicians inspired by deep cultural legacy

We Are Dressed Up in Conflict and Appropriation, Colonial Legacy

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The history of (West) Africa’s most famous, loved and easily identifiable fabric – the Ankara – is a book written with half-truths, missing many scripts and authored by interlopers. Their version of the story begins once upon a time, in the Netherlands where ‘African prints’ (which Ankara is sometimes also called) was first manufactured. Conveniently… Continue reading We Are Dressed Up in Conflict and Appropriation, Colonial Legacy

VOGUE: Meet the Nigerian Product Designers Behind a New Brand of Minimalism

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About a week ago, Nifemi Marcus-Bello, a 30-year-old Nigerian product designer, walked into a high-end lifestyle store in Victoria Island, Lagos’s central business district. He asked if they might stock his “LM Stool,” named after a dear friend. The two-legged stool—created by bending, welding, and laser-cutting metal—looks weightless, and comes in two colors.  It’s currently on… Continue reading VOGUE: Meet the Nigerian Product Designers Behind a New Brand of Minimalism

Evening Standard: How Lagos became the home to a new world of leather

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“Made-in-Nigeria goods are taking on a new shine,” says Femi Olayebi, founder of the Lagos Leather Fair and the designer of an eponymous handbag label. “In the past few years a surge of designers has conscientiously made grand efforts to offer beautifully made goods.” Now everyone wants a piece. Read more HERE