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 first time Omar Viktor Diop had to sit for a studio portrait, it did not go well. It was his first year in an all-boys primary Catholic school in Dakar and the school had arranged for all students to be photographed. Diop remembers it well: the photographer set up a grey fabric as a… Continue reading Harper’s Bazaar Arabia ART: On Omar Viktor Diop
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
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
The Rotinwa Read 