Zaria Art Society: Celebration of legacies

ZARIA Art Society: Celebration of Legacies is a very special exhibition that highlights the revered founding fathers of contemporary Nigerian art. The artists, whose works are featured in this historic show, include Yusuf Grillo, Demas Nwoko, Emmanuel Odita, Simon Okeke, Uche Okeke, Bruce Onobrakpeya and Oseloka Osadebe.

The Zaria Art Society was a group of artists that came together at the Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology, Zaria in 1958, to form a new artistic philosophy that embraced the uniqueness of Nigerian artistic expression. Often times referred to as the “Zaria Rebels”, these artists rejected the Western-centric educational framework of the time, preferring to promote the idea of “natural synthesis” that prioritized indigenous artistic styles and narratives.

The artworks selected explore the philosophical ideas and creative dialogue they shared at school in Zaria that defined and chartered the path of modernism in contemporary Nigerian art. It also presents in dialogue their distinct and individual multi-dimensional creative expression, which they individually forged in their different geographical locations across the country. This exhibition celebrates them as icons and legends of our cultural heritage. The exhibition includes paintings, drawings, sculptures, designs, prints and other forms of art creation, as well as archival materials that explore the history of the Zaria Art Society and their intellectual and philosophical pursuits as legacies bequeathed to us.

This exhibition is curated by Professor Jerry Buhari, professor of Fine Art at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

A roundtable discussion, titled “Meet the Legends”, will take place on Saturday, November 2, 2019, 1 PM at the Kia Showroom, which will bring together many of the original artists from the legendary artistic movement, including Yusuf Grillo, Demas Nwoko and Bruce Onobrakpeya. This roundtable discussion offers the rare opportunity to hear from these masters of modern art in Nigeria.

Zaria Art Society: Celebration of Legacies is proudly sponsored by Access Bank, The Ford Foundation, Kia, Lasis, Le Connaisseur, Eric Kayser, 7UP, Veuve Clicquot and Guardian Arts.