Whose Centenary? – a collaborative exhibition project curated by Ines Valle with Peju Layiwola as the project’s initiator – will hold in Benin City, Edo State, on December 6 and 7.
Others participating in the project are accomplished Nigerian artists like: Jude Anogwih, Jelili Atiku, Victor Ehikhamenor, Andrew Esiebo, Taiye Idahor, Elizabeth Olowu, Wura-Natasha Ogunji, George Osodi and renowned Nigerian poet, Jumoke Verissimo.
The Benin City exhibition, a free event, is the first in the project, a critical analysis of significant historical aspects of Nigerian social, political and cultural memory, with particular emphasis on 1914.
The organisers said the exhibition will explore themes around the centennial commemoration of the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorates of Nigeria and the multi-layered nature and prevalent results of colonialism in Nigeria in the primordial space of Benin.
“Benin became a place where history played out over a 100 years ago with the exile of Oba Ovonramwen to Calabar in 1897 and the eventual entrenchment of British rule. (Year) 1914 brings to mind the passing of the king who stood against British imperialism in defence of his kingdom. In its rhetorical form, several questions emerge: Who and what are being commemorated? In what forms do these memorialisations occur?” according to a statement from the organisers.
The multi-series exhibition will include performance art, poetry recitation, songs/choreography, installation art, painting, photography, video art and a collaboration between the academically-trained artists, traditional Edo bronze casters and their wards in a series of community-based projects in Benin City.
It will begin with a long procession on December 6 at 11am from the King’s quarters at Akenzua Street through Airport Road, Ring Road, culminating at Igun Street, a world heritage site and the home of traditional bronze casters for centuries. The procession will feature performances by Atiku, Layiwola, Olowu, Ogunji and Verissimo.
The project, the organisers said, is a two-year series of artistic collaborations that redefine the boundaries of museological spaces in Africa, where places, people and their memories continuously enrich our understanding of life, art and history.
Anogwih, Ehikhamenor, Esiebo, Valle, Idahor, Layiwola and Osodi will feature in an exhibition on Igun Street on December 7. However, from December 3, all the participating artists will hold free community art workshops in the ancient city.
