A Presentation of Research and Reflections on the Legacies of Nigerian Art by Chinyere Obieze
On October 17th, G.A.S. Lagos hosted Perpetual Motion People, a presentation of research and reflections by Chinyere Obieze, exploring the legacies of Nigerian art and its shifting meanings across generations. Through readings, research notes, and critical reflections gathered during their residency, Chinyere traced how Nigerian artists have articulated identity and imagination through times of change from the pre- to post-Independence eras.
The session opened with an introduction to Chinyere’s curatorial practice and research methodology, which set the stage for their broader inquiry. Drawing on resources from the G.A.S. Library and the Picton Archive, their project sought to define the contours of Nigerian contemporary art in relation to global art histories, tracing its evolution from early modernism to the present.
While global narratives often frame modernism as emerging in late 19th-century Europe with movements like Impressionism, Chinyere proposed a broader and more fluid beginning to the Nigerian story, one that acknowledges the contact and cultural exchange between Nigeria and the wider world that preceded the early 20th century. Their research questioned what the idea of modernity might have meant for Nigerians even before the arrival of formal art education, and what implications this had for the development of local artistic expression. Rather than starting with the orthodox figure of Aina Onabolu, often cited as the origin point of Nigerian modern art, Chinyere considered how the presence of Western academic influence and the first generation of formally trained Nigerian artists complicated existing visual traditions and notions of artistic progress.
Their research combined archival study with interviews conducted with local cultural practitioners including artists, writers and gallerists. In their presentation, Chinyere traced artistic production from the pre-colonial and colonial eras (1851-1950), referencing Igbo-Ukwu art, Benin bronzes, Yoruba sculpture, and their pioneering makers. She then examined the pre-Independence period (1950-1969), a time marked by new freedoms and emerging artistic identities while noting the scarcity of art institutions needed to sustain postcolonial ideals.
She outlined the development of Nigeria’s key art schools, including the Zaria, Yaba, Nsukka, Ife, Auchi, Benin, and Enugu schools, each contributing distinct philosophies and pedagogical models. A particularly insightful segment focused on photography, which Chinyere described as a foundational yet underexplored pillar of Nigerian modernism. Predating painting and sculpture as the country’s earliest modern art form, photography played a vital role in documenting social life and shaping collective memory. She highlighted pioneers such as J.D. Okhai Ojeikere, Yinka Shonibare CBE and Sunmi Smart-Cole, whose work serves as both artistic expression and visual archive.
The presentation also addressed self-taught and independent artists who, outside institutional frameworks, significantly shaped Nigerian modernism through hybrid visual vocabularies, among them Saro and Amaro architects, Aina Onabolu, and Akinola Lasekan. They also reflected on the Independence and post-Independence eras (1960–1970) and the cultural milestones that followed, including the Mbari Movement, before turning to the disruptions of the Nigerian Civil War. The war transformed the country’s artistic landscape, fracturing national networks, intensifying regional identities, and prompting artists like Uche Okeke, Obiora Udechukwu, Uzo Egonu, and Ben Enwonwu to respond to the trauma and displacement of the period.
Chinyere outlined how the postwar years and the oil boom of the 1970s reshaped cultural production, culminating in FESTAC ’77, even as corruption and inequality deepened. The discussion then shifted to the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) era of the 1980s–1990s, when economic austerity pushed artists toward local materials and collective structures such as the AKA Circle and the Ona Movement. This period produced an aesthetic marked by resilience, symbolism, and forms of social critique. They concluded by tracing the regenerative energies of the 1990s–2010s and the emergence of a decentralised Nigerian art landscape from 2020-2025.
The event concluded with a Q&A session where the audience had the opportunity to question their findings and also the future of Nigerian art beyond the 21st century.
Event Details
Date: 17th October, 2025
Time: 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Location: G.A.S. Lagos, 9B Hakeem Dickson Drive, Off T.F. Kuboye Road, Oniru
About the Speaker
Chinyere Obieze
Chinyere Obieze is a cultural producer who investigates the material negotiations of knowledge systems across technology, nature, culture, and economy. Their practice interrogates how these interconnected forces shape and inform artistic production, with a focus on fostering critical thinking, interdisciplinary practices, and inclusivity in contemporary art spaces. She is currently building frameworks to understand Africa’s evolving presence in digital environments. Obieze curates Klub der Weishet KDW, an ongoing project that works to animate philosophical ideas with performance art; she has also curated Dreaming New Worlds (2023), Kedu Lagos (2024), and was a curatorial assistant for Lagos Biennial (2024) themed: Refuge. They will curate the 5th Lagos Biennial.
Chinyere's residency is generously supported by The Osahon Okunbo Foundation (TOOF)
