It is no longer news that many Nigerian artifacts are in Europe and America held by both public institutions such as Museums, Universities and Galleries as well as by private individuals, but what is new is the collaborative efforts being made by the Nigerian government and the countries where these artifacts are taken in the first place to repatriate them back to the country where they rightly belong.
One of these collaborative diplomatic efforts yielded a positive result yesterday when the French Embassy in Nigeria handed over five Nok Terracotta figures seized by the French Customs service in Paris. Nok arts came to light in 1928, when Co. J. Dent Young found a small terracotta head amongst the gravel from tin mining operations near the village of Nok in Jos Plateau of central Nigeria and since then these cultural materials were named after the village where the finds were made.
It is indeed unfortunate that so much Nok materials have been looted over time to supply the international art market which is supposed to be the exclusive cultural artifacts of the Nigerian people. So when the French Ambassador to Nigeria Jacques Champagne de Labriolle handed over 5 stolen artifacts of Nok origin to the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCCM) last Tuesday many stakeholders in the art sector landed the move, describing it as a right step in the right direction.
Posts tagged as “Nigeria”
“Our Roots” is an Illustrated educational and informative Comic art by TAYO Fatunla that documents various stages in the history of the black race featuring black achievers in the US, the UK, in Europe and in Africa.
This Black History month in the US, “Our Roots” will highlight Black people, places and things that have helped shape the world history as we know it today. This inaugural feature for EURweb highlights African History. Nelson Mandela said “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” “Our Roots” tries to do just that.
TAYO Fatunla is an award winning Nigerian Comic Artist and illustrator and Editorial cartoonist. He is a graduate of the prestigious U.S. Art school, The Kubert School, New Jersey. He has extensively drawn cartoons and illustrations in Africa, in Europe and the US through the years and has exhibited “Our Roots” at the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York. See his work at: www.tayofatunla.com
article via eurweb.com
Ghana’s Grace Amey-Obeng, one of West Africa’s most successful businesswomen, made her fortune promoting products which emphasised the beauty of the black skin, at a time when many of her competitors were selling dangerous skin-bleaching formulas.
The business empire she started a quarter of a century ago with around $100 (£63) now has an annual turnover of between $8m and $10m. Her FC Group of Companies – which includes a beauty clinic, a firm that supplies salon equipment and cosmetics, and a college – has eight branches in Ghana and exports to Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Togo, Ivory Coast, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Mrs Amey-Obeng has won dozens of accolades and industry awards for her skincare beauty products and marketing. But one of the things that make her especially proud is her FC Beauty College which, since its opening in 1999, has trained more than 5,000 young people, mostly women.
Yuri Arcurs/Shutterstock.com
Ever hear of Kate Henshaw-Nuttal? How about Genevieve Nnaji? You might soon. They are two of Nollywood’s top actresses. Nollywood (Nigeria’s film industry) is continuing to give Hollywood a run for its money… with help from moviegoers. The Nigerian film industry is now an $800-million industry, reports Forbes. And it’s becoming more global. In fact, even the Dish Network has recognized the power of Nollywood. It has just announced it will launch Africa Box Office (ABO), an Afro-Caribbean movie channel. ABO is broadcasts films exclusively from Nollywood, the prolific Nigerian film industry. It also airs films from other major African and Caribbean motion picture houses.
According to a press release, ABO is the largest Afro-Caribbean content aggregator for television in North America, broadcasting over 150 new movies per year, eight movies every day, and three premieres every week. It has a catalog of more than 1,500 African and Caribbean movies, leveraging the Afrotainment Family of Channels.
Colin Salmon attends the Royal World Premiere of ‘Skyfall’ at the Royal Albert Hall on October 23, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Eamonn McCormack/Getty Images)
Black British actors are taking Hollywood by storm. In recent years more and more have been cast in on-screen roles, not just in big budget U.S. films but also on American television. In fact, nowadays it is highly likely a Brit will be found starring in a major Hollywood movie or hit TV series. Currently, U.S. television boasts several black British actors who are regular cast members in popular shows like Homeland and Game of Thrones.
“I love British actors,” says Brooks Jackson Colyar, a Los Angeles-based agent who represents actors and comedians. “I am fascinated they can take that accent and turn it into everyday American English,” she adds. Black British actor David Oyelowo, 36, is a classic example. Born in the Oxford to Nigerian parents, Oyelowo was best known in the UK for playing an intelligence officer in the television drama series Spooks.
Folorunsho Alakija on the November 2012 cover of Geneieve magazine in a dress by Iconic Invanity.
Oprah Winfrey is no longer the richest black woman in the world. The new leading lady is oil baroness Folorunsho Alakija from Nigeria. While drilling oil has reportedly made the 61-year-old owner of FAMFA Oil Limited a very rich woman — she is estimated to be worth at least $3.2 billion — Alakija started her ascent to financial supremacy in fashion.
Born into a wealthy family, Alakija studied fashion design in England back in the ’80s and soon after founded the Nigerian clothing label Supreme Stitches. Her one-of-a-kind creations were worn by the who’s who of African society, quickly making her the premier fashion designer in the West African country. In fact, she has been called one of the “pioneers of Nigerian fashion” and stays connected to the industry through the Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FDAN). The well-heeled businesswoman and philanthropist made the switch to oil in 1993 and the rest is history. Ventures Africa reports that Alakija owns at least $100 million in real estate and a $46 million private jet.
article by Julee Wilson via huffingtonpost.com
Raised in Nigeria, now living in the United States, the young sculptor Nnenna Okore makes a strong impression in this solo show of new work in New York’s Contemorary African Art Gallery. Her primary materials are organic recyclables — burlap, jute rope, paper — along with small, cylindrical, fingerlike ceramic forms. In several cases she attaches the ceramic pieces to sheets of burlap that have been stiffened with resin and molded into undulating curves. The effect is decorative, the basic format a reminder that she spent an apprentice year working in El Anatsui’s studio in Nigeria around the time he was developing his pieced-together and draped metal “fabrics.”
More interesting, because more her own, are wall sculptures that take her closer to abstract natural forms. Some are open, seemingly fragile networks made from dye-soaked jute threads that twist and intertwine, like tendrils or root systems.
Other pieces, shaped from handmade paper, have the furrowed texture of tree bark or leathery skin. One extraordinary paper piece, dyed pink and brown, seems to burst from the gallery wall like a giant dried and withered rose. Like all of Ms. Okore’s best work, this is a tough, unlovely image, about when recycling passes into disintegration.
article by Holland Cotter via nytimes.com
U.S. Tennis player Serena Williams, right, in action as she plays tennis with a school child, during a clinic session in Lagos, Nigeria. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — On their first visit to Nigeria, Serena and Venus Williams want to inspire local kids to set their goals high. “We were really able to break the mold and win a lot of Grand Slams and a lot of tournaments and not only that, but kind of change the face of tennis,” Serena said Wednesday before an exhibition match against her sister in Lagos on Friday.
Brazil’s thriving African culture
Rio de Janeiro (CNN) — From samba and carnival to food, music and religion, African culture is everywhere in Brazil. The cultural heritage stems from the estimated four million slaves who were brought to the country over a 300-year period, at least four times as many as to the United States. Brazil was the last country to abolish the slave trade in 1888. More than half of Brazilians now identify themselves as black or of mixed race, according to the latest census.
Rio de Janeiro now has the most famous carnival in the world, attracting an estimated 1.1 million visitors to the city this year and with 5.3 million people taking part in street parties, according to the English language newspaper The Rio Times.
Tony Abulu, center; with Bern Cohen, left; and Andre Leigh during the filming of “Doctor Bello.” (Ángel Franco/The New York Times)
On the surface the production that commandeered a few dormant rooms at the Coler-Goldwater Specialty Hospital on Roosevelt Island this year resembled many other low-budget film projects in New York City. Crew members were each handling multiple jobs. Those from out of town were spending their short nights on friends’ couches. The catering consisted of a box of Dunkin’ Donuts and a carton of coffee, both empty by late morning.
The film “Doctor Bello” also features Genevieve Nnaji, left; Isaiah Washington, center; and Olumide Bakare.
But despite the production’s humble appearance there was a lot riding on it. Its director and producer, Tony Abulu, and his financial backers say the film, “Doctor Bello,” has the potential to chart a new direction for the booming Nigerian film industry half a world away.
That industry, known as Nollywood, is perhaps the world’s third-largest filmmaking industry in revenues, producing more than 1,000 titles every year. But the industry is known for churning out slapdash films with feeble story lines, amateurish acting and sloppy production values. Nearly all go straight to video and are soon forgotten.
That industry, known as Nollywood, is perhaps the world’s third-largest filmmaking industry in revenues, producing more than 1,000 titles every year. But the industry is known for churning out slapdash films with feeble story lines, amateurish acting and sloppy production values. Nearly all go straight to video and are soon forgotten.