The second project is the “Whose Centenary?” project. A collaboration of eleven other renowned artists on a public art project held at Igun Street, B… - Peju Layiwola
" "The second project is the “Whose Centenary?” project. A collaboration of eleven other renowned artists on a public art project held at Igun Street, Benin City. The Nigerian government celebrated the amalgamation of both the southern and northern protectorates of Nigeria in a grand style. As artists we questioned the celebration of the centenary particularly as the amalgamation was carried out for the convenience of British administration rather than for the good of the people, in what later became known as Nigeria.
About Peju Layiwola
Peju Layiwola (born 29 September 1967) is an art Historian and visual artist from Nigeria who works in a variety of media and genre. She is listed as a "21st Century Avant-Garde" in the book Art Cities of the Future published by Phaidon Press. She is currently a Professor of Art and Art history at the University of Lagos and has been described as a "multitalented artist." Her works can be found in the collection of Microsoft Lagos, Yemisi Shyllon Museum, Pan Atlantic, Lagos and homes of private collectors such as JP and Ebun Clark and the Obi of Onitsha.
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Additional quotes by Peju Layiwola
Today, I come across a lot of youth telling me they are inspired by my life. As a female artist, I must continue to provide hope for younger females who are in search of role models particularly in a profession that has been male dominated for a long time. There are a lot of people, both male and female looking up to me for counsel and I realise that this is an enormous task. I teach them that there is a lot that can be achieved through passion, sheer hard work and dedication.
My focus on Benin history as it pertains the looting of its priced sacred objects began after two major international events I attended- first was the Benin travelling exhibition, “Benin Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria” which was shown in Vienna, Paris, Berlin and Chicago between 2007 and 2009. I attended the opening and close of the exhibition in Vienna and Chicago. When I returned, I began to think of ways of engaging theme of looting patrimony and what it means for Nigeria in this global discourse on art. My exhibition titled, “Benin 1897.com: Art and the Restitution Question” (2010) emerged. I will consider this one of my most successful projects and a major contribution to documenting local art traditions and projecting the views of a colonised people deprived of their art on various platforms.