Nigerian Modernism

"A touchstone exhibition of 2025 which this author was lucky enough to visit was the ravishing Nigerian Modernism at the Tate. This richly illustrated exhibition-catalogue (and history) of modern art in Nigeria — tracks the emergence of a visual culture at the intersection of indigenous traditions, colonial history, Pan-Africanist aspirations, and global modernism. Covering roughly 1945–1995 and more than 50 artists, the book presents painting, sculpture, ceramics, graphic arts — from early colonial-era works to the bold explorations of independence and post-independence Nigeria. Far from being a purely European export, Modernism was re-interpreted, adapted, challenged and transformed from Lagos to London and beyond. What emerges clearly is how Nigerian visual modernism was a major node in global art history that parallels and enriches the Modernist narrative we are so familiar with. ———————————–"