LEADING CONTEMPORARIES: IN CONVERSATION WITH IBRAHIM MAHAMA

SUNSDAY, 5 NOVEMBER


How do we resurrect the ghost of past events in times of crisis? Can our examination of failed revolutions help us to reframe crises as material for new art? These are just two of the questions that Ibrahim Mahama addresses through his multi-faced practice as an artist, which includes The Savannah Centre for Contemporary Art (Tamale, Ghana), the artist-run institution he founded in 2019.  Mahama will talk about the ideas and ethics that ground his work, including his notion of art as a catalyst for change when seen as a gift rather than a commodity.


Panelist: Ibrahim Mahama

Moderator: Missla Libsekal

WRITING FOR THE TIMES WITH PROFESSOR BRUCE ONOBRAKPEYA

SUNDAY, 5 NOVEMBER


Renowned for his contributions to African modernism, Bruce Onobrakpeya has been committed to the international dissemination of knowledge about Nigeria and Africa through art for over six decades, during which his practice of continual experimentation has yielded an oeuvre that explores the spectrum of “ideas about who we are [as a society]”, ideas informed by what the society experiences and imagines itself to be. Onobrakpeya, a UNESCO-designated living human treasure, discusses what it means to write and reinvent for the times.


Panelist: Professor Bruce Onobrakpeya

Moderator: Ifeoma Fafunwa

PANEL DISCUSSION: REIMAGINING PATRONAGE AS A FORM OF PRACTICE

SUNDAY, 5 NOVEMBER


Against the backdrop of ongoing economic and political uncertainties, what is the role of the collector? Does the collector remain the “greatest cog in the wheel of progress for the new artist,”[1] as declared by the late pioneering artist Uche Okeke? This discussion centers on the contemporary sphere of influence within which collectors operate and the manner in which their patronage can enliven the production of art.


Panelist: Femi Lijadu

Moderator: Ugoma Ebilah