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Oluseye and Poswa join Christie’s auction to benefit Museum of West African Art
23 Sept 2023 (3 min) read
"I believe so deeply in the power of cultural knowledge exchange and compassionate collaboration amongst African artists and creatives. I’m truly honoured to be included in this seminal gathering of contemporary African makers.” - Zizipho Poswa
Artists Oluseye and Zizipho Poswa have each donated a work to Christie’s fundraising auction benefitting The Museum of West African Art, Edo (MOWAA). As part of Christie’s London Frieze Week sales, the auction will celebrate emerging and pioneering art from Africa and its diaspora, shining a spotlight on this important faction within international contemporary art. The pieces will appear in the Post-War and Contemporary Art day sale taking place on Saturday 14 October.
Other artists with work in the auction include Kehinde Wiley, Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, Victor Ehikhamenor and Lakwena Maciver. Poswa, whose chosen work is titled Mam’uNoListen, had the following to say about her inclusion in the auction: “I am thrilled to contribute a work towards MOWAA and support an initiative aimed at preserving and protecting West African arts and culture. I believe so deeply in the power of cultural knowledge exchange and compassionate collaboration amongst African artists and creatives. I’m truly honoured to be included in this seminal gathering of contemporary African makers.”
Oluseye, who has a personal connection to Benin, says: “In February 2020, I travelled to Benin City to make my first bronze sculptures. Here, I worked with Phil Omodamwen, a seventh-generation bronze caster. We worked as a community with our bare hands. From morning to night, under the moonlight, we manipulated earth, wax, fire and metal to make magical objects. It was truly a spiritual experience and one that I’m forever grateful for. I am thrilled to support MOWAA and the movement to preserve and enrich arts and culture in Nigeria.” His featured work, Act I: The Fall of Man (from the Steve series), is an archival pigment print encapsulated in an antique Catholic last rites box.
Left: Oluseye’s Act I: The Fall of Man (from the Steve series), 2019 | Right: Zizipho Poswa’s Mam’uNoListen, 2023
In June 2023, MOWAA unveiled its vision for an expansive complex to be built in the historic centre of Benin City in Edo State, Nigeria. The MOWAA Creative District and Pavilion will be a comprehensive environment dedicated to the artistic and cultural realms of the past, present, and future, It will include research, storage and knowledge facilities, in addition to exhibition, event and retail spaces to convene artists, patrons and visitors.
Proceeds from the auction will also go towards several initiatives, including the presentation of the Nigerian Pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia, 2024 curated by Aindrea Emelife, curator of modern and contemporary art at MOWAA. Emelife noted: “MOWAA is thrilled to partner with Christie’s during this year’s Frieze London. Through the generosity of artists and collectors we are able to bring a collection of incredible works to auction. This will directly benefit core parts of our mission and creative initiatives from providing critical infrastructure and programming to supporting contemporary creatives and cultural heritage specialists in West Africa.”
“MOWAA presents an important moment for us all. This is not just an opportunity for Africa, but for the world. How can we imagine the art of tomorrow when we don’t really know the full expanse of today or our many pasts? By investigating, researching, looking back and dreaming, MOWAA allows us to tell a fuller story of the world.”
This is the second time Christie’s will be partnering with Emelife. Christie’s Isabel Bardawil, post-war and contemporary art specialist, says: “Having partnered with Aindrea Emelife on Bold Black British, an exhibition held at Christie’s in 2021, we are thrilled to collaborate again as she brings her curatorial vision for MOWAA and the Nigerian Pavilion in Venice to the forefront in London.”
Image: Render provided by the architect.
