NIGERIAN MODERNISM, art and independence

287pp., paperback, b/w & colour illus., Tate Publishing, London, 2026

ISBN: 9781849769839

Published on the occasion of the exhibition, Tate Modern, London, October 2025-May 2026.

An exploration of the rise of modern art in Nigeria before and after national independence from British colonial rule, from the 1920s to the 1990s.

Navigating a rapidly changing political and social landscape, Nigerian artists drew upon Christian and Islamic visual cultures, traditional African sculpture, indigenous knowledge systems, Nigerian poetry and literature and European modernist styles, to create new visual languages and express a new postcolonial identity.

Features works by more than 50 artists, including Akinola Lasekan, Ben Enwonwu, Ladi Kwali, Clara Ugbodaga-Ngu, Bruce Onobrakpeya, Uche Okeke, and Obiora Udechukwu.

Contributors: Osei Bonsu, Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie, Bilal Akkouche, délé jégédé, Aindrea Emelife, Bea Gassmann de Sousa, Molara Wood, Will Rea, Francine Kola-Bankole, Ozioma Onuzulike. 

Osei Bonsu is Curator, International Art at Tate Modern.

Bilal Akkouche is Assistant Curator, International Art at Tate Modern.