MIMI WOLFORD gives talk at the Department of Creative Arts, University of Lagos. 25 June, 2013 at 10am Mimi Wolford, artist and founder of the Mbari Institute for Contemporary African Art, Washington DC, U.S.A would be visiting Nigeria on the US Department of State Speaker Travelling program. She is scheduled to give talks and conduct workshops in Abuja, Oshogbo and the Department of Creative Arts, University of Lagos (25-28 June, 2013). Mimi comes from a well-established tradition of artists. Both parents, Richard Wolford and Jean Kennedy, were involved in the world of art from an early age, having graduated from the Cleveland School of Art. They both apprenticed with renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright and went on to build their own Wright-inspired house in southern California. It is now a historic location in Highland Park, Los Angeles. After working in Los Angeles for four years, Richard joined the U.S. Department of State. Following his foreign service in Italy and Indonesia, he was assigned to Ethiopia for eighteen months. Then, in 1961, Richard was transferred to Nigeria where the Wolford family lived for seven years. Living in Lagos, the Wolfords became deeply involved with the artists of the country, opening their home every Thursday afternoon to exhibit the works of Oshogbo artists. Richard and Jean continued to produce their own artwork, as Richard worked closely with, among others, the gifted artist Bruce Onobrakpeya—with whom he developed a deep-etching technique. Richard’s works form part of the collection housed in the University of Lagos Library. Jean died in November 1991. However, her long association with African artists, museums, patrons, and scholars culminated in her posthumously published book, New Currents, Ancient Rivers: Contemporary African Art in a Generation of Change, (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1992), renowned by many as the authoritative survey of post-independence artists in sub-Saharan Africa. In 1970, Jean and Mimi co-founded Mbari Art, an organization promoting international cultural exchange. Works of artists from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, & the United States were presented in prominent museums and institutions in the United States and abroad, including three simultaneous exhibitions at the Corcoran, Renwick and National Museum of African Art. Over the years, Mbari has arranged over 100 exhibitions. In 1995, Mimi founded the not-for-profit Mbari Institute for Contemporary African Art (MICAA), a multidisciplinary organization dedicated to the collection, preservation, identification, documentation, and exhibition of works pertaining to the art, craft, and culture of Africa. Its goals are to educate the public, give visibility to African artists, promote and publish research, and act as a permanent repository for the works of contemporary African artists, books, publications, and related materials. Mimi and MICAA have arranged over forty solo and group shows, offering opportunities to emerging African artists, especially those who have not had exposure in the United States. Recently featured artists include Hamid Kachmar of Morocco, Sane Wadu of Kenya, Rackie Dianka and Abdoulaye Ndoye of Senegal; Isaac Ojo, Peju Layiwola, Yinka Adeyemi and Wole Lagunju of Nigeria, Sanaa Gateja of Uganda and Bethel Aniaku of Togo. Other better-known international artists from Africa such as Valente Malangatana of Mozambique, as well as Twins Seven Seven, Jimoh Buraimoh and Bruce Onobrakpeya of Nigeria have also been exhibited in MICAA. We welcome Mimi Wolford back to Nigeria after forty years and wish her a fruitful stay in Lagos. You are all cordially invited to a presentation by the artist on 25 June, 2013 at 10am, Venue: The Visual Arts Gallery, Department of Creative Arts, By the Botanical Gardens, near the Lagoon front (Behind the Faculty of Engineering), University of Lagos. Workshop Begins thereafter at the same venue (12noon -3pm) 26 June, 2013 (9am -2pm) Workshop continues (Three dimensional design- working with clay) 27 June, 2013 (9am -2pm) Workshop continues (Three dimensional design- working with clay) 3pm. Closing/ remarks from participants. RSVP Peju Layiwola Associate Professor, Department of Creative Arts, Faculty of Arts, University of Lagos, Nigeria. 08070705754
Posted on: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 02:03:16 +0000
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