CALL FOR ENTRIES: THE LAGOS CREATIVE PROJECT 2020 Initiated by The Ben Enwonwu Foundation in partnership with Alliance Française Lagos/Mike Adenuga Centre, The Lagos Creative Project focuses on experimentation and new possibilities in painting and sculpture, two mediums celebrated African pioneer modernist artist, Ben Enwonwu excelled in. The residency also welcomes work in all areas of the visual arts and is open to artists of African and French descent. It seeks to foster cross-cultural ties and exchange between African countries […]
We regret to announce the death of the Chair of our Board of Trustees, Aino Ternstedt Oni-Okpaku, aged 82. She was also the founder and Director of Lagos-based art and craft gallery, Quintessence. A traditional chief of Ogotun Ekiti, a title she received for selfless service during former Nigerian President, General Ibrahim Babangida’s Better Life for Rural Women programme, her legacy also hinges on her work at the Erubodo Foundation, a charity she established more than twenty years ago. Since […]
The Ben Enwonwu Foundation in collaboration with the Society of Nigerian Artists and supported by Alliance Française Lagos is pleased to announce its new monthly series of talks ‘Point of View’. Conceived as a collaborative platform, the series brings together a diverse line-up of artists, curators, writers, thinkers and policymakers, to share their perspectives on the role of the visual arts in shaping society. Also, drawing from other creative disciplines and experiences to take a broad helicopter view of the […]
From November 7 – 8, 2018, The Ben Enwonwu Foundation and The British High Commission in collaboration with Bonhams celebrated the sculpture of HM Queen Elizabeth II, by Ben Enwonwu MBE. The exhibition of the Queen’s sculpture was in honour of HRH The Prince of Wales’ recent visit to Nigeria. The British Residence in Ikoyi, Lagos provided an excellent venue as the artist restaged his final solo exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London organised by the Royal Society of […]
In 1956, Ben Enwonwu, MBE received his greatest portrait commission. Elizabeth II, Queen of England and Monarch of the British Empire. Enwonwu conceived the idea for the commission and proposed it to Alan Lennox-Boyd, Secretary of State for the colonies, to commemorate the Queen’s visit to Nigeria in January and February 1956. The commission was arranged in consultation with protocol officials at Buckingham Palace, with the intention to install the completed bronze statue in the Nigerian House of Representatives in […]
Interns will have the opportunity to learn about an art foundation by working on projects alongside renowned artists and curators. The BEF accepts applications for internships, from which students in tertiary institutions in Nigeria gain academic credit. Getting involved is an excellent way for students to learn about art, and about the people, organisations and agencies that play a role in shaping the art world. The Foundation works closely with local and international government agencies, non-governmental organisations, and other academic […]
Celebrated Nigerian artist Ben Enwonwu MBE headlines Bonhams February 2018 Africa Now sales, with his oil painting, Tutu, 1974, 97 x 66.5cm, estimated at £200,000 –300,000. This now world-famous portrait of Adetutu Ademiluyi, an Ile-Ife princess and a granddaughter of the Ooni of Ife was first painted in 1973. Other lots in the auction include Yusuf Grillo’s Evangelists: Cymbal, Triangle and Tambourine, 1964, oil on board, 121 x 78cm with presale estimates of £50,000 –70,000; Cheri Samba’s La Democratie?1995, oil on canvas, 83.5 x 103.5cm, estimated at £18,000 […]
To mark the centenary of the birth of Ben Enwonwu MBE, ART X Lagos, courtesy of the Access Bank Collection, presents to the general public for the first time ever in Nigeria, seven wooden sculptures commissioned by the Daily Mirror in 1961 for their headquarters in London.
Explore new positions on West-African modernism, before and after independence Taking place during the centenary of pioneering Nigerian artist Ben Enwonwu, this major international conference explores new positions on West-African Modernism before and after Independence. Jointly hosted by Bea Gassman de Souza, independent curator and Kerryn Greenberg, curator, International Art, Tate Modern, this one and a half-day conference is a unique opportunity to examine strategies of cultural independence and to reflect upon the impact of transnationalism and de-colonisation in art […]
A rare and historically significant composition by Nigerian Modernist, Ben Enwonwu, features as the top lot at Bonhams Africa Now – Modern & Contemporary African Art Sale slated for October 5, 2017. The painting, Nigerian Symphony, 1963-34, 48 x 178cm is estimated at £100,000-150,000 and depicts a busy street scene, swarming with Nigerians cutting across all social strata. Hovering above these men and women sporting traditional attires and business suits are dark, sullen rain clouds. Yet, in the midst of this gloominess, a viewer […]
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the death of Prof Ben Enwonwu, which will be commemorated by the Foundation with the 10th annual lecture, to be delivered by the chief executive officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Mr Oscar Onyema OON. The lecture is slated for November 15, 2014 and will hold at The Wheatbaker, Ikoyi, Lagos. The distinguished lecture series provides a forum for notable leaders of thought, national and international figures, policy makers and renowned academics to […]