Acclaimed artist Yinka Shonibare and Booker Prize-winning writer Sir Ben Okri come together for a compelling discussion on how Nigerian Modernism continues to shape art, literature, and institutions.
They’ll reflect on the movement’s enduring influence from its post-independence spirit of experimentation to its presence in contemporary practice. The evening continues with a celebration of Nigerian sounds, as FF Projects welcome guest DJ's to The Corner
The conversation will be chaired by Nigerian Modernism exhibition curator Osei Bonsu.
Nigerian Modernism is in partnership with Access Holdings and Coronation Group. Supported by Ford Foundation and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. With additional support from the Nigerian Modernism Exhibition Supporters Circle, Tate International Council, Tate Patrons and Tate Americas Foundation.
Yinka Shonibare
Yinka Shonibare (b. 1962) in London, UK, studied Fine Art at Byam Shaw School of Art, London (1989) and received his MFA from Goldsmiths, University of London (1991). His interdisciplinary practice uses citations of Western art history and literature to question the validity of contemporary cultural and national identities within the context of globalisation. Through examining race, class and the construction of cultural identity, his works comment on the tangled interrelationship between Africa and Europe, and their respective economic and political histories.
In November 2022, Shonibare hosted the international launch of Guest Artists Space (G. A. S.) Foundation, a non-profit founded and developed by the artist. The Foundation is dedicated to facilitating cultural exchange through residencies, public programmes and exhibition opportunities for creative practitioners from around the world.
Sir Ben Okri
Sir Ben Okri is a poet, novelist, essayist, short story writer, anthologist, aphorist, playwright, writer of film-scripts, and cultural activist. His works have won numerous national and international prizes, including the Booker Prize for Fiction, and in 2023 he was knighted for services to Literature.
19.00–22.00
The evening continues with a celebration of Nigerian sounds at Tate Modern’s Corner Bar, featuring sets from Olukemi Lijadu (Kem Kem), a visual and sound artist who explores music as a living archive of communal memory; Bunmi Fabode, an archivist and independent researcher. Her recent publication in Fashion Theory, “Adire Translocalities,” explores textiles as national archives and as a metaphor for social cohesion. FF Projects, the nomadic curatorial platform founded by Faridah Folawiyo that champions the global exchange of Black art.
You can enter via the Cinema entrance, left of the Turbine Hall main entrance, and into the Natalie Bell Building on Holland Street. The Starr Cinema is on Level 1 of the Natalie Bell Building.
There will be step free access from the front of the cinema.
There are lifts to every floor of the Blavatnik and Natalie Bell buildings. Alternatively you can take the stairs.
- Fully accessible toilets are located on every floor on the concourses.
- A quiet room is available to use in the Natalie Bell Building on Level 4.
- Ear defenders can be borrowed from the Ticket desks.
To help plan your visit to Tate Modern, have a look at our visual story. It includes photographs and information about what you can expect from a visit to the gallery.
For more information before your visit:
- Email hello@tate.org.uk
- Call +44 (0)20 7887 8888 (daily 10.00–17.00)
