4pm Saturday, March 30th

Transmitting Nigerian Heritage through Technique, Idea and Material in Sculpture

Moderated by Arin Olowoporoku

This panel session will examine the evolving role of sculpture in preserving and transmitting Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage. We will discuss how sculptors use narrative and draw inspiration from traditional symbols, myths, and rituals to create artworks that reflect the country’s diverse cultural identities.

Additionally, we will explore both traditional and contemporary techniques in Nigerian sculptural art, highlighting the methods and materials used by sculptors throughout history and how these practices continue to influence contemporary sculptural practices.

Arinola Olowoporoku or ‘Arin’ is a multi hyphenate cultural producer, art curator and a creative director. With nearly ten years of learning and working in the field, Arin has robust strong expertise in creating and developing programs dedicated to the promotion of contemporary arts and culture in multiple continents with notable results in public programming and artist discovery.

Arin has conceptualized and produced a myriad of panel discussions, film screenings, art exhibitions, performances, workshops, festivals, fundraisers and competitions in Africa, Europe and North America with experience curating, programming and positioning works from a diverse range of artists using various media such as music, visual arts, mixed media, dance, sculpture, film, poetry and more.

Previously, she worked as a resident project development manager for the Nigeria Pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennale, to name a few she curated projects at Harbourfront Centre, Horniman Museums, African Artists Foundation, LagosPhoto Festival, Art Summit Nigeria, Sterling Bank RecyclArt, National Art Competition and eight editions of iDesign Art, a noteworthy quarterly art fair. In her work in the arts, she is committed to archival research, arts education & advocacy, collaborative development, and institutional programming that places arts and artists of African and diasporic descent in the forefront.

PANELISTS

Yadichinma Ukoha-Kalu is an experimental artist and illustrator based in Lagos. Her artistic practice centres around the exploration of line, form, space, and boundaries, expressed through a diverse range of media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, film, and technology. Yadichinma consistently crafts multi-dimensional environments that blend abstract elements, textures, and materials to create engaging interactions. Her fascination with materials propels her to deepen her understanding of the objects in her surroundings. She holds the belief that each object possesses its own unique world and system. This perspective is particularly pronounced in the realm of artefacts, where archival systems are generated through craft practices rooted in outdated cultures, particularly within the African context. Yadichinma’s work aims to bridge the gap between traditional methodologies and contemporary practices. By intertwining these elements, she seeks to explore the rich tapestry of cultural heritage and foster a dialogue that extends beyond temporal boundaries.

Yadichinma Ukoha-Kalu

Ugo Ahiakwo (born 1998) is a sculptor, curator and furniture designer. His works are neither limited by any medium nor inspiration, but they share common qualities: edginess, dynamism, tactility and a high level of refinement. He fuses his combined knowledge of art and design with his curiosities about the world at large and a yearning to create a much better future. Ugo’s artistic process involves listening to and negotiating with materials that he finds himself drawn to. “I believe everything has a voice and I strive to highlight the ones that strike a chord with me via my work” he says. Ugo Ahiakwo studied fashion design in the Academy of Art University, San Francisco and School of the Arts Institute, Chicago between 2015 and 2018. He had his first solo exhibition “Sink or Swim” at Alliance Française de Lagos in 2023 and has also taken part in the group exhibitions: “Afterimages” by Rele gallery, Lagos in 2023, “Factory Reset: Continued” by Koenig Galerie, Berlin in 2023, “Reverie” by Dada gallery in Lagos in 2023, “Design Intersect at Soto” by Soto gallery, Lagos in 2022, “Are You Comfortable Now?” by A White Space Creative Agency, Lagos in 2021 and “Permission to Exhale” by Dada Gallery in Lagos, 2020. He was also a recipient of the ART X reviews in 2020. His sculpture “REBIRTH: Alien Superstar” was featured in the Vicnate “N°4” fashion campaign in 2023 and his “Industrial Carcass” series featured in the Vicnate “N°2” fashion film for Lagos Fashion Week 2021, he created site specific sculptural furniture for the restaurant 22B, Lagos in 2022, he co-designed and co-curated the Lagos Fashion Week “Woven Threads” exhibition in 2022, co-designed the Tj Who fashion presentation for Lagos Fashion Week 2021 and he executed a commissioned sculpture for the Balmain x Chivas Regal launch party in Lagos, 2021.

Ugo Ahiakwo

Ato is an artist with special interest in Portraits Sculptures, and Statues. his grasp for forms, attest to his skills particularly in handling figural sculptures. He attended Yaba College of Technology, majoring in Sculpture. Ato has been a full-time studio artist since 1991, practicing as a Sculptor and a Potter. He has participated in many group exhibitions within and outside Nigeria, with many sculpture commissions to his credit, such as the Bust of the first President of Nigeria Dr.Nnamdi Azikiwe which he executed in the year 2000, a collaborative project with Chike Oyeka at his studio in Onitsha. Recently his Statue of Chief Bode Akindele, The Parakoyi of Ibadan Land was commissioned and unveiled in June 2021. He was a recipient of the Solidra Award for Sculpture and Pottery in 2002 and in 2008 was awarded the Society Nigerian Artists (Lagos State Chapter) Distinguished Artist Award.

Ato Arinze

Omoligho Udenta, born in 1968, is a Nigerian artist known for her paintings. Although there is currently no detailed biographical information available, her artistic work has left an impact in the world of art. Udenta’s creative expression through painting reflects her unique perspective and artistic vision.