www.pau.edu.ng/museum

It is my pleasure to introduce this report on the Virtual Museum of Modern Nigerian Art of Pan-African University.

The first unit of Pan-African University was the Lagos Business School and there is another unit of the institution—the Enterprise Development Centre—whose mission is to providie training and services to small businesses. Both of these units have attained wide recognition and, perhaps because of this, many people tend to associate Pan-African University with the area of business and management. Our university, however, has wider ambitions and a broader scope of activity. Different manifestations of Nigerian contemporary culture are an important area of interest. For instance, in the year 2011 the School of Media and communication of the University launched the Nollywood Study Centre. This Centre curates and archives Nollywood films, and engages in the digitization of as many Nollywood films as possible (already over six thousand), thus making them available for scholarly enquiry.

The Virtual Museum of Modern Nigerian Art is another way of contributing to the study and better knowledge of current Nigerian culture. Its main aim is to serve as an educational resource that will contribute to the dissemination of knowledge of modern Nigerian art and artists among the widest possible audience.

I invite you to visit this museum in the university website and get acquainted with the works of the leading contemporary Nigerian artists. Nigeria is widely considered to be the country with the most vibrant and innovative art scene in Africa. By visiting this virtual museum, you can easily educate yourself in this important aspect of Nigerian culture. COVER PAGE IMAGE CREDITS Diseye Tantua, Gani Odutokun, Duke Asidere, Babalola Lawson, Bisi Fakeye, Joseph Eze, Tola Wewe, Gbenga OffoTola Wewe, Gbenga Offo Prof. Juan Manuel Elegido Vice-Chancellor

The Virtual Museum of Modern Nigerian Art; 2012 Review www.pau.edu.ng/museum

As an emerging unit under the Pan-African University, contributing our token towards the Arts is an objective we are keen about at the Virtual Museum of Modern Nigerian Art; and we got the opportunity to do more of this through this platform. In 2011, the Pan-African University launched the Virtual Museum of Modern Nigerian Art (VMMNA), a free, searchable online database of Nigerian art from the beginning of the twentieth century, providing an easily accessible educational resource as well as reference on contemporary Nigerian art. The artworks displayed on the Pan-African University’s Virtual Museum are held in private, corporate and institutional collections in and outside Nigeria. Many of these works have never been seen by the general public nor properly documented in general or specialized publications. Consequently, they have remained largely unknown till date! Providing exposure for these works is one of the driving forces behind this initiative; and it has been interesting so far.

A year on, the Virtual Museum of Modern Nigerian Art (www.pau.edu.ng/museum) boasts a contemporary collection of approximately 800 works, capturing the essence of modern art in Nigeria.

Working on this exercise alongside passionate people such as artists, collectors and other stakeholders within the arts circle has been rewarding, as well as challenging. Within the course of the year, the VMMNA had its challenges; its highs and lows - from formalizing its sponsorship deal with the Art Exchange, to a server crash that led to the loss of over half the online collection, the year 2012 was bittersweet.

This report brings to you, the VMMNA in 2012.

Jess Castellote (Director) Akinyemi Adetunji (Asst. Director)

The Virtual Museum of Modern Nigerian Art; 2012 Review Anothony NSOFOR Visa line (2006) Oil and Acrylic on Canvas 90 x 150 (cm)

The Virtual Museum of Modern Nigerian Art; 2012 Review www.pau.edu.ng/museum

2012 IN VIEW

The Virtual Museum started the year 2012 on a rough patch; there was a server crash leading to loss of data. Sadly, this resulted in a loss of over 300 uploaded works. Due to this, the whole platform was modified and moved onto an independent server; the works Works Online have since been recovered. The year closed with the VMMNA hosting approximately 800 indigenous artworks spread across hundred artists.

Following this, in February 2012, the Virtual Museum held a press conference and formal presentation of the initiative. At this event hosted at the Victoria Island campus of the Pan-African University, sponsorship with the Art Exchange was formalized and perfected, having reached an agreement at the end of the previous year; 2011.

Months (Jan.- Dec. '12)

*R-L: Jess Castellote, (Director VMMNA) and Abimbola Philips, (Art Exchange representative) –Feb 2012 at the Formalization meeting

The Virtual Museum of Modern Nigerian Art; 2012 Review www.pau.edu.ng/museum

By the second quarter of the year 2012, the Virtual Museum had recorded a few hits across cyberspace. During the month of April 2012, Wikipedia; the largest online encyclopaedia hosted an independent entry for the Virtual Museum of Modern Nigerian Art.

At about the same time, the Google search result rating on the VMMNA moved up a few notches, putting it in the same search result category as the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Virtual Museum of Japanese Art, etc.

Midway through 2012, a fourth virtual floor was created and the virtual exhibitions section of the Online Museum launched. Partnering with a renowned artists already featured on the Virtual Museum, a virtual exhibition was hosted to compliment “Authenticity of Thought”, the then on-going solo exhibition of prominent mixed media artist; Alex Nwokolo. This has since then opened up opportunities to other artists to have their physical exhibitions broadcast simultaneously online, thus affording more visibility.

Hosted at www.pau.edu.ng/museum, the Virtual Museum of Modern Nigerian Art is structured around art styles and schools in *http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_Museum_of_Modern_Nigerian_Art Nigeria, with exclusive honorary rooms to such master artists as and the living legend; Bruce Onobrakpeya.

Besides these exhibition rooms, exclusive exhibitions are featured periodically on the Virtual Museum, with 3 independent exhibitions featured during the year.

The Virtual Museum of Modern Nigerian Art; 2012 Review DEDICATED EXHIBITIONS IN 2012

OF MAN & MACHINE – KELANI ABASS Politics of Godfatherism (Diptych) Mixed Media

AUTHENTICITY OF THOUGHT – ALEX NWOKOLO Globle Networking Metal & Enamel Paint

BEN OSAGHA -2012! Justice for Sale The Virtual Museum of Modern Nigerian Art; 2012 Review Oil o Canvas GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION & STATISTICS

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF VISITORS POSITION COUNTRY / TERRITORY VISITS STATISTICS FOR THE YEAR 1 Nigeria 1,724 Visits: 4,433 2 United States 1,032 (The number of visits To the VMMNA in 2012) 3 United Kingdom 552 Unique Visitors: 3,440 4 (Private Browsers) (The number of unduplicated (counted only once) visitors 409 to the VMMNA over the course of the period 2012.) 5 Canada 82 Page Views: 5,900 6 France 46 (the total number of pages viewed. Repeated views 7 Spain 44 of a single page are counted) 8 Germany 37 % New Visits: 77.58% 9 India 37 The Virtual Museum of Modern Nigerian Art; 2012 Review 10 South Africa 35 www.pau.edu.ng/museum

WHAT WE DO

The Virtual Museum of Modern Nigerian Art works with many Nigerian artists and collectors to pool contemporary Nigerian artworks; these works are spread to accommodate all themes and styles (Painting, Sculpture, Materialism, etc.) with major focus presently centred on Painting and Sculpture.

Protection of proprietary rights is crucial to the Virtual Museum as we strive to protect artists' and collectors' rights, by ensuring all reproductions /representations of artworks identify the artists who created them and the collection the works belong to. Adequate consent and permissions are requested before works are displayed online.

The VMMNA also supports advanced search features through the Museum's database on artists' profiles and artwork titles. We strive to maintain an updated profile of artists and each artwork is appropriately curated, with accompanying artwork title, dimension, date of creation, medium, etc. referenced on original works.

In the pursuit of excellence, the VMMNA provides external links to articles, papers, journals, or other domains providing added information LAWSON Babalola on subjects in focus. This is particularly crucial to help users of this First love (2010) resource gain a rounded knowledge on whatever information is resident Acrylic on Canvas on the platform. 76 X 76 Collection: Kuramo

The Virtual Museum of Modern Nigerian Art; 2012 Review www.pau.edu.ng/museum

THE SPONSOR

Art Exchange Limited is a company that has been established to increase the level of awareness of Nigerian art locally, and internationally. It aims to act as a reference point for in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian Art Market.

The AE's primary aim is to seek, identify and document works from our Contemporary and Modern class of Nigerian artists, bring them into known existence, and by so doing bring due recognition to these artists. These works are compiled into a database on the AE website.

Art Exchange creates an environment in which these works will be regarded as financial assets and not just merely aesthetic pieces. Art collectors will be able to place values on qualifying items in their www.theartexchangelimited.com collections, thereby adding to their net worth. Listed Artworks will then transform into an asset class that can be handed over from one generation to the next.

The Art Exchange’s vision is to be Africa's foremost reference authority for art. The AE database provides an avenue for collectors to view the masterpieces that are held by art owners. By doing this, it is the Art Exchange’s aim to promote public trust in the value of African art.

The Virtual Museum of Modern Nigerian Art; 2012 Review www.pau.edu.ng/museum

INSTITUTIONAL BACKING

The Virtual Museum of Modern Nigerian Art operates as a unit under the Pan-African University; the parent body which has been providing institutional support.

The Pan-African University, Lagos is a private, non-profit, educational institution in Lagos, Nigeria. The university had its origin as the Lagos Business School (LBS), established in 1991. The Federal Government approved the Pan-African University in 2002, and the LBS became its first school. The Ajah Campus was completed in 2003 and in 2010 work began on the Ibeju-Lekki (undergraduate) campus.

The Mission Statement of the University is: "to form competent and committed professionals and encourage them to serve with personal initiative and social responsibility within the community in which they work, thereby helping to build a better society in Nigeria and Africa at large". This dream encapsulates the purpose of the University.

Pan-African University contributes to national development through the provision of academic programmes that are relevant to the needs of the country. The university is open to all people regardless of their nationality, race, sex, religion or ethnic group. The curricular activities of the University are part of a wider all round formation which is provided in the www.pau.edu.ng University.

The name University implies a universal mentality: openness to other persons, ideas, areas of knowledge, cultures far and near, without discrimination.

The Enterprise Development Centre, the Lagos Business School and the School of Media and Communication are other units under the Pan- African University.

The Virtual Museum of Modern Nigerian Art; 2012 Review www.pau.edu.ng/museum ARTISTS AND EXHIBITION ROOMS

A i n a O N A B O L U , A k i n o l a L A S E K A N , B e n O S A W E , B e n O Y A D I R A N , D e m a s

N W O K O , J i m o h A K O L O , S i m o n O K E K E , S o l o m o n I . W A N G B O J E , B r u c e

O N O B R A K P E Y A , B e n E N W O N W U , C l a r y N E L S O N - C O L E , D a v i d D A L E ,

D e l e J E G E D E , G a n i O D U T O K U N , J a c o b J A R I , J e r r y B U H A R I , T a y o

O L A Y O D E , A b a y o m i B A R B E R , A b i o d u n O L A K U , D u k e A S I D E R E , E d o s a

O G U I G O , F i d e l i s O D O G W U , K o l a d e O S H I N O W O , M u r i A D E J I M I , N o r b e r t

O K P U , O l i v e r E N W O N W U , R o m I S I C H E I , V i c t o r E H I K H A M E N O R , A d e o l a

B A L O G U N , B u n m i B A B A T U N D E , E b o n g E K W E R E , G b e n g a O F F O , M i k e

O M O I G H E , O l u A M O D A , T a y o Q U A Y E , Y u s u f G R I L L O , A k i n j i d e B A R U W A , The Pioneers B i s i F A K E Y E , J i m o h B U R A I M O H , M u r a i n a O Y E L A M I , N i k e O K U N D A Y E , R u f u s O G U N D E L E , S u z a n n e W E N G E R , T a i w o O L A N I Y I , C h i j i o k e O N U O R A ,

Lagos C h i n w e U W A T S E , C h r i s A F U B A , F r a n c i s I k e O K O R O N K W O , N d i d i D I K E ,

Yaba O b i o r a U D E C H U K W U , T a y o A D E N A I K E , U c h e O K E K E , G b o l a h a n A Y O O L A ,

Osogbo Experiment S e g u n A I Y E S A N , T o l a W E W E , W o l e L A G U N J U , A l e x N W O K O L O , B e n O S A G H A E , J o n a t h a n L E S S O R , J o s h u a N M E S I R I O N Y E , O g b e m i H E Y M A N N , Nsukka O l a B A L O G U N , O l u A J A Y I , O s a h e n y e K A I N E B I , R e u b e n U G B I N E , S a m O V R A I T I , B a b a l o l a L A W S O N , B u s a y o L A W A L , C h i k a I D U , E m m a n u e l

Auchi D U D U , G e o r g e E D O Z I E , G e r a l d C H U K W U M A , J o e l U c h a y C H I M A , J o s e p h

The Future Now E Z E , M u y i w a A K I N W O L E R E , N n e n n a O K O R E , N y e m i k e O N W U K A ,

Dedicated Exhibtions R i c h a r d s o n O V B I E B O , T o b e n n a O K W U O S A , T o n y N S O F O R

The Virtual Museum of Modern Nigerian Art; 2012 Review www.pau.edu.ng/museum

EXPECTATIONS FOR 2013

The Virtual Museum of Modern Nigerian Art will continue to document Nigeria art while striving to keep its position as a leading online resource on contemporary Nigerian art.

For the year, a platform upgrade is anticipated, this restructuring will improve user-friendliness on the platform. More so, it will enable more multimedia content to be uploaded online. It is our hope that the 1000 artworks mark will be reached and surpassed. We also hope to host more special exhibitions this year; a dedicated exhibition per quarter is our target.

To further the impact of the initiative and the promote Nigerian art, plans are in place to partner with a reputable, overseas academic institution, to help improve on the quality and depth of the content. This will be achieved by attempting to document a comprehensive bibliography of Nigerian artists /art.

We shall keep you abreast of progress recorded on the Virtual Museum of Modern Nigerian Art, however, you can actively follow the trend on Nigerian art and what collectors are collecting by book-marking the Virtual Museum at www.pau.edu.ng/museum

We thank you for your support.

The Virtual Museum of Modern Nigerian Art; 2012 Review VIRTUAL MUSEUM OF MODERN NIGERIAN ART

Contact Us www.pau.edu.ng/museum email: [email protected] Tel: +234-803-3635-159