Prolific Artist, Odinigwe Benedict Enwonwu Speaks on His Inspiration and Influence of European Artists

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  Odinigwe Benedict Chukwukadibia Enwonwu MBE, better known as Ben Enwonwu, worked in the 1950s. He was a Nigerian and Igbo painter and sculptor. Without a doubt the most influential African artist of the 20th century. I will not accept a subordinate position in the art world. My art was not called African because I expressed my reality wrongly and rightly. I have constantly fought against this kind of philosophy because it is wrong. European artists such as Picasso, Braque and Vlaminck were influenced by African art. Everyone sees it and…

Meeet Fela’s American Girlfriend, Sandra Izsadore, A Significant Aid To His Musical Success

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  Sandra Izadore, an American who was also Fela’s girlfriend. Fela met Sandra Izsadore in California during a ten-month tour of the United States with Koola Lobitos in 1969. Izsadore, a black rights activist, introduced him to the writings of Malcolm Brown and Stokely. Carmichael, Huey Newton, Frantz Fanon and other revolutionary thinkers. Fela credits her with inspiring his philosophy of Blackism. Fela told…

Mbari Club: A Hub of Creativity in the 1960s

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Achebe Mbari suggested the name, an Igbo concept for “creation.” Other Mbari members included Christopher Okigbo, JP Clark and South African writer Ezekiel Mphahlele, Frances Ademola, Demas Nwoko, Mabel Segun, Uche Okeke, Arthur Nortje and Bruce Onobrakpeya. The Club Mbari was founded in 1961 by various writers and other groups of visual artists and was originally located on the site of an old Lebanese stall in the Dugbe Market in Ibadan. Mbari has become an important…