Yinka Shonibare Joins Christie’s MOWAA Fundraiser
Kehinde Wiley, Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, Lakwena Maciver, and Victor Ehikhamenor also donated works to raise funds for West African art initiatives.
Yinka Shonibare. Courtesy Christie's. Photo: Tom Jamieson.
Christie's is collaborating with Nigeria's Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) to raise funds for the museum and a new creative district in Benin city, among other initiatives.
Artists including Yinka Shonibare CBE, Kehinde Wiley, Tunji Adeniyi-Jones have donated artworks to be auctioned off at Christie's 20th / 21st Century: London Evening Sale (13 October) and the Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale (14 October) during London's Frieze week.
Christie's Anthea Peers said the collaboration 'epitomises the vibrancy of the capital, highlighting the international vision of artists whose works have been so generously donated to support this seminal institution in West Africa.'
Some of the funds from the upcoming auction will go towards building the Rainforest Gallery, designed by Dakar-based architects Worofila, which will showcase modern and contemporary art and historic objects in MOWAA's planned 20-acre Benin City Creative District.
The district was originally conceived in collaboration with architect David Ajye, who The Art Newspaper notes has been dropped from other large-scale institutional projects in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations reported by The FT.
'MOWAA presents an important moment for us all,' said Aindrea Emelife, MOWAA's Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art. 'This is not just an opportunity for Africa, but for the world. How can we imagine the art of tomorrow when we don't really know the full expanse of today or our many pasts?'
'There is power in the imaginary and in discovery. We must come together and re-dream. And, we must know who we are; all of us,' she added.
Emelife is curating the Nigerian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2024, which will also be supported by proceeds from the Christie's auctions.
Adeniyi-Jones and Shonibare will feature in the eight-artist group show, which will travel internationally after the Biennale before returning to MOWAA for the opening of the Rainforest Gallery in 2025. —[O]
