Slade Lectures 2023: Lecture 2: "Gazbia Sirry and Egyptian Artists in The Nasserite State, 1950s-1960s" podcast

 

In this lecture, I focus on the work of Gazbia Sirry (1924-2019), to illustrate how leading modernist artists were, in the wake of the 1952 Free Officers Revolution, swayed by Gamal Abdel Nasser’s charisma, putting their art in the service of his brand of Egyptian nationalism and Pan-Arabist ideology. But how did Sirry respond to Nasser’s increasingly strongman regime and the devastating outcome of the 1967 War? We follow the formal and tonal shifts in Sirry’s work as it responded to, and was shaped by Nasser’s and post-revolutionary Egypt’s political fortunes.

Click HERE to listen to the Lecture

Slade Lectures 2023: Lecture 1: "African Artists in the Age of the Big Man" podcast

 

African Artists in the Age of the Big Man

In these lectures, I present five artists whose work exemplifies the difficult relationship of art and power as Africa's decolonization gave way to the emergence of undemocratic polities ruled by charismatic and repressive strongmen, in the second half of the twentieth century. I argue that these artists developed new artistic forms through which they established themselves among the most articulate critical voices of their day. Moreover, by examining the relationship of art and strong-man politics, I reflect on power and critical culture, and I juxtapose art’s imaginative ambitions with its limits and possibilities as a platform for a critique of and resistance to regimes of domination in late 20th-century Africa. In the introductory lecture, I explore the concept of the “big man” as the pervasive figure of power in Africa decades after political independence. I also trace the diverse resonances and manifestations of the big man figure in the work of contemporary African artists and writers. Finally, I consider the shift among modern African artists during this same period from articulating positive national culture to analysis and critique of emergent forms of autocracy and illiberal governance".

Click HERE to listen to the lecture

Assistant Director, Africa World Initiative @ Princeton University

 

Assistant Director, Africa World Initiative

Requisition #2022-15993

Date Posted2 weeks ago(11/22/2022 12:10 PM)

Department

 

Provost

 

Category

 

Academic Administration

 

Job Type

 

Full-Time

Overview

Africa World Initiative (AW) seeks a highly motivated and committed professional to join its office. The Assistant Director will work under the leadership of the Director of AW to support and establish African Research and programing on campus. The Assistant Director will oversee the administrative and logistical needs of this newly established unit. This position will be responsible for managing as many as five research hubs, budgets, communications, annual reports, Advisory Council meetings, web development, marquee events, fellowships, and research opportunities.

 

The primary purpose of the position is to facilitate the mission of AW as defined by its Director. The Assistant Director will provide excellent service to a variety of constituents (i.e., students, alumni, faculty, staff, and guests) while coordinating logistics, assigning and managing projects, and supervising and evaluating three or more AW staff members. The Assistant Director will develop, monitor, delegate and review specific projects and events. AW programs and activities on Africa range across science, technology, social sciences, arts and humanities, entrepreneurship and digital humanities.

 

This position provides a unique opportunity to positively impact a broad range of new and established programs and services offered by the African World Initiative. This role requires deep and current knowledge of University policies, and priorities to best represent the University and assist campus personnel and external partnerships engaging in Africa-related work. This position requires a proactive attitude with problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

Managing the AWI Administration and Logistics:

 

Provide leadership and supervision of staff members and fellows.

Act as a liaison to faculty and visiting faculty administration.

Oversight of the budget for AWI.

Producing annual reports for the Director of AWI.

Organizing the logistics for the advisory council, marquee lectures and conferences for AWI.

 

Collaboration and relationship management

Manage relationship with PAS and PIIRS

Manage Research Initiatives and opportunities, including AW research hubs.

Assist director in strategic plans, new programs and general success and growth of AWI.

 

Coordinating campus-wide and external partnerships.  

Oversee funding and sponsorship initiatives.

Oversee AWI communications and public engagement.

 

Qualifications

Essential qualifications

 

Bachelor’s degree and 7+ years of related experience.

Extensive knowledge about and experience with managing Africa-related program and initiatives in research universities or equivalent institutions.

Strong organizational and project management skills, analytical and problem-solving skills, and attention to detail partnered with the ability to think strategically.

Ability to communicate clearly, effectively, and persuasively, especially in writing.

Ability to build and maintain effective relationships; influence and persuade without direct authority; and establish collaborative partnerships within and outside the University.

 

 

Princeton University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

Repatriation Movement Heats Up!

 There is no question that the Repatriation Movement is heating up. The campaign for the return of African cultural heritage looted from the continent during the colonial era by rapacious agents of empire took decades to gain steam. Now there is no going back! Little by little, one crucial step at a time, led in significant ways by the government of Germany in Europe and the Smithsonian in the US. Those who think that this campaign will simply fade away, as did earlier ones, are in for a different reality: the campaigners are in for the long haul, and there is enough air in their lungs to keep calling out the defenders of Empire's crimes 70 x 7 years to come. 

In the meantime, I appreciate the gestures and actions of colleagues and officials in France, Germany, the UK, and the US who have steered their institutions to commit to the return of looted artifacts in their holdings, like the staff at Horniman. This includes frankly folks at the British Museum who must have to deal with the politics of Britain's new culture-warriors-in-government, like its former Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden MP who in this interview with BBC4 claims that he "loves Benin Bronzes", while defending, with a tremulous voice, why the looted Benin artifacts detained by the British Museum will not be returned. 

Despite the position of these government types and their sympathizers in the art industry, one thing is certain. They are on the wrong side of history, stricken by the disease of colonial nostalgia. Time will tell.

Illustration by Joshua Obeng-Boateng

 BBC has just created this fantastic podcast series called "Museum of Bad Vibes," with the first episode on "The Bird of Prophecy Staff," one of the more familiar objects that constitute the Benin Bronzes corpus found these days in museums that received artifacts looted from Benin City in 1897. In the podcast, the bronze staff speaks about its place in Benin society and its post-1897 imprisonment in the museum cabinet.

Here's the podcast synopsis:

The Bird of Prophecy staff has been locked up in a box unable to speak and when finally given the chance, he tells the story of his former glory as a ceremonial symbol of pride for his people.

Bird of Prophecy (ahianmwen-oro), 32.4cm, 16-19th century, presently at Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.

On this tour, Hanna Adan, with the assistance of experts, explores the history of the Benin Bronzes, from the Benin Kingdom. The sculptures include elaborately decorated cast plaques, commemorative heads, animal and human figures, items of royal regalia, and personal ornaments. They were created from the 16th century onwards in the West African Kingdom of Benin, which was part of the British Empire from 1897 to 1960, and is now part of Nigeria.

Bird of Prophecy (ahianmwen-oro), 20.3cm, 16-19th century, presently at Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.

Through the eyes of the Bird of Prophecy staff, Hanna tells the story of the British Empire raid, the destruction that saw the kingdom crumble, and the dispersal of the famous Benin Bronzes around the globe.

Through this sonic museum tour we ask - what is the Museum’s duty towards contested objects of spiritual and cultural significance in their collections?

TO LISTEN CLICK HERE!

Produced and Presented by Hanna Adan

With story by George Bailey

Assistant Producer and Editor: Kwaku Dapaah-Danquah

Researcher: Seyi Bolarin

Starring: Oluwafemi Olugbade

Contributors: Oluwatoyin Sogbesan, Chika Okeke-Agulu, Sonita Alleyn

Production Mentors: Jane Thurlow and Corinna Jones

Sound Designer: Lauren Armstrong-Carter

Tech Producer: Bob Nettles

Executive Producers: Khaliq Meer & Leanne Alie

Commissioned for BBC Sounds Audio Lab by Khaliq Meer

Artwork by Joshua Obeng-Boateng

Chika Okeke-Agulu on the call for artistic expression and rise of Africa...

I interview from 2020 is one of my most biographic. Thanks to the guys at Luminary FM.

Oxford Union Debates on Restitution of Looted Artefacts: May 12, 2022

Topic: “This House Would Repatriate Contested Artefacts”

Whether the Elgin Marbles should be returned is a perennial question. Amidst increasing scrutiny of symbols of Europe’s colonial past, multiple states and the UN have called for the return of contested cultural property. From the Koh-i-Noor Diamond and the Rosetta Stone, to the Benin Bronzes and Moai Statues of Easter Island, British institutions are full of artefacts claimed by nations across the globe. This poses the question of whether it is time for museums to heed the calls to ‘wash [their] hands of blood and return’ everything. Can any country ever legitimately own artefacts of collective historic significance? Can modern states truly lay claim to their countries’ history?

 

Proposition

Chika Okeke-Agulu

Artist, curator, and historian specialising in African and African diaspora art history. He is Director of African Studies at Princeton University and was appointed as the Kirk Varnedoe Visiting Professor at New York University.

 

Steph Scholten

Director of the Hunterian Museum. He has previously served as Director of Heritage Collections at the University of Amsterdam, and has worked for the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, and for the National Institute for Conservation in Amsterdam.

 

Alice Procter

Art historian, art activist, and creator of ‘Uncomfortable Art Tours’, an educational project offering unofficial guided tours exploring the imperial background of major institutions. She also runs a gallery and museum review podcast, ‘The Exhibitionist’.

 

Stephen Fry

British actor, activist, broadcaster, comedian, director, and writer. He has repeatedly appealed to the British government for the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece. He has written in support of the #LostMyMarbles campaign on Twitter, and has expressed his wish to see the statues steeped in the ‘blue lights of Greece’.

 

Opposition

Gary Vikan

Academic and former Director of the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. He has curated a number of critically acclaimed exhibitions, provides consulting services to cultural clients and pursues projects at the intersection of the arts and sciences.