"Black President: The Art and Legacy of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti"
2004-12-18 until 0000-00-00
Contemporary Arts Center
Cincinnati, OH, USA

Black President: The Art and Legacy of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti is a critical multimedia exhibition that explores the influence and artistic legacy of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, the legendary Nigerian Afrobeat musician and activist who died of AIDS-related illness in 1997. This exhibition features a diverse range of artists, from painters to rappers, whose personal investigations speak to the world in which Fela lived and to the many sides of his personality including political dissident, nativist spiritualist, unabashed sex symbol, husband to 28 women, utopian visionary, and musical pioneer. Representing a broad range of ages, and artistic and cultural backgrounds, many of these artists are presenting work in a U.S. museum for the first time. The artists do not all agree about Fela's legacy, philosophies, or actions, but they all have been influenced by his life and their work reflects, directly or indirectly, the many issues surrounding it

Participating artists: Radcliffe Bailey, Sanford Biggers, Klaus Bürgel and Kara Walker, Sokari Douglas Camp, Kendell Geers, Barkley Hendricks, Satch Hoyt, Alfredo Jaar, Marcia Kure, Moshekwa Langa, Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky, Odili Donald Odita, Olu Oguibe, Moyo Ogundipe, Moyo Okediji, Femi Osunla, Yinka Shonibare, Iké Udé, Obiora Udechukwu, and Fred Wilson.

The exhibition, guest-curated by Trevor Schoonmaker and organized by the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York, is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue.

Related Links:

Indepth Arts Resources for the State of Ohio

Other Important Exhibitions in Ohio