Joke Silva Instagram – Cover | Remembering a Legend’s Passing Time – Olabisi Silva. 1962 – 2019
Interview/Words/Ireho Aito/Don’t Keep Your Art in the Finger!/Photographs/ CCA Archives/Photographs/ Google
A meeting with the Amazon in early March 2014 coincided with the preparation for Legendary Ghanaian artist Professor El Anatsui’s 70th birthday celebration in Lagos. CCA hosted a comprehensive collection of Fine Art and Art History from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, culminating in a grand reception at the center. The gallery had been designed behind closed doors by Bisi and one of the curatorial assistants, Taye Idahor. They were joined by the gentle mother in CCA, affectionately referred to as ‘Mama’ by patrons. The curator had only opened the door to check who was knocking and remembered the WALKARTROAD e-magazine appointment for 1p.m. “Can you give me just five minutes…”
Bisi Silva, a pioneering independent curator based in Lagos, Nigeria, was instrumental in shaping Africa’s contemporary art scene. As the founder and artistic director of the Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos (CCA) and the driving force behind ART X Lagos, West Africa’s premier international art fair, Silva’s influence was profound. Her curatorial achievements include significant projects such as “The Progress of Love” and roles in prestigious events like the Thessaloniki Biennale and the Venice Biennale. Silva, who also contributed to leading art publications, passed away on Tuesday, February 12, 2019, after a long battle with cancer. She was fifty-seven years old., leaving a lasting legacy in the world of contemporary art. iBAND Magazine decided to go memory lane and publish one of our interviews with one of Africa’s most illustrious curators.
Brilliant, benevolent, and beautiful were just some of the words that best described the bilingual Bisi Silva. She was the ‘Special One’ for contemporary art. Bisi Silva singlehandedly promoted the word ‘curator’ into the art consciousness of Nigerians and the visual art sector when a lot were still battling what the word was all about.
Read more…https://ibandmagazine.wordpress.com/2024/08/09/cover-remembering-a-legends-passing-time-olabisi-silva/ | Posted on 06/Jul/2025 21:36:39
