Life After Death: A Multi-Media Analysis of the Persona That Was/Is Fela Anikulapo-Kuti
Life After Death: A Multi-Media Analysis of the Persona that Was/Is Fela Anikulapo Kuti featuring the art of Ghariokwu Lemi
Presented by: Caribbean Cultural Center African Diasporan Institute (CCCADI)
Curated by Shantrelle P. Lewis
On View: On View: June 11 – August 6, 2010
Featuring the work of: Gafar Ayandokun, Hebru Brantley, Isoje Chou, Michael Cordero, Cassi Amanda Gibson, Tosha Grantham, Dexter Jones, Aaqil Ka, Amanda M. Adams Louis, Tayo Ogunbiyi, Fahamu Pecou, Adrian Viajero Roman, Monique Schubert, Malik Seneferu, Wahala Temi, Atiim Turnbull, and The Santana Group: Marilyn Nance, Al Santana, Ali Santana & Rafia Santana Curated by: Shantrelle P. Lewis This exhibition seeks to pay tribute to one of the African Diaspora’s most influential living ancestors as well as critique the complexity of his persona. Life After Death: A Multi-Media Analysis of the Persona that Was/Is Fela Anikulapo Kuti is a visual homage to a musical genius and perhaps one of contemporary history’s most powerful protest artists.
Before the musical icons Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur embraced the concept of immortality, Nigeria produced a living legend that defied death and whose persona and spirit lives on. Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s challenge to mortality was reflected in his lifestyle and the act of replacing his colonial surname with Anikulapo, a name meaning “he who carries death in his pouch.” Fela Anikulapo Kuti was an iconographic figure who launched a multi-media platform of Afrocentricity and liberation via his music, the creation of a new musical genre – Afro-beat, the establishment of the
Kalakuta Republic, his electrifying performances, his attempts for presidential candidacy and album art work created by fellow Nigerian Ghaiokwu Lemi. Fela’s larger than life spirit and message thrive over a decade after his earthly transition. This exhibition seeks to pay tribute to one of the African Diaspora’s most influential living ancestors as well as critique the complexity of his persona. Life After Death: A Multi-Media Analysis of the Persona that Was/Is Fela Anikulapo Kuti is a visual homage to a musical genius and perhaps one of contemporary history’s most powerful protest artists.