Search and Research - looking for women in the Danford Collection

Location
Danford Room - 224 on second floor of the Arts Building
Dates
Tuesday 26 October 2021 (13:00-14:00)
Clara Ugbodaga-Ngu, Abstract (c. 1960). © The copyright holder. Image courtesy of Research and Cultural Collections, University of Birmingham.
Clara Ugbodaga-Ngu, Abstract (c. 1960). © The copyright holder. Image courtesy of Research and Cultural Collections, University of Birmingham.
Celebrating Nigerian postcolonial modernist artist, Clara Etso Ugbodaga-Ngu.

Speaker: Stacey Kennedy (M4C PhD Candidate in the School of History and Cultures)

This talk is about researching the 'Danford Collection of West African Art and Artefacts' in ways which 'unsettle' its primary narratives and allow a multiplicity of perspectives to emerge. Searching for women's stories within the collection uncovered a rare artwork by female Nigerian postcolonial modernist artist Clara Etso Ugbodaga-Ngu. Artists in Lagos describe Ugbodaga-Ngu as a pioneer, but like so many women, her contribution is obscured in the historical record and her work is not visible in collections. This talk celebrates an influential artist and educator, whose biography complicates and destabilises orthodox understandings of Nigerian female artists and their contributions to modernism.

Event information

This event will be taking place on campus in Danford Room in the Arts Building as part of Black History Month.

We ask that attendees register so that we do not exceed the room capacity. The room will be well-ventilated and where possible we encourage and recommend that attendees wear face masks.

If you have registered but are unable to attend, please let us know, so that the ticket can be offered to someone else.

The talk will be recorded and made available on the School of History and Cultures News pages.