Chika Okeke-Agulu: Freedom Bird

Next month is art season in Lagos, and I am pleased to present my latest offering:

Chika Okeke-Agulu: Freedom Bird

Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos

Nov. 1, 2026 – Jan. 31, 2027.

VIP Opening: 12 pm Nov 8, 2026

The 1980s and 1990s marked a turbulent period in Nigeria’s post-civil war history. The return of military rule in 1983, the economic hardships of structural adjustment, the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, and the repressive dictatorship of General Sani Abacha (1993–1998) profoundly shaped the country’s political and cultural landscape. These crises drove many scholars, writers, and artists into exile.

“Chika Okeke-Agulu: Freedom Bird” examines how these historical upheavals and the experiences shaped the artist’s practice. Bringing together paintings, drawings, and sculptures spanning more than three decades, the exhibition explores his sustained engagement with tyranny, democratic aspirations, freedom, and belonging.

Interweaving personal biography with reflections on Nigeria’s political history, Okeke-Agulu’s works address oppression, resistance, memory, love, and nostalgia. “Freedom Bird” presents the artist as both witness and social critic, revealing art’s capacity to confront history and imagine possibilities of freedom.

As Nigeria enters an important election season and with the in the context of ongoing debates about mass youth emigration (the so called japa phenomenon), tightening borders, and the continued displacement of African intellectuals and creatives outside Africa. Freedom Bird offers a timely opportunity to engage with these issues.

The exhibition is accompanied by a forthcoming monograph that examines the artist’s practice in detail.

Images:
1. Tyranny and Democracy (detail), 1994.
Acrylic on canvas, 152.5 X 853.5 cm (seven panels)

2. Prisoner (detail), 2001.
Charcoal and pastel on paper, (4 panels) 22.8 X 30.2 cm each

Details by @e_hanyi, @shyllonmuseum, @artandarchaeologyprinceton, @smocontemporaryart.

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These Event details were last updated on: [14/10/2026]