Layers displays a set of archives and exceptional artworks, many of them exhibited for the first time, and offers viewers with a global perspective on the history of Nigerian art, from the independence of the country in 1960 (formerly under British colonial rule) to the beginning of the 21st century, through a set of seminal exhibitions and art events.

On the ground floor, five key moments of the history of Nigerian modern and contemporary art are highlighted: the Independence exhibition in Lagos (then capital of Nigeria) in 1960; the post-independence exhibitions and workshops in Mbari Ibadan and Oshogbo; the national exhibition held during the 1977 second Festival of Black and African Arts and Culture (FESTAC ’77;) the rise of the Uli movement in Nsukka and the Aka Circle of Exhibiting Artists in Enugu in 1986.

In the upper galleries, visitors are invited to a contemporary reinterpretation of Layers with the works of two Nigerian artists from different generations: Mary Evans and Abraham Oghobase.

Layers is curated by Iheanyi Onwuegbucha (Nigeria) and Valentine Umansky (France).

LABANQUE
44 Place Georges Clémenceau
62400 BÉTHUNE

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