Florence Okoye (UK)
Online talk: An analysis of #WeAreNigerianCreatives in light of Ben Ewnowu’s Tutu
The discovery of Ben Enwonwu’s Tutu led to a variety of discourse on Nigerian twitter. From critical tweets concerning the Eurocentric nature of comparisons to the Mona Lisa (a moniker commonly used for the press releases), to intrigue about the life and times of the ‘Father of African Modernism’, the range of responses showed a broad interest in and awareness of West African post-colonial artistic heritage and associated movements. Of particular interest however, is the juxtaposition of Naija twitter’s reaction to the discovery and the birth of #WeAreNigerianCreatives, a hashtag created to highlight the wide range of work by Nigerian artists working today.
By considering twitter as a ‘liberative social space’, following analyses by scholars such as Apryl Williams & Vanessa Gonlin, the talk will take a look at “Naija” twitter – whether continental or diasporic – as at the very least, a means for people to explore and discuss the value of artistic representation.
Biography:
Florence Okoye is a User Experience Designer, dabbling at the intersection of tech and social justice with an interest in all things related to Open Access, computational modelling and philosophy of technology. Since 2015 she has curated events for AfroFutures_UK, exploring AfroFuturism and the intersection of race and technology, with a particular focus on how technology can impact the reimagining of the black identity. She is currently a fellow at BOM where she is working on a project involving the masquerade as a form of political resistance and digital intermediary.
AfroFutures_UK is a research and practitioners community, investigating the intersection of futurism and the black experience.
