Art Archives

Faridah Folawiyo’s Year of Yes

A recurring theme in Folawiyo’s discussion of her work is accessibility, not as a marketing term but as something closer to a personal correction.

Digital Piracy in Nigeria: We Need Honest and Accommodating Conversations

The Nigerian literary community has been engaged in an important conversation around piracy, unapproved digitization, accessibility, and distribution of Nigerian and African books. Fortune Amor’s digitization of over 200 African writers’ books belonging to the Heinemann African Writers Series sparked this timely conversation. Nigerian journalist and writer, Molara Wood, and others have rightfully called out […]

Seyi Lasisi

5 months ago

MOWAA Under Siege: How Politics and Ego Tarnish Nigeria’s Cultural Image

On November 9th, what was supposed to be a quiet, dignified gathering of global stakeholders in art and culture at the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) in Benin City became a moment of national embarrassment. A small preview event meant to showcase the progress of the museum’s work — attended by diplomats, art curators, […]

Naomi Ezenwa

9 months ago

Afolabi Olalekan’s “Freedom Way” Fails to Aspire Beyond Reiteration and Lamentation

Afolabi Olalekan’s Freedom Way written and produced by Blessing Uzzi, takes a lengthy and laborious 90 minutes to drive home a single point: our lives, as humans and Nigerians, especially, are connected. Uzzi’s script assembles a varied cast to make this point: the co-founders of Easy Go Ride, Themba (Jesse Suntele), Tayo (Ogaranya), and Edi […]

Seyi Lasisi

1 year ago

Akay Mason’s “Red Circle” is a Thoughtful Drama that Doesn’t Add Up

The Yoruba people have a saying: “Sátídé ti ọ dà, àti Jímọ́h láti mọ́.” Although there are different iterations of this saying, what they loosely translate to is that tomorrow’s greatness is foreshadowed in the details of today. This often-recycled axiom captures my thoughts after watching the trailer for Akay Mason’s Red Circle which has […]

Seyi Lasisi

1 year ago

Nollywood Needs More Male Characters Like Tunde Kelani’s Ajani

Conversely, if Nollywood, as one of the country’s culture shapers, is committed to corrective cinema and global storytelling, it needs to aspire beyond its single framing of men as connoisseurs of violence, provider, and rigid.

Seyi Lasisi

3 weeks ago

On MOWAA and the Latest Wave of Restituted Benin Bronzes

On 29 June 2026, three Swiss museums officially restituted 23 looted Benin Kingdom artefacts—including 18 Benin bronzes originally in their possession and 5 confiscated pieces—to the Federal Government in a diplomatic handover ceremony at the National Museum, Lagos. The exchange involved Swiss Federal Chancellor, Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, and Nigeria’s Minister of Art, Culture, and the Creative […]

John Eriomala

1 month ago

Retro Africa Explores Memory, Masculinity, and Emotional Inheritance in The Rooms We Carry Exhibition

Some spaces never truly leave us. That’s the central idea behind The Rooms We Carry, a new group exhibition at Retro Africa Gallery in Abuja that examines the emotional architecture people build over a lifetime. Opening June 19, the exhibition brings together five contemporary artists — Enoch Chinweuba, Oluwatobiloba Fasalejo, Christopher Samuel Idowu, Tiwa Akinjide, […]

Culture Custodian Editorial Team

1 month ago

Revisiting the Showmax Nigeria Originals Era

Showmax launched in South Africa on 19 August 2015 as one of the continent’s early serious attempts to build a streaming platform tailored for African audiences with the ambition to compete globally. After its rollout across multiple African markets in 2016, Nigeria—arguably one of the continent’s most influential media economies by scale, output and cultural […]

Seyi Lasisi

2 months ago

“Blood Sisters” Season 2 is All Plot, No Politics

In Culture Custodian’s review of Kenneth Gyang and late Biyi Bandele’s Blood Sisters, Michael Kolawole rightly predicted that the production team would create another series while introducing few actions and characters to the already jumbled screenplay. The new EbonyLife series will appear four years later with Kayode Kasum and Daniel Oriahi co-opted as its directors. […]

Seyi Lasisi

2 months ago

Once Upon A Closet: Notes On Queer Female Nigerian Music

In a country where queerness attracts a 14-year jail term legally, and worse fates extra-judicially, queer expression in music is disincentivised outside of inclusive safe spaces

John Eriomala

2 months ago

Poetic Wednesdays Unveils “Reclaiming Languages” as the Theme for KAPFEST 3.0

On 6th June 2026, Poetic Wednesdays Initiative celebrated a decade of literary and cultural impact with a special Eid Pop-Up event that brought together poets, artists, literature enthusiasts, and members of the public for an afternoon of performances, reflection, and conversation. The event, which was held at Alliance Française, Kano, served as both a celebration […]

Seyi Lasisi

2 months ago

DFMI Unveils Selected Filmmakers and Critics for its 2026 Durban Talents

The Durban FilmMart Institute (DFMI) has announced the lineup of participants for the 19th edition of Talents Durban, taking place during the Durban FilmMart (DFM) in Durban from 9 – 12 October 2026. As the African site of Berlinale Talents, Talents Durban plays a vital role in nurturing emerging African filmmakers, animators, and film critics […]

Seyi Lasisi

2 months ago

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Art

Faridah Folawiyo’s Year of Yes

Digital Piracy in Nigeria: We Need Honest and Accommodating Conversations

MOWAA Under Siege: How Politics and Ego Tarnish Nigeria’s Cultural Image

Afolabi Olalekan’s “Freedom Way” Fails to Aspire Beyond Reiteration and Lamentation

Akay Mason’s “Red Circle” is a Thoughtful Drama that Doesn’t Add Up

Nollywood Needs More Male Characters Like Tunde Kelani’s Ajani

On MOWAA and the Latest Wave of Restituted Benin Bronzes

Retro Africa Explores Memory, Masculinity, and Emotional Inheritance in The Rooms We Carry Exhibition

Revisiting the Showmax Nigeria Originals Era

“Blood Sisters” Season 2 is All Plot, No Politics

Once Upon A Closet: Notes On Queer Female Nigerian Music

Poetic Wednesdays Unveils “Reclaiming Languages” as the Theme for KAPFEST 3.0

DFMI Unveils Selected Filmmakers and Critics for its 2026 Durban Talents

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