Activities marking the 20th anniversary of the death of the Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, will continue well into the month with an art exhibition
THOUGH the annual Felabration, organised by the children of the iconic Fela Anikulapo Kuti, ends today with a grand finale at the New Afrika Shrine, Ikeja, Lagos, other associates of the Afrobeat maestro are set to continue celebrating him.
Renowned album illustrator, Lemi Ghariokwu, in partnership with creative talent agency, Temple Management Company (TMC), has announced an exhibition entitled Afro-Artbeat to mark the 20th anniversary of Fela’s passage.
The show happening on Saturday, October 21, is in two parts. The main exhibition opens by 3pm at the African Artist Foundation (AAF), Victoria Island, before moving to The Artisan, also in Victoria Island, in the evening for a tribute concert and conversation. Here, Lemi will relive memories of Fela and share how he created his masterpieces with the audience.
Aside producing 26 album sleeves for Fela, Lemi was also his personal friend. The duo spent countless hours together such that they forged a telepathic relationship that allowed the artist to see what Fela was saying and capture it on album sleeves.
Speaking about the show, the man dubbed ‘King of Covers’ by the UK’s The Observer Music Magazine in 2004, and who also worked with artists including Bob Marley, Lucky Dube, Miriam Makeba, Gilles Peterson and Osita Osadebe , described it as a fitting tribute to a global icon 20 years after his passage.
“It is remarkable that the global recognition and respect commanded by late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti has not waned two decades after. I am delighted to align with like-minds like Temple Management Company to further the legacy of the man we all called Abami Eda,” added the consulting album cover designer for Polygram Records iin the 1980s.
Explaining TMC’s involvement, Art Manager, Winifred Okpapi, said: “Lemi Ghariokwu is the genius mind behind classic Fela album covers and the opportunity to present the man and his work to the public, in this year of Fela’s anniversary, was too good to pass up.”
Highlights of the exhibition, according to the organisers, include a showcase of select collection of original iconic Fela album covers re-commissioned as wall art to be swelled by four new Fela-inspired works of art. There will also be a documentary screening about the life of Fela as well music, poetry, dance, spoken word and open mic.
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