Nigerian women artists’ visibility in twenty-first century contemporary art practices: A triumph against exclusions from art groups and collectives in Nigeria

Abstract

Nigerian artists began forming art groups and schools from the 1950s and 1960s. These art groups advanced the reclaiming of Nigeria‟s artistic cultural heritages. However, even in the post-colonial and post-Civil War 1970s and 1980s many art groups and art institutions had few or no female members that participated in their activities. This essay reviews notable art groups in Nigeria from the earliest to the more recent. It also identifies the prominent women artists that had contributed to modern Nigerian art history. The essay also looks at the changes in the 1990s‟ and identifies contemporary art and its liberal and individualistic approaches as what caused decline in art groups in the twenty-first century. It will identify the women making impact in Nigeria‟s art scenario in the twenty-first century. The essay argues therefore that the liberalizing nature of twenty-first century contemporary art practices in Nigeria may have endeared more visibility to Nigerian women artists.