On the 8th of November 2025 at ART X Lagos, time slowed inside The Conversation Room.

Words Mudiare Onobrakpeya, photographs courtesy Mudiare Onobrakpeya

Art X Talks 2 — The Rebel & The Movement gathered three towering figures of Nigerian contemporary art: Prof. Bruce Onobrakpeya, Chief Jimoh Buraimoh, and Nike Davies-Okundaye. Together, they represent both the Zaria Art Society and the Osogbo Art Movement—two artistic revolutions that insisted that modern African art must root itself in its own soil, language, and heritage.

Curator and cultural producer Jumoke Sanwo held the dialogue with restraint and grace, letting memory reveal itself at its own pace.

Chief Jimoh Buraimoh spoke softly, reflective and grounded in lineage. He traced the origins of his bead mosaic practice back to his childhood, revealing that his mother was a mat-weaver. His artistic pathway, he explained, is simply the continuation of her hands and her wisdom:

“My mother wove mats.
I weave stories with beads.”

For him, beads are not just medium—they are ancestry, memory made visible. Through them, he transforms a domestic craft into a globally recognized contemporary art form.

Next came Nike Davies-Okundaye who was radiant, bold, unrestrained. She spoke of destiny, discipline, and her mission: to ensure no young woman with talent ever remains unseen. She recalled learning adire from her grandmother, and how the knowledge became a vehicle for empowerment.

Then she challenged the nation with a call to action:

“We should not wait for Art X once a year.
There should be festivals like this in every state in Nigeria.
Art must meet the people where they are.”

Her words were not a complaint but suggested a possible blueprint.

Finally, Prof. Bruce Onobrakpeya drew a line from the present moment back to the 1950s, to his days with Uche Okeke and Demas Nwoko in the Zaria Art Society—the group later named The Zaria Rebels. They defied colonial expectations and declared that Nigerian modernism must speak its own voice.

“We worked assiduously,” and we gained respect from the students and from the community.”

In that room, past met present.

The Osogbo Movement.
The Zaria Rebels.
Today’s contemporary artists.

Three generations, one continuous current of resistance which is reclaiming identity, elevating heritage, and proving that Nigerian art has never been a trend.
It has always been a movement.

Mudiare Onobrakpeya
9th Nov. 2025

Dr. Mudiare Onobrakpeya, writer, curator and a close watcher of the visual creative sector.