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Dwarfed by Kola! Thank you, Kola Tubosun for showing me the art and beauty of the twin cities of Minneapolis and St Paul...
06/03/2026

Dwarfed by Kola!
Thank you, Kola Tubosun for showing me the art and beauty of the twin cities of Minneapolis and St Paul.

The University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art has been awarded a $600,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation to continue a ...
05/28/2026

The University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art has been awarded a $600,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation to continue a multiyear initiative devoted to provenance research and ethical stewardship of its African and Indigenous North American collections. The three-year grant, covering the period from July 2026 through June 2029, builds on an earlier $400,000 Mellon Foundation grant that established a dedicated research team and resulted in the July 2024 restitution of historical belongings from the Benin Kingdom directly to the Oba of Benin—the first such return by a North American museum. .museums

05/09/2026

“Almost there,” I thought. “Not yet,” says Nick.

I am eager to see how the Japanese indigo planted last summer by members of the Fiber and Dye Coop has grown. Looking forward to the dyeing process.

My mother, Princess Elizabeth Olowu, taught Fine Arts at Itohan Girls’ Grammar School in the mid-1960s. She speaks with ...
04/29/2026

My mother, Princess Elizabeth Olowu, taught Fine Arts at Itohan Girls’ Grammar School in the mid-1960s. She speaks with enthusiasm and great pride about her experience at this High school. She recalls learning casting from a caster and metal smith whose studio was located close to the school’s gate in 1966. While her artistic contributions are more widely recognized through bronze casting and sculpture, I believe her years of teaching at various high schools in Benin, including a stint at the University of Benin, had an even more profound impact. Some of these schools are IGGS, AGGS (Anglican Girls Grammar School), Federal Government Girls’ College, Ugbowo, Benin, and the University of Benin Demonstration Secondary School (UDDS). My mother taught us (her students) to work with coconut shells and bones to create jewelry; recycle grocery bags into flowers; repurpose old exercise books into coronets and beads; carve and paint calabashes; use wire insulation for craft items; and engage in extensive papier-mâché and paper craft projects.

When I reflect on this photograph of my students in their third-year class at the University of Lagos in 2006, I recognize the significance of intergenerational transfer of knowledge. I have transmitted the lessons from my mother’s remarkable experimentation and process of discovery and recovery/ repurposing of materials. To the students, it was simply one of Layiwola’s numerous project assignments.

I recognize , Ifeoluwa Sopeju, Kola Okadokun, Big Bola (Where is she?) Iyase-Odozi, Oyewo?

Saturday evening after listening to an intensely interesting discussion at the Stanley Museum of Art @ uistanleymuseum. ...
04/25/2026

Saturday evening after listening to an intensely interesting discussion at the Stanley Museum of Art @ uistanleymuseum. I will dedicate my next post to the conversation. Photos by

Sail on, great spirit.You were kind, respectful, and full of good humor. We are broken by your departure, yet deeply gra...
04/22/2026

Sail on, great spirit.
You were kind, respectful, and full of good humor. We are broken by your departure, yet deeply grateful that your light shone so brightly in the lives of all who encountered you.

You lived a life rich with joy, beauty, gratitude, hope, and courage. From the moment I met you and Jayne in New York in 2003, I could not have imagined that it would mark the beginning of a long journey filled with such meaningful memories. Thank you for the wealth of experiences we shared—from Columbus to Baltimore, Senegal to Washington, D.C., Bentonville to Benin City.

We will continue to hold on to your ideals and the example you set. My heart goes out to Dialla and the Edwards family. The words spoken at your funeral cannot fully capture the depth of your greatness.

Melvin Akinlabi Omoruyi Eugene Edwards Jr., (1937-2026)
Sun re o.

Video clip: credit: Melvin Edwards. Working in his home in Dakar
Photo: Peju Layiwola and Melvin, Washington DC, 2020.

Fabric Lab WorkshopRecent photographs from the recently concluded workshop on dyeing techniques, held as part of the Fab...
04/05/2026

Fabric Lab Workshop
Recent photographs from the recently concluded workshop on dyeing techniques, held as part of the Fabric Lab course taught by Vamba Bility and Sophy Naess in the Painting and Printmaking Department at the Yale School of Art.

I extend my sincere thanks to Charlotte Ashamu, Director of International Programs at the Yale Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage, and Nontsikelelo Mutiti, Director of Graduate Studies in Graphic Design at Yale School of Art, for the invitation to lead the workshop. Their support and coordination made this a great teaching and learning experience. I am also grateful to Larissa, Alvin, and all the participating students drawn from diverse disciplines, including mathematics, architecture, painting and printmaking, and sculpture.

It was wonderful to see old friends and meet new ones- Patrick Oloko, Muheeb, Edwardo, and Cajetan Iheka; Xoliswa Sithole, and Lacina Coulibaly.

I look forward with excitement to seeing how this knowledge is translated and reimagined in your individual practices.

This program was sponsored by the Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale University, under the theme “Honoring and Incorporating Indigenous Technologies: Shaping Innovation in Arts Pedagogy.”

Congratulations to Dr. Abiodun Olasupo Akande on his well-deserved elevation to the rank of Professor.Professor Akande i...
03/28/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Abiodun Olasupo Akande on his well-deserved elevation to the rank of Professor.

Professor Akande is a distinguished scholar of African art and visual epistemologies, with a particular focus on Yorùbá people and culture, His work engages the intersections of visual culture, indigenous knowledge systems, and contemporary African identities. Some of his contributions include “Art and Life at Isale-Oyo Community: Dividuation Beyond the ‘I’ and ‘We’ to the ‘Atypical Ternary Others’,” in M. Ott & B. Diop (eds.), Decolonial Aesthetic s 2023 (J.B. Metzler [Springer Nature]); “Ilé L’àbọ̀ Simi Oko: Cogitations and Reflections about Homeland, Maxim and Theoretical Propensity for Yorùbá Religion Influences between Ọ̀yọ́, Sábę and Ifè̩-Ana,” Journal of Religion in Africa 2023 (Brill); “Commonalities and Disparities in the Iconography of Opon Ifa and Iroke Ifa_in Oyo, Sabe and Ife-Ana Yoruba Communities” African Arts 2020: 53(2)and “A Reconsideration of the History and Iconology of Yorùbá Equestrian Figure through Two Ifá Verses and the Ojúde-Ọba Festival,” African Arts, 2022, 55(2).

His academic career is further marked by prestigious fellowships and research engagements. He served as a Guest Researcher at the African Cluster of Excellence, “Africa Multiple,” University of Bayreuth (Arts and Aesthetics Section), Germany, 2023, and as a Research Fellow at North-West University, South Africa, 2017-2020, where he contributed to research on visual narratives and creative output through interdisciplinary and practice-led research. He has also undertaken wider scholarly engagements across Africa, Europe, Asia, and the United States. As an editor and intellectual leader, he continues to shape critical discourse within the arts and humanities.

He is also a member of the Arts Council of the African Studies Association (ACASA) and the College Arts Association (CAA) USA.

This elevation recognizes his scholarly excellence, mentorship, and service. I wish you and several others in the Faculty many more years of fruitful service.

As part of the public programming for the ongoing exhibition Weaving Narratives: African Textiles in Iowa, the Stanley M...
03/25/2026

As part of the public programming for the ongoing exhibition Weaving Narratives: African Textiles in Iowa, the Stanley Museum of Art organized a batik workshop for members of the Iowa community. In my role as co-organizer of the exhibition, along with Cory Gundlach, Curator of African Art, I facilitated the workshop, working with approximately 25 participants over the course of a weekend to produce personalized designs on cotton fabric and T-shirts. Participants were introduced to processes of template making and guided in translating their designs into wearable forms.

The workshop was held at Land Alliance Folk School, a setting that offered an alternative to the museum’s formal, pristine environment. The rural landscape and surrounding farmland provided a conducive, immersive atmosphere for hands-on learning and creative exchange.

The next event is at the Yale School of Art, where the question becomes how to meaningfully honor and incorporate indigenous technologies in shaping innovation and arts education. It calls for the recognition of African knowledge systems as dynamic frameworks that inform teaching methodologies, material exploration, and critical discourse within contemporary art practice.

I have centered this approach within my practice as both an artist and educator for many years. Yale, are we ready to spread out the cloth?

Weaving Narratives: African Textiles in Iowa presents a meaningful opportunity to explore and strengthen relationships b...
03/05/2026

Weaving Narratives: African Textiles in Iowa presents a meaningful opportunity to explore and strengthen relationships between the Stanley Museum of Art and African communities in eastern Iowa through the art of African textiles. Through written materials and video-recorded interviews, the exhibition centers upon African textiles in the Stanley Museum of Art permanent collection and the voices from the African community in Iowa City.

While the Stanley Museum acquired its first African textiles prior to Betty Stanley’s bequest in 1990, her gift of nearly 40 textiles laid the foundation for a collection that has grown to include nearly 600 examples of fiber art from across the continent. To honor the legacy of this gift, the exhibition will include select works from Betty Stanley’s collection, along with other acquisitions and loans.

Organized by Dr. Cory Gundlach, Curator of African Art, and Dr. Peju Layiwola, Mellon Curatorial Fellow, both at the Stanley Museum of Art, along with efforts of a curatorial team led by representatives from the African community in Iowa City, Dr. Anne Kiche, Dr. Sunday Gosh*t, and Walla Osman.

Join us for two days as we learn the art of batik led by Dr. Peju Layiwola as part of programming for this exhibition. The exhibition is on view from November 1, 2025, to April 19, 2026. Register for this workshop if you are in the Iowa area.

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Iowa City, IA
52240 - 52246

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