Sir David Adjaye on Okwui Enwezor
International architect Sir David Adjaye celebrates the life and work of ground-breaking curator and educator Okwui Enwezor.
“I was astonished by the experience of standing there, where the two oceans met. I knew at that very moment this would be my concept: the meeting of worlds".
Okwui Enwezor.
For centuries, the art establishment had been defined and dictated by predominantly white, wealthy, western critics and curators. Then in the early 90’s a young man who was born in Nigeria and studied Political Science in New York came onto the scene and said, ‘no more’.
With an eye for aesthetic and a burning fire of political concern, curator and educator Okwui Enwezor transformed the art world. He placed non-western art histories on an equal footing with the long-established narrative of European and North American art. He was a man with a mission, utterly confident and determined.
Sir David Adjaye, the architect perhaps best known for his largest project to date – the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of African American History and Culture - champions the ground-breaking life of Okwui Enwezor, who became both his friend and collaborator. He is joined by Chika Okeke-Agulu, one of the foremost scholars of African Art and Professor of African and African Diaspora Art at Princeton University.
Presented by Matthew Parris
Produced in Bristol by Nicola Humphries
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- Tue 15 Sep 2020 16:30´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 4
- Fri 18 Sep 2020 23:00´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 4
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Great Lives
Biographical series in which guests choose someone who has inspired their lives.