Join Adedoyin Teriba, Assistant Professor of Art History at Dartmouth College, as he investigates how, in the 1890s, formerly enslaved people from Brazil, the United States, and Sierra Leone—along with wealthy people in Lagos who liked Western styles—used architecture and material culture to try to “civilize” people in Southwest Nigerian kingdoms. This talk also explores how, in the 1960s, local priests, priestesses, and artists pushed back by promoting their own traditions and beliefs. Dr. Teriba demonstrates how these local religious leaders and artists created new masquerades, ideas of immortality, and even new words—drawing inspiration from the European-style buildings introduced by the settlers.
