C. Krydz Ikwuemesi (painter,
theorist, curator) (b.1967) is the founding member
and emeritus secretary of The Visual Orchestra and
the International Secretary of the Pan-African
Circle of Artists.
He is also the founding member and President of The
Art Republic (formerly Art-in-Africa Project) as
well as founding editor of Letter from Africa, the
biannual review published by the Pan-African Circle
of Artists. He has organized exhibitions and art
workshops for up-coming artists and has been the
subject of numerous critical essays and reviews in
the media.
A most versatile artist, Ikwuemesi has equally
written and published some poetry and more than 70
essays in local and foreign media, including
newspapers, magazines, journals, and the radio. In
2001, he was invited to Japan by the Japanese
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Japan Foundation
as one of the twelve African artists and critics
selected to participate in a study tour and symposia
on representing other cultures.
In 2001, he was invited to the Dakar Biennale as art
writer and critic and later went on a one-month
fellowship in Art History at the Central European
University in Budapest, Hungary. In November 2002,
he was the curator of Crossing Boundaries an
exhibition held by The Pan-African Circle of Artists
and the Centre Soleil d’Afrique in Bamako, Mali,
within the framework of Afrika Heritage 2002.
He was recently an artist-in-residence at Centrum
Arts and Creative Education at Fort Worden State
Park, Port Townsend, USA. He has taught painting and
draughtsmanship at University of Nigeria since 1994
and is the initiator and Project Director of
Afrika
Heritage (the PACA Biennale) and
Overcoming Maps (the PACA
Study Tour of Africa).
Recently, Ikwuemesi was nominated a member of the
Japanese network on the preservation of cultural
heritage in Africa. His current exhibition project,
"20th Century Art: a Story from Nigeria" seeks
to present modern Nigerian art in different parts of
Africa and the world between 2006 and 2008.
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