A fleet of cars dominated McEwen street where the Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) is domiciled in Yaba, Lagos. It was an assemblage of sympathisers and art enthusiasts who honoured the memory of Nigeria’s leading art curator, Bisi Silva who died in Lagos after a long battle with breast cancer on February 12. Silva who is a younger sister to the popular Nollywood actress, Joke Silva had reportedly undergone treated in Germany and UK prior to her death.
A visiting scholar from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA, Professor Henry Drewal took the art community in Lagos down memory lane with the series of slides that showed some collaborative research projects on the Nigerian cultural scene with Silva offering deep insights to the projects.
Silva was buried in Ikoyi last Thursday and friends arrived in droves at the cultural hub, Freedom Park Lagos where an evening of tributes was held. An exhibition of some memorabilia of her curated art projects ran simultaneously with the tribute night which featured artists, curators, gallery owners, family and friends.
In a condolence message, the Founder of Art X Lagos, Tokini Peterside acknowledged the contribution of Bisi Silva to the contemporary art scene.
“Bisi Silva was a force to be reckoned with and the messages that have poured in from around the world since her passing that fateful Tuesday are testament to this. Her illustrious career played a major role in the revival and development of the art sector in Africa, placing art from the continent on the global stage,” stated Peterside.
Another leading contemporary art curator, Sandra Mbanefo-Obiago paid tribute to Silva, pointing at her feat internationally.
“Bisi generously showed her insight about art with the global community. Joe and I remember many animated conversations, discussing art from Mazambique, Cape Verde and other far flung corners of our beautiful continent. Her depth of perception and analysis was always refreshing
“She coloured outside the lines. I remember she spoke out at many of our events with her deliberately slow intonation, reminding us about the need to document our rich art history before our titans pass. She encouraged a lot of young photographers through the Bamako Encounters, African Biennale of Photography while documenting pioneers like J.D. Okhai Ojeikere for the world to recognise,” she said.
For the team of Iwalewahaus at the University of Bayreuth, Silva’s footsteps can be traced far inside the eastern Mediterranean.
“Her contribution not only for the Nigerian art world but the whole African continent cannot be put in simple words but the vibes she produced definitely swept over to Europe as well and even reached the small remote town of Bayreuth where the Iwalewahaus is based,” said Nadine Surgery in tribute to Silva.
Simidele Adesanya, the founder of Mydrim Gallery, Ikoyi described Silva as an eternal optimist who was undeterred by her terminal illness.
“No one can tell the story of visual art in Nigeria without the mention of Bisi Silva,” she said in an emotionally voice.
After the audience sang Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” in honour of Silva, there was a screening session of documentary movies on Silva directed by Remi Vaughan-Richards.
Silva founded CCA in 2007 to curate, research, exhibit and document African art as well as global art.