Two UNILAG lecturers win 2018 edition of Rhodes Artist and Writer Residency Fellowship (RAW)

Professor Peju Layiwola, Head, Department of Creative Arts, and Dr. Patrick Oloko, a senior lecturer in the Department of English, have been awarded the Rhodes Artist and Writer (RAW) Residency Fellowship Programme for 2018.

The RAW programme with theme, The Arts of Africa and the Global South is hosted by the Department of Fine Arts of Rhodes University in Grahamstown, the National Research Foundations (NRF) of South Africa and the Andrew. W. Mellon Foundation.

The RAW Residency Fellowship is a two-month programme encouraging team participation in the production of art, scholarship and enhancing cultural and professional understanding among artists, scholars and activists in Africa and the Global South. In this year’s competition, Peju Layiwola, who is a visual artist and Patrick Oloko, a literary analyst, will be exploring the relationship between art production and scholarly writing.

Their methodological innovative joint application is focused on demonstrating how social experience and visual culture connect and intersect in Nigeria /South African historical and contemporary experiences.

Peju Layiwola will utilise her wide experiences as a creative artist and art scholar to produce visuals exploring commonalties between Nigeria and South Africa. Her community engagement with youth and women will hopefully play a role in her artistic project for the programme.

Patrick Oloko will produce an essay themed on how the artistic productions of Layiwola invite and initiate conversations around everyday experiences in Nigeria and South Africa. The relation between Nigeria and South Africa is expected to be enhanced through these cultural and scholarly collaborations, while the work and experiences of both scholars will foster inter-university cooperation between the University of Lagos, Nigeria and Rhodes University, South Africa.