ART AND CULTURAL NATIONALISM IN COLONIAL NIGERIA (1900–1960)

Abstract

This paper examines the emergence of modern Nigerian art during the colonial period between 1900 and 1960, tracing how it evolved from a communal and functional practice into a dynamic medium for individual expression and nationalist assertion. The study adopts a historical and theoretical framework grounded in three ideological pillars—nationalism, art, and cultural nationalism—demonstrating how visual production became a critical arena for contesting racial inequality and asserting cultural sovereignty. Central to this transformation was the psychological shift occasioned by the World Wars, particularly the Second World War, which dismantled colonial myths of European invincibility and strengthened African cultural confidence. The paper analyses the contributions of pioneering cultural nationalists, including Aina Onabolu, whose mastery of academic realism challenged assumptions of African inferiority; Kenneth Murray, who institutionalised indigenous aesthetics within colonial education; Akinola Lasekan, who used art as a form of political satire; and Ben Enwonwu, who synthesised African themes with modernist techniques to achieve global recognition. Particular attention is given to the Zaria Art Society and its philosophy of Natural Synthesis, which rejected binary distinctions between tradition and modernity. The contributions of expatriate intermediaries such as Ulli Beier and Father Kevin Carroll provided essential institutional support through initiatives such as Black Orpheus, the Mbari workshops, and liturgical commissions. By independence in 1960, Nigerian artists had forged a sovereign and self-possessed visual identity that paralleled the nation’s political liberation.