The Ecobank Pan African Centre in Victoria Island opened its doors on October 12 to “Afrobeat Rebellion: Fela Anikulapo-Kuti,” a comprehensive travelling exhibition exploring the life, music and activism of Nigeria’s legendary cultural icon through to December 28.
Fela Anikulapo-Kuti remains one of the most complex and compelling artistes of our time, a musician, thinker, organiser and remarkable icon of rebellion who bridged worlds through his music. This exhibition, curated by Seun Alli of June Creative Art Advisory (JCAA), returns to Lagos, where much of Fela’s revolutionary work took place.
Featuring 10 carefully structured sections mirroring Fela’s restless experimentation and complexity, visitors are greeted by an immersive large-scale commissioned work by Nigerian-Italian illustrator and textile designer Diana Ejaita, whose visual language captures Fela’s undying spirit.
The journey continues through Fela’s early years, with illustrator Musa Ganiyy’s Family Tree highlighting 22 prominent members of the Kuti family whose individual defiance and excellence shaped the artiste. The Lagos Baby section captures the city’s pulse through sound, large-format projections, and replicated everyday objects like wheelbarrows, deepening stories about Lagos life’s rhythms.
Dedicated sections illuminate the Kalakuta Republic and Afrika Shrine as open platforms that served as meeting points where politics and spiritual conviction converged. A specially expanded Queens section celebrates the women who stood by Fela as co-travellers in his political struggle, featuring contemporary photography by Medina Dugger, Djibril Drame, Manny Jefferson and Ugochukwu Emebiriodo that traces their enduring influence on identity, hairstyles and fashion.
The Library section showcases how Fela’s political consciousness was deepened through his encounters with various figures and extensive reading. Later sections draw connections to his global resonance and enduring legacy in music, politics, fashion and youth culture.
Lead Curator Seun Alli, founder and managing director of June Creative Art Advisory (JCAA), stated that their vision is for the exhibition to be a medium for audiences to “remember Fela, question his beliefs, and even imagine better human experiences”. Alli also views the project as “an opportunity to bring the world to Fela”.
“Curating this exhibition has been another chapter of Continuing Fela Studies because not even a lifetime is enough time to analyse the life, music and activism of The Black President,” said Alli, who acknowledged the pivotal contributions of JCAA colleagues: Simsi Kaempf (consultant) who worked on content development, and curatorial assistants Toyosi Taoreed and Rita Sagbamiye.
The exhibition represents a collaboration between the French Embassy in Nigeria, Philharmonie de Paris (Musée de la Musique), Ecobank Nigeria, A Whitespace Creative Arts Foundation (AWCA), Felabration, and the Kuti family, with materials created, licensed and loaned by numerous artists, individuals, and institutions.
“It is my vision that the exhibition is a medium for audiences to remember Fela, question his beliefs and even imagine better human experiences,” Alli stated. “Everything is political, but art truly has the power to reimagine our world.”
