Bisi Silva (Olabisi Obafunke Silva) (29 May 1962 – 12 February 2019) was a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

contemporary art curator based in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

Biography

Bisi Silva graduated with an MA in Visual Arts Administration: Curating and Commissioning Contemporary Art at the Royal College of Art, London, in 1996. In the early days of her career, Silva worked as an independent curator and founded Fourth Dial Art, a non-profit project in London dedicated to promoting and cultivating cultural practice in the visual arts, and to help artists form meaningful collaborations with artistic institutions and professionals. One of the outcomes of Fourth Dial Art was a traveling exhibition, Heads of State, featuring the work of

Faisal Abdu'Allah Faisal Abdu'Allah (born 1969 in London) is a British artist and barber. His work includes photography, screenprint and installations. Life and work Abdu'Allah was born Paul Duffus in 1969 and grew up in a Pentecostal family. He was educated at Wi ...

, who was then an emerging artist of the London art world. She visited

Lagos, Nigeria Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

in 1999 with the idea of starting a project there. Silva was the founder and artistic director of the Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos (CCA, Lagos), which opened in December 2007. CCA Lagos promotes research, documentation and exhibitions related to contemporary art in Africa and abroad. At CCA, Lagos, Silva curated numerous exhibitions, including one with the Nigerian painter

Ndidi Dike Ndidi Dike was born in 1960 in London. She is a Nigeria-based visual artist working in sculpture and mixed-media painting. She is one of Nigeria's leading female artists.She is from Amaokwe Item in Bende local government of Abia State. She has 3 ...

. Silva was also the founder of the Asiko Art School, which describes itself as "part art workshop, part residency, and part art academy." She was co-curator of ''The Progress of Love'', a transcontinental collaboration across three venues in the United States and Nigeria (October 2012 – January 2013). Silva was co-curator of '' J. D. 'Okhai Ojeikere: Moments of Beauty'', Kiasma, Helsinki (April – November 2011). She was also co-curator for the second Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art, Greece, ''Praxis: Art in Times of Uncertainty'' in September 2009. In 2006, Silva was one of the curators for the Dakar Biennale in Senegal. In collaboration with the Portuguese art criti
Isabel Carlos
she selected artists for the third

Artes Mundi Artes Mundi (Latin: ''arts of the world'') is an international arts organisation based in Cardiff. Established in 2002, it is committed to supporting international contemporary visual artists whose work engages with social reality and lived experien ...

prize in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. She also curated ''Contact Zone: Contemporary Art from West and North Africa'' (October 2007) and an exhibition titled ''Telling ... Contemporary Finnish photography'', in the Seventh Biennial of African Photography in

Bamako Bamako ( bm, ߓߡߊ߬ߞߐ߬ ''Bàmakɔ̌'', ff, 𞤄𞤢𞤥𞤢𞤳𞤮 ''Bamako'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2009 population of 1,810,366 and an estimated 2022 population of 2.81 million. It is located on t ...

(November 2007). Silva wrote on contemporary art for international publications, including ''

Art Monthly ''Art Monthly'' is a magazine of contemporary art founded in 1976 by Jack Wendler and Peter Townsend. It is based in London and has an international scope, although its main focus is on British art. The magazine is published ten times a year (wit ...

'', ''

Untitled Untitled or (Untitled) may refer to: Artworks * ''Untitled (2004)'', by Banksy * ''Untitled'' (1982 painting), by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat * ''Untitled'' (Devil), a 1982 painting by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat * ''Untitled' ...

'', ''

Third Text ''Third Text'' is a leading peer-reviewed academic journal covering art in a global context. After founder and editor Rasheed Araeen's earlier art magazine ''Black Phoenix'', which started in 1978 and published only three issues, ''Third Text'' ...

'',
M Metropolis
',
Agufon
' and for Nigerian newspapers such as ''

This Day ''This Day'' is a Nigerian national newspaper. It is the flagship newspaper of Leaders & Company Ltd and was first published on 22 January 1995. It has its headquarters in Apapa, Lagos State. Founded by Nduka Obaigbena, the Chairman & Editor-in ...

''. She was on the editorial board of ''

n.paradoxa ''n.paradoxa: international feminist art journal'' was a biannual academic journal covering feminist art criticism and the work of women artists since the 1970s. It was published by KT press and the editor-in-chief was Katy Deepwell (London). The ...

'', an international

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

art journal, and was the guest editor for the Africa and African diaspora issue of ''n.paradoxa'' (January 2013). Silva died in

, Nigeria, at the age of 56 after a four-year battle with

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

. Curators

Nina Zimmer Nina Zimmer (born 1973) is a German art historian who is director of the Zentrum Paul Klee and the Museum of Fine Arts Bern. Early life Zimmer was born in 1973. She studied art history, Romance languages and media studies in Bordeaux, Götting ...

and Touria El Glaoui named Silva among the decade's most influential curators.

Exhibitions curated or co-curated

2009

*''In the Light of Play'', Durban Art Gallery and Johannesburg Art Fair *''Chance Encounters, Seven Contemporary Artists from Africa'', Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai India e Sakshi Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan *''Like A Virgin ..., Lucy Azubuike (NIG) and Zanele Muholi (SA)'', CCA, Lagos *''Praxis: Art in Times of Uncertainty'', Second Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art, Greece *''Maputo: A tale of One City'', Oslo, part of the Africa in Oslo season.

2008

*''George Osodi, Paradise Lost: Revisiting the Niger Delta'', CCA, Lagos *''Ndidi Dike, Waka-into-bondage: The Last ¾ Mile'', CCA, Lagos

2007

*''Fela, Ghariokwu Lemi and The Art of the Album Cover'', CCA, Lagos *''Contact Zone: Contemporary Art from West and North Africa'', National Museum of Mali *''Telling... Contemporary Finnish photography'', Settima Biennale di Fotografia Africana, Bamako

2006

*Dak'Art, Biennale di Dakar, Senegal

Bibliography

*Jayne O. Ifekwunigwe: ''Mixed Race Studies: A Reader'' —

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...

, 2004.

References

External links

Bisi Silva's blogCentre for Contemporary Art, Lagos

Bisi Silva Obituary
On NaijaGists.com
Bisi Silva Obituary, Artforum, 12 March 2019

Bisi Silva remembered in Aperture. 1 Feb 2019

On AICA website, UK

On Art Throb, South Africa

On Africa's Country

Arts Council of African studies Association

Art Africa Magazine

ContemporaryAnd tribute

Nigerian Tribune

Jumoke Sanwo Bisi Silva 1962–2019 African Arts: The MIT Press Volume 52, Number 4, Winter 2019

In Memoriam: Okwui Enwezor and Bisi Silva
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silva, Bisi 1962 births 2019 deaths Yoruba women artists Nigerian artists Place of birth missing People from Lagos People from London Nigerian art curators Nigerian women curators Alumni of the Royal College of Art Deaths from breast cancer Deaths from cancer in Nigeria