Emmanuel Taiwo Jegede (born June 1943)"Emmanuel Taiwo Jegede, The Prayer for Peace, bronze"

The British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It documen ...

. is 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 ...

poet, storyteller, painter, printmaker and a sculptor (in wood, bronze and ceramic)."Profile: Emmanuel Taiwo Jegede (Nigeria)"
October Gallery.

Biography

Early years and education

Emmanuel Taiwo was born in Ayegbaju Ekiti, a Yoruba-speaking region of Nigeria. He undertook an apprenticeship with sculptor Pa Akerejola in Ekiti before going on to the Yaba School of Technology 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 ...

, where he studied with Edo sculptor Osagie Osifo. In 1963 he travelled to the UK, where he attended Willesden College of Technology and Hammersmith College of Arts, studying the decorative arts, interior design, sculpture and bronze casting.

Career

His first exhibition took place in 1968 at the Woodstock Gallery, London. In 1970, he set up a studio and foundry at Riverside, London. During the following decade Jegede's work featured on the covers of books such as Buchi Emecheta's novels ''

The Bride Price ''The Bride Price'' is a 1976 novel (first published in the UK by Allison & Busby and in the USA by George Braziller) by Nigerian writer Buchi Emecheta. It concerns, in part, the problems of women in post-colonial Nigeria. The author dedicated t ...

'' (1976) and '' The Slave Girl'' (1977), published by

Allison & Busby Allison & Busby (A & B) is a publishing house based in London established by Clive Allison and Margaret Busby in 1967. The company has built up a reputation as a leading independent publisher. Background Launching as a publishing company in May ...

. In 1977, he was among the Black artists and photographers whose work represented the UK at the Second World Festival of Black Arts and African Culture (Festac '77) in

, Nigeria (the others being

Winston Branch Winston Branch (born in 1947) is a British artist originally from Saint Lucia, the sovereign island in the Caribbean Sea. He still has a home there, while maintaining a studio in California. Works by Branch are included in the collections of T ...

Ronald Moody Ronald Moody (12 August 1900 – 6 February 1984) was a Jamaican-born sculptor, specialising in wood carvings. His work features in collections including the National Portrait Gallery and Tate Britain in London, as well as the National Gallery ...

, Mercian Carrena,

Armet Francis Armet Francis (born 29 January 1945) is a Jamaican-born photographer and publisher who has lived in London since the 1950s. He has been documenting and chronicling the lives of people of the African diaspora for more than 40 years and his assignm ...

Uzo Egonu Uzo Egonu (25 December 1931 – 14 August 1996) was a Nigerian-born artist who settled in Britain in the 1940s,

Neil Kenlock Neil Emile Elias Kenlock (born 1950) is a Jamaican-born photographer and media professional who has lived in London since the 1960s. During the 1960s and 1970s, Kenlock was the official photographer of the British Black Panthers, and he has be ...

Donald Locke Donald Cuthbert Locke (17 September 1930 – 6 December 2010) was a Guyanese artist who created drawings, paintings and sculptures in a variety of media. He studied in the United Kingdom, and worked in Guyana and the United Kingdom before movin ...

, Cyprian Mandala, Ossie Murray, Sue Smock, Lance Watson and

Aubrey Williams Aubrey Williams (8 May 1926 – 17 April 1990) was a Guyanese artist. He was best known for his large, oil-on-canvas paintings, which combine elements of abstract expressionism with forms, images and symbols inspired by the pre-Columbian art o ...

). Also in the 1970s, Jegede was artist-in-residence at the

Keskidee Centre The Keskidee Centre, or Keskidee Arts Centre, was Britain's first arts centre for the black community, founded in 1971.Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

Walter Rodney Walter Anthony Rodney (23 March 1942 – 13 June 1980) was a Guyanese historian, political activist and academic. His notable works include ''How Europe Underdeveloped Africa'', first published in 1972. Rodney was assassinated in Georgetow ...

, Edward Brathwaite,

Angela Davis Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American political activist, philosopher, academic, scholar, and author. She is a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. A feminist and a Marxist, Davis was a longtime member of ...

and

Linton Kwesi Johnson Linton Kwesi Johnson (born 24 August 1952), also known as LKJ, is a Jamaica-born, British-based dub poet and activist. In 2002 he became the second living poet, and the only black one, to be published in the Penguin Modern Classics series. His ...

. In 1978 Jegede led to the founding of an initiative called the Rainbow Art Group (members included Indira Ariyanayagam,

Uzo Egonu Uzo Egonu (25 December 1931 – 14 August 1996) was a Nigerian-born artist who settled in Britain in the 1940s,

, Lancelot Ribeiro,

Errol Lloyd Errol Lloyd (born 1943)"Errol Lloyd. Born 1943 in Jamaica"

, Yeshwant Mali, Gordon V. de La Mothe, Durlabh Singh, Suresh Vedak, Ibrahim Wagh, and Mohammad Zakir, as well as Jegede)"Emmanuel Taiwo Jegede"
Diaspora Artists. that mounted its first exhibition the following year — ''Paintings and Sculptures'' at Action Space, London. Among other exhibitions that included Jegede's work were ''Afro-Caribbean Art'' (27 April–25 May 1978 at the Artists Market, London), organised by Drum Arts Centre, and ''Transforming the Crown: African, Asian and Caribbean Artists in Britain 1966 - 1996'', curated by the Caribbean Cultural Center,
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, in 1997–98. More recently, Jegede's work featured in the 2015 exhibition '' No Colour Bar: Black British Art in Action 1960–1990'' at the
Guildhall Art Gallery The Guildhall Art Gallery houses the art collection of the City of London, England. The museum is located in the Moorgate area of the City of London. It is a stone building in a semi-Gothic style intended to be sympathetic to the historic Guild ...
,
City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
, which is inspired by the papers held at
London Metropolitan Archives The London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) is the principal local government archive repository for the Greater London area, including the City of London: it is the largest county record office in the United Kingdom. It was established under its pr ...
of
Jessica Huntley Jessica Elleisse Huntley (née Carroll; 23 February 1927 – 13 October 2013) was an African-Guyanese-British woman, a political reformer, prominent race equality campaigner, the pioneering British publisher of black and Asian literature, and a ...
and Eric Huntley and the publishing company they founded,
Bogle-L'Ouverture Publications Bogle-L'Ouverture Publications (BLP) is a radical London-based publishing company founded by Guyanese activists Jessica Huntley (23 February 1927 – 13 October 2013)Margaret Busby"Jessica Huntley obituary" ''The Guardian'', 27 October 2013. and ...
. Emmanuel featured in his son
Tunde Jegede Tunde Jegede (born 28 January 1972) is a composer and multi-instrumentalist in contemporary classical, African and pop music, who is of Nigerian descent and born in England and as a child travelled to Africa to learn the art of the kora. He is ...
's theatrical project ''The Griot's Tale'', which was showcased in 2013 at
Yinka Shonibare Yinka Shonibare (born 9 August 1962), is a British-Nigerian artist living in the United Kingdom. His work explores cultural identity, colonialism and post-colonialism within the contemporary context of globalisation. A hallmark of his art is t ...
's studio and subsequently performed at the
Africa Centre, London The Africa Centre, London was founded in 1964 at 38 King Street, Covent Garden, where over the years it held many art exhibitions, conferences, lectures, and a variety of cultural events, as well as housing a gallery, meeting halls, restaurant, b ...
.

Family
Jegede has eight children; five sons and three daughters including: *
Tunde Jegede Tunde Jegede (born 28 January 1972) is a composer and multi-instrumentalist in contemporary classical, African and pop music, who is of Nigerian descent and born in England and as a child travelled to Africa to learn the art of the kora. He is ...
a musician and composer.Ed Keazor
"Tunde Jegede: Neo-Classical renegade and Griot"
''Music in Africa'', 24 November 2014. Tunde has performed at and founded the Art Ensemble of Lagos and the African Classical Music Ensemble. He is the artistic director at the
MUSON Centre MUSON Centre (Musical Society of Nigeria) is a performance hall in Lagos. The multipurpose civic auditorium is located in the heart of Lagos Island, situated between the National Museum, the City Mall, the Onikan Stadium and the former offic ...
, one of West Africa's only music conservatoires specialising in classical music. *Martin Jegede, an award-winning fashion designer and founder of jewellery brand Love Bullets. *Ayodeji Jegede, a basketball player with London Westside, trainer and entrepreneur. *Adekunle "David" Jegede, a successful artist in his own right, having exhibited at London's
Saatchi Gallery The Saatchi Gallery is a London gallery for contemporary art and an independent charity opened by Charles Saatchi in 1985. Exhibitions which drew upon the collection of Charles Saatchi, starting with US artists and minimalism, moving to the D ...
, as a winner of the CARISCC artwork competition, in addition to being a published author. His four other children are: Kolade Jegede, Anu Jegede, Funmilayo Jegede and Toyin Jegede.

References

External links

"Emmanuel Jegede Endless Omen Peterborough Sculpture Park August 2015"
YouTube. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jegede, Emmanuel Taiwo 1943 births Living people Black British artists Yoruba poets Nigerian emigrants to the United Kingdom 20th-century Nigerian sculptors Yoruba artists Nigerian sculptors Nigerian painters 20th-century Nigerian artists Nigerian woodcarvers 21st-century male artists