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

The British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

. is a

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

poet, storyteller and artist, best known as a painter, printmaker, and sculptor (in wood, bronze and ceramics)."Profile: Emmanuel Taiwo Jegede (Nigeria)"
,

October Gallery October Gallery is an art gallery in central London, England, established in 1979."About Us"
October ...

Biography

Early years and education

Emmanuel Taiwo Jegede 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 ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

, where he studied with

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

sculptor Osagie Osifo. In 1963, Jegede travelled to the UK, where he attended

Willesden College of Technology The College of North West London (CNWL) is a large further education college in north-west London, England. It was established in 1991 by the merger between Willesden Technical College and Kilburn Polytechnic in the London Borough of Brent. Today ...

and Hammersmith College of Art, 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 Buchi Emecheta (born Florence Onyebuchi Emecheta; 21 July 1944 – 25 January 2017) was a Nigerian writer who was the author of novels, plays, autobiography, and children's books. She first received notable critical attention for her 1974 novel ...

's novels ''

The Bride Price ''The Bride Price'' is a 1976 novel by Nigerian writer Buchi Emecheta. It was first published in the UK by Allison & Busby, and in the USA by George Braziller. Centered on women during the Nigerian postcolonial era, Emecheta dedicated the book to ...

'' (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 Ma ...

. 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 Order of the British Empire, OBE (born in 1947) is a British artist originally from Saint Lucia, the Sovereign state, sovereign island in the Caribbean Sea. He still has a home there, while maintaining a studio in California. Work ...

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, London, National Portrait Gallery and Tate Britain in Londo ...

, Mercian Carrena,

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

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 Guyana, 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 befor ...

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

Aubrey Williams Aubrey Williams (8 May 1926 – 27 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 In 1971, Guyanese-born architect and cultural activist Oscar Abrams, Oscar Winston Abrams (1937–1996), who had settled in Britain in 1958, bought a run-down Victorian architecture, Victorian mission hall from the Shaftesbury Society for £9000 ...

(the UK's first arts centre for the Black community), where he was exposed to resident and visiting artists who worked in a multi-disciplinary mode, including

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

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. He was assassinated in Georgetown, ...

, Edward Brathwaite,

Angela Davis Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American Marxist and feminist political activist, philosopher, academic, and author. She is Distinguished Professor Emerita of Feminist Studies and History of Consciousness at the University of ...

and

Linton Kwesi Johnson Linton Kwesi Johnson Order of Distinction, OD (born 24 August 1952), also known as LKJ, is a Jamaica-born, British-based dub poetry, dub poet and activist. In 2002, he became the second living poet, and the only black one, to be published in th ...

. 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 (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, 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 Guil ...
,
City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
, which is inspired by the papers held at
London Metropolitan Archives The London Archives (previously known as the Greater London Record Office 1965–1997, and London Metropolitan Archives 1997–2024) is the principal local government archive repository for the Greater London area, including the City of London ...
of
Jessica Huntley Jessica Elleisse Huntley (née Carroll; 23 February 1927 – 13 October 2013) was a Guyanese-British political reformer and prominent race equality campaigner. She was a publisher of black and Asian literature, and a women's and community righ ...
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. ...
, as well as its associated bookshop, where in the 1970s greetings cards featuring Jegede's artwork were sold. Jegede participated 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 a ...
's theatrical project ''The Griot's Tale'', which was showcased in 2013 at
Yinka Shonibare Yinka Shonibare (born 9 August 1962), is a British 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 the bright ...
'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, ...
. He has also written a number of poems and children’s stories.

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 ...
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 The MUSON Centre (Musical Society of Nigeria) is a performance hall in Lagos. The multipurpose civic auditorium is located in the centre of Lagos Island, situated between the National Museum, the City Mall, the Onikan Stadium and the former o ...
, 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 London Westside B.C. are an English basketball club, based in the North Kensington area of West London, England. History The club was founded in 2000, with strong links to the local community and to provide opportunity for talented local playe ...
, 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 ...
, 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 20th-century Nigerian painters 20th-century Nigerian male artists 20th-century Nigerian sculptors 21st-century Nigerian male artists Black British artists Nigerian emigrants to the United Kingdom 21st-century Nigerian painters Nigerian woodcarvers Yoruba artists Yoruba poets