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NKATA: Art and ProcessesNKATA is an Igbo word from the language spoken by the Igbo people of Nigeria. Author: Nkata Podcast Station Language: en-gb Genres: Arts, Visual Arts Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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EP19 (Part 2): “I Want to Plant my Flag with You All Over Here” - Nkata with Njideka Akunyili Crosby
Episode 19
Tuesday, 8 September, 2026
Part Two of a two-part conversation.Njideka Akunyili Crosby’s portrait The Obamas: Springing Forth marks another chapter in an illustrious career shaped by Nigerian life, family histories and movement between cultures.Continuing her conversation with Emeka Okereke, she opens a window onto the decisions, uncertainties and encounters within her practice. From the Obama portrait to Lagos and Igbo proverbs, their exchange follows the relationships and inherited knowledge that sustain her work, including the foundations laid by her mother and father.For artists, students, researchers and curious listeners, this concluding part offers insight into how lived experience becomes artistic language—and how a practice continues to grow.Begin with Part One In this conversation- The artistic demands of a major portrait commission- Uncertainty, attention and the decisions within a painting- Images, specificity and the experience of recognition- Lagos, Invisible Borders and the importance of encounter- Family, language and knowledge across generationsChapters00:00:00 Painting Through uncertainty00:17:43 Inside the Obama Portrait00:32:26 Making the Images Yours00:43:48 A Painting as Journey00:51:09 Returning to Lagos01:03:53 Invisible Borders01:15:17 The Wisdom of IluAbout the guestNjideka Akunyili Crosby is a Nigerian-born artist based in Los Angeles. Working across painting, drawing, collage and photographic transfer, she brings family histories, everyday spaces and Nigerian popular culture into compositions that hold multiple places and experiences together.Explore further- NKATA Podcast- Njideka Akunyili Crosby — artist profile and work- The Obamas: Springing Forth — Obama Foundation- Invisible Borders — The Trans-African ProjectListen to more conversations from Art & Processes at NKATA Podcast.Portrait of Njideka Akunyili Crosby by Shaughn and John ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
