The Oye-Ekiti Christian Art Workshop and the Fusion of the European Catholic Tradition and Nigerian Indigenous Art in Three Lagos Churches

Abstract

This paper discusses the influence on three Catholic churches in Lagos of the short-lived Oye-Ekiti Christian Art Workshop (1947-1954) and questions how the philosophy of the workshop and the artworks it produced are regarded today. The study traces the history of the Christian religion in Nigeria and the religious beliefs of the Nigerian people before the arrival of Christianity. It also examines the synthesis of traditional Yoruba art and the Christian religion introduced by the Oye-Ekiti, and interrogates the opposition of some church leaders in recent times to representations of Christian images in Yoruba indigenous forms. This opposition, which has led to the rejection and subsequent removal of artworks that formerly adorned the three Lagos churches is contextualized in interviews with the parish priests of these three churches. It is argued that Nigerian art is rich in signs and symbols due to its multi-ethnic, diverse culture and religious beliefs and proposes that the Oye-Ekiti Christian Art Workshop was necessary because it promoted indigenous art as a potential cultural vehicle for Christian liturgy in Nigeria.