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Nike Center for the Arts and Culture - 22 March 2008

This was a long-in-coming trip to the  Nike (pronounced KNEE- keh) Center for Arts and Culture, a Nigerian institution.  This trip was in conjunction with a trip organized by the US Embassy Community Liaison Officer, Angela, who is also a member of the NFS Abuja. 

 

We enjoyed the sounds of the African drums as we were welcomed to the center. 

 

First, we toured the area where traditionally grown cotton is first carded, then spun into thread,    

and then woven into cloth.    We watched as cassava paste resist was applied to the cloth using a feather.    Then, we saw how the cloth is dyed and then dried. 

 

We were then entertained during a drumming and dancing stage show                , and walked through the art gallery where some of us purchased a beautiful piece of art from a local artist.    We were also treated to the taste of locally tapped palm wine, freshly fried bean flour balls,  and other goodies.

 

From the www.nikeart.com web site:

 

Artist and Designer Nike Davies Okundaye invites you to visit her Nigeria, an ancient culture that thrives in modern cities, a world that moves easily between talking drums and the internet.

Nike has given workshops on traditional Nigerian textiles to audiences in the US and Europe during the past 20 years. While she is known for her colorful batik and paintings that offers a modernist gloss on traditional themes, she was brought up amidst the traditional weaving and dying practiced in her native village of Ogidi in Western Nigeria. Her fame as an artist and teacher has taken her all over the globe. Now, she invites you to visit her in Nigeria and immerse yourself in African tradition.

Nike found that the traditional methods of weaving and dying that had been her original inspiration were fading in Nigeria. She used her international success to launch a cultural revival, building art centers where young Nigerians master traditional arts and crafts. You can now visit the world of the Yoruba, to explore a culture that has flourished in Western Nigeria for well over 1000 years. 

Whether you are a specialist in the arts, an enthusiast of African arts or merely interested in a brief immersion in a new culture, Nike offers the opportunity to see Nigeria with fresh eyes. You stay at guest houses at her homes in Lagos, Oshogbo and Ogidi. You travel through Nigeria in air conditioned cars and buses with your guides and teachers. You spend your days visiting museums, galleries, and traditional markets, or studying the techniques used by Yoruba craftsmen and artists. You join her family and her apprentices at mealtimes to sample Nigerian specialties.

 

 

Maximum number of attendees: 

The center can easily accommodate over 100 participants at once.

 

Rating: 

Easy

 

 

Security: 

No issues

 

 

Gear:  

Comfortable clothing for the hottest month in Abuja, plenty of water and sun screen.

 

 

Costs: 

N1000 per person

 

 

Timing:   

8:00 am to 12:00 noon

9:00 Arrive and receive introduction to the Nike Centre

9:15 Traditional drumming and dancing

9:30 Tour including explanations buildings, carvings, statues etc.

10:00 Stage show – Dance, Drum

10:45 Time to look at art in the galleries

11:15 Make final offers on purchases, conclude program

11:30 depart for Abuja

 

Directions:  

Take airport road, pass second ring road, and look for signs for the Nike Center just at the Texaco Station on the right side in Piwoye.

 

 

Contact Info:   

Event Coordinator