Oyasaf

Oyasaf is an art foundation that holds the largest private art collection in Nigeria.[1][2]

OYASAF
Formation2007
FounderYemisi Adedoyin Shyllon
TypeNGO
PurposeArt & Culture Promotion
HeadquartersLagos, Nigeria
Websitewww.oyasaf.com

History
OYASAF Garden.
OYASAF Garden.

The foundation was created by Omoba Yemisi Adedoyin Shyllon in 2007.[3][4]

In March 2020, the Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art is due to open, a contemporary art museum financed by Oyasaf. The 1,200-foot-square new museum, designed by the architect Jesse Castellote, will be owned and managed by the Pan-Atlantic University. The museum is Nigeria's first privately-funded university museum.[5]

Collection

Oyasaf houses over 7,000 artworks,[6] including sculptures, paintings and other media, as well as over 55,000 photographic shots of Nigeria's cultural festivals.[7][8]

Fellowship program

The foundation regularly sponsors foreign and Nigerian scholars, curators, artists and art historians to interact with and utilize its art collection for their studies and researches, collaborate with Nigeria’s artists, curators, museums, galleries, other collectors and Nigerian art institutions, for promoting Nigerian art and culture to the world.[3][6]

It sponsored seventeen fellows from the USA, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Some of the previous beneficiaries of the Oyasaf fellowship program are from the following institutions: University of Chicago (USA), University of Wisconsin (USA), Stanford University (USA), University of Vienna (Austria), Rhodes University (South Africa), Ziko Museum (South Africa), Columbia University (USA).[9][10] Most of the foundation's sponsored students are not Nigerian.[11]

Other activities

Oyasaf has organized art workshops and collaborations with tertiary institutions and other foundations including the University of Lagos, the University of Port Harcourt and the Ufuk Dialogue Foundation of Turkey. In April 2017, after a 3-day workshop, the Oyasaf established Beyond Borders Artists Association of Nigeria (BBAAN), which organizes art exhibitions in nigeria's prisons.[12]

Oyasaf lends its art to local and international museums (e.g. New York Museum of African Art, 2010-2013).[13][14][2]

Oyasaf donated life-size sculptural monuments to public places and institutions in Nigeria, including the eighteen life-size sculptures at the Freedom Park in Lagos and monuments to the University of Lagos and the University of Ibadan.[15]

Oyasaf launched an online journal, TOJA (The Oyasaf Journal of Art), which is published under the Yemisi Shyllon Professorial Chair of the University of Port Harcourt.[3]

References
  1. "Nigerian mega-collector Prince Yemisi Shyllon discloses his intentions". Conceptual Fine Arts. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  2. "UNILAG, OYASAF host Art Entrepreneurship workshop - Vanguard News". Vanguard News. 2011-05-01. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  3. "The Nigerian Art of Patronage". Chimurengachronic.co.za. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  4. "GOV. AMBODE, FIRST LADY, MINISTER LAI MOHAMMED AT OPENING OF RASHEED GBADAMOSI ART EXHIBITION – Lagos State Government". lagosstate.gov.ng. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  5. Rebecca Anne Proctor, With Help from a Nigerian Prince, a Bold New Contemporary Art Museum Is Set to Open in Lagos, Artnet.com, 11 February 2020
  6. "The artnet News Index: The World's Top 100 Art Collectors for 2016, Part Two". artnet News. 2016-06-15. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  7. Prisco, Jacopo. "The irresistible rise of African art". CNN. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  8. "A nice new market". The Economist. 2010-07-29. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  9. "AT HOME IN OYASAF'S HAVEN OF ARTS". TheNigerianVoice.com. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  10. "FOCUS ON NIGERIA AT LEARN AFRICA LOVE AFRICA ART TALK — VANSA". vansa.co.za. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  11. Denrele Animasaun, Benin Bronzes on Loan and the Museums Dilemma (2), Vanguardngr.com, 29 July 2018
  12. Omoleye Omoruyi, This is why 11 people took art into the Ikoyi Prison, Ynaija.com, 6 December 2018
  13. "UFUK Foundation…Working Towards Peaceful Co-existence among Nigerians". Western Post News. 2015-03-16. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  14. "ANNOUNCEMENT | SKOTO GALLERY PRESENTS WORKS OF LADI KWALI AND UCHE OKEKE". The Sole Adventurer. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  15. Gregory Austin Nwakunor, Tajudeen Sowole, Welcome to the intriguing world of wealthy art collectors, Guardian.ng, 1 March 2019
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