Printmaking in Nigeria; Tandazani Dhlakama is the Curator of Global Africa at ROM; Spotlighting Sabelo Mlangeni
In Nigeria, printmaking techniques have long been used, particularly in traditional artistic practices to achieve certain aesthetic goals. Blacksmithing, wood carving, ivory carving, calabash carving, Adire Eleko (starch resist dyeing techniques), and other ornamental arts share similarities to the printmaking processes of woodcut relief, intaglio, and serigraphic processes of printmaking.
Printmaking is an art form that has remained relevant over the years, and artists like Bruce Onobrakpeya, Solomon Irein Wangboje, and Rufus Ogundele, amongst others, have contributed to the contemporary Nigerian art scene using this technique.
Read our most recent article here.
Tandazani Dhlakama is the Curator of Global Africa at The Royal Ontario Museum
The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) has announced the appointment of Zimbabwean-born curator, Tandazani Dhlakama as Curator of Global Africa. She has spent 15 years working with African and diaspora artists in Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Tandazani Dhlakama is known for exhibitions like When We See Us: A Century of Black Figuration in Painting and Bamako Encounters at the African Biennale of Photography. As Curator of Global Africa, she will lead the interpretation of ROM’s extensive collection of Art from Africa, reshaping displays and engaging with African and diaspora communities in the Greater Toronto Area and beyond.
“I look forward to highlighting African narratives and histories while addressing contemporary issues,” says Dhlakama.
MOWAA Announces Applications for Unearth Fellowship 2025
The Museum of West African Art (MOWAA), in partnership with the British Museum, has opened applications for the 2025 Unearth Fellowship Programme. The program is open to postgraduate students and early-career professionals who engage in archaeological research, heritage preservation, and public engagement.
Designed to deepen understanding of Benin City’s rich cultural and historical landscape, the goal of the Unearth Fellowship is to immerse participants in field research, conservation techniques, as well as curatorial practice. Themed “Fragments of the Past: The City’s Story Through Finds,” the 2025 fellowship highlights post-excavation processes, including preservation and exhibition design.
The program will run from April to September 2025, and fellows will experience virtual learning sessions, expert mentorship, and a three-week intensive residency at the MOWAA Institute in Benin City. They will also collaborate with leading scholars and practitioners, exploring the evolving role of museums in contemporary discourse. The curriculum combines theoretical learning with hands-on training, culminating in public–facing projects that make archaeological research more accessible.
Apply here!
Artist Spotlight: Sabelo Mlangeni
Sabelo Mlangeni (b.1980) is a photographer who draws attention to beauty, affection, vulnerability, and the mundane in unexpected places. Born in Driefontein, South Africa, Mlangeni has built his practice around intimate photographs that draw out the inherent beauty in the ordinary.
Working largely in black and white format, Mlangeni is driven by his interest in the notions of community and communing where a central part of his process requires him to spend significant time – weeks, months, sometimes years – with those he chooses to photograph; sharing intimately in their thoughts, feelings, stories and everyday lives. His practice is a continuous survey of the most challenging, beautiful and confounding aspects of the human experience.
Mlangeni has had numerous solo exhibitions to date, including most recently Imvuselelo: The revival at Cantor Arts Center in Stanford (2023) and Ngiyabona Phambli at the Institute of Ideas & Imagination in Paris (2023). His work has been widely exhibited both locally and internationally, including at The 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia (2024), A4 Arts Foundation in Cape Town (2023), and Haus der Kunst / The Walther Collection in Munich (2023), amongst others.
On view:
Memories of Yellow: Gallery 1957 presents a solo exhibition by Jeremiah Quarshie as he weaves themes of unpredictability, memory, and power into a vivid exploration of Accra’s water crisis. (March 6 – April 26, 2025).
Until the Mockingbird Stops to Sing: Bwo Gallery presents Until the Mockingbird Stops to Sing, a solo exhibition by Ethiopian artist Emanuel Tegene. (March 6 – April 26, 2025).
Honeymoon. The happily ever after?: blank projects presents a solo exhibition of Sabelo Mlangeni’s latest body of work inspired by a honeymoon trip to Durban following the release of his wedding documentary series, Isivumelwano. (February 8 – March 29, 2025)
