Review of Postcolonial Modernism: Art and Decolonization in Twentieth-Century Nigeria

Anneka Lenssen's 2018 review examines Chika Okeke-Agulu's 2015 book Postcolonial Modernism: Art and Decolonization in Twentieth-Century Nigeria, published by Duke University Press. The book chronicles artistic theories, practices, and institutions during Nigeria's independence years from 1957 to 1967. It situates this period within broader historical contexts including Third World liberation movements, African decolonization, and Cold War geopolitics. A central focus is the concept of "national culture" introduced by Frantz Fanon in 1959, which had lasting influence on postcolonial art theory. Okeke-Agulu applies Fanon's "two-fold becoming" model to analyze Nigeria's decentralized art world, particularly examining the synthetic studio practices of the Zaria Art Society. This model emphasizes connections to international liberation movements while opposing earlier cultural paradigms like Negritude. The review argues that this approach impacts not only the narrative of generational opposition but also the broader writing of global modernist history. The article is available through MIT Press with subscription-only access.