Exploring Yorùbá Woodcarving

The Yale University Art Gallery has a renowned collection of Yorùbá sculpture from West Africa. Opening in fall 2022, the special exhibition Bámigbóyè: A Master Sculptor of the Yorùbá Tradition is dedicated to the workshop of the Nigerian artist Moshood Olúṣọmọ Bámigbóyè (ca. 1885-1975). In celebration of this upcoming event, master carver Lukman Àlàdé Fákẹ́yẹ (born Ibadan, Nigeria, 1983) guides a close-looking session via Zoom with Cathy Silverman, Assistant Conservator of Objects and Furniture. Introduced by James Green, the Frances and Benjamin Benenson Foundation Associate Curator of African Art, this is a rare opportunity to study an important work of Yorùbá sculpture from a maker’s perspective and to learn about decisions that inform materials and technique. Generously sponsored by the Martin A. Ryerson Lectureship Fund.