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.