No Prisoners, Only Trophies 

Cynics consider Black Portraiture a fad, a boom-bust phenomenon akin to ‘tulipomania’. It cannot be so easily discarded and disregarded. Its impact in America is especially critical, given an incipient civil war and threat to democracy. What the Black Body, Black Life, in art represents is a vital drive to diffuse and overcome this threat. Ralph Ellison’s memorable words – ‘I am an invisible man. No, I am not a spook … Nor am I one of your Hollywood movie ectoplasms. I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids, and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, simply because people refuse to see me’ – is the challenge our group of exhibiting artists has assumed. Refusal to be refused by others, a desire to be seen, a testimony, and a love song. Exhibiting artists include Nedia Were, Bob-Nosa Uwagboe, Ayogu Kingsley, Samson Bakare, Ebuka Pascal Agudlegwu, Kelani Fatai, and Ian Banja.