In honor of the 50th anniversary of Mayor Maynard Jackson creating The Sister City Rising, The Ashview Community Garden located on the westside of the Atlanta Beltline hosted two art exhibition unveilings. When Jackson, with the help of Andrew Young, put together the idea of The Sister City Rising it was to build a relationship between Atlanta and Lagos Nigeria. All these years later their work to make that happen is still shining through. The two art exhibitions were curated by Lauren Tate Baeza and created by Nigerian based artist Taiye Idahor and Kainebi Osahenye.
Tate Baeza is the curator of African Art at the High Museum of Art, she handpicked Idahor and Osahenye to participate on this project.
Tate Baeza said, “I knew I picked the right artists,” when it came to who she would be having to come to Atlanta from Lagos. In the 10-week residency that the artists were in Atlanta, Baeza explained that they were both very ambitious with their ideas. With there being such a short amount of time for the artists to make their ideas come to life Tate Baeza was inspired watching them work. She also said that she is “excited to see the growth in the art sector between Lagos and Atlanta” in the future.
“Ivbieva” by Idahor was the first sculpture to be put on display. As a graduate from Yaba College of Technology in Nigeria, Idahor proudly explained what went into creating her piece. Idahor said “I was very inspired by the idea of the sister city.” She educated the crowd by letting them know that the name of her piece “Ivbieva” translates to “Twin” in English. Being a twin herself it was important that Idahor was able to honor that relationship through her art. Idahor said “I consider this a monument to women,” she also explained how it is a performative piece. With time and the change of seasons the materials of the sculpture will change.
Osahenye presented his piece titled “Aesthetics of The Yellow Bloom”. He explained that when he was putting the idea of his piece together, he was inspired by the pollen that he saw while in Atlanta. Osahenye said “when we think of pollen we think of the bad, not remembering the good that it brings.” He shared that yes, the pollen covers our cars and flares up allergies, but it also is an asset to our environment. When it came to picking the material that he wanted to work with Osahenye knew aluminum would be the easiest choice to represent the pollen. He also took the time to show his gratitude for his studio assistant Taylor Jiles, who spent 3 weeks helping him bring his vision to life.
If you are interested in following the journey of the artists or Tate Baeza you can follow them on Instagram: Idahor @greenpaintbowl, Tate Baeza @elletatebaeza, and Osahenye @kainebiosahenye. You can find both exhibits at The Ashview Community Garden 1199 Fenwood St SW, Atlanta GA 30314.
