Seun Alli is the curator and project lead for the ongoing Afrobeat Rebellion, a landmark exhibition celebrating Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s life, music, and political legacies.
A Lagos-based lawyer, art broker, curator, and cultural strategist, Ali has through her platform- June Creative Art Advisory (JCAA), worked at the intersection of law, curation, and cultural strategy to develop exhibitions, art collections, and community-centered projects that expand the reach of African creative expression.
Seun’s practice focuses on fostering collaborations between artists, collectors, and cultural organizations while guiding investors and institutions on African art market trends and cultural engagement strategies.
In this exclusive interview, Ali shares her reasons for curating the Afrobeat Rebellion exhibition, reasons for bringing the show back to where it should have begun, what Fela would have done in the present Nigeria, and more. Excerpt.
Could you give us an insight into the exhibition?
This is the Afrobeat Rebellion exhibition. It was first showcased in Paris in 2022. It was conceived by the Philharmonie de Paris. So, it’s a travelling exhibition which has come to Lagos which, of course, is Fela’s turf and base. Lagos is actually where it should have started at first, but we are happy to receive it here. In the exhibition, there are 10 sections. The first section is the introduction. Here, we have a landmark piece by Diana Ejaita, a Nigerian-Italian Illustrator and textile designer. She’s based in Berlin. The works she produced were specifically for this exhibition. We gave her a brief to portray something that will speak to the Legacy of Fela and something that is also very celebratory.
Visitors will then step into the Kalakuta Republic and the Afrika Shrine sections to illuminate how these spaces served as open platforms during Fela’s lifetime.
So, as much as we had the activism – very serious political engagement going on, we wanted something that would be immersive. Something that would speak to the spirit that we hoped to capture in the other sections of the exhibition.
Is this your first time doing something on Fela?
As a project, yes. This is my first major project on Fela.
So, what made you decide to curate the exhibition as part of the annual Felabration?
This is a travelling exhibition which was first conceived in Paris, as I said earlier. We thought it was time it was brought home. It is also to cement the existing relationship between France and Nigeria. I’m also a Fela fan.
I’ve been very familiar with his music over the years. But for me to curate an exhibition about him, I had to really do my homework. I’ll say this is me continuing my Fela studies. Having been familiar with his music, I needed to know the man. So, I had to dig deeper into his background. I needed to unearth what could have made him go through this journey not just musically but politically. That is how he changed the landscape of Nigeria, West Africa, and even the world. So, it’s something that I am very happy to be part of. I wanted people to see the Fella that I know; who was human first, before any other bad connotation about his personal life. He was a musical genius and a very dear cultural icon to not just me, but to many people.
Is there any difference between Fela’s Afrobeat and the Afrobeats being pushed by the Gen Z artistes?
Obviously, what the current musicians are playing today is another genre and quite different from Afrobeat. You might have Nigerians, West Africans singing Afrobeats, the sound is very different from what Fela did. The composition as well is very different. So, with Afrobeats, you hear various instruments being played before you even hear the lyrics. I mean, a typical Afrobeats song is about maybe 20 or 25 minutes long.
The first thing that may pop up in the mind of any viewer is, ‘what is Prof. Wole Soyinka doing under Fela’s family tree?
That was the essence of including the Early Years section. This section documents Fela’s background. Fela was a prominent activist, very popular, yet he started off somewhere. We thought it was important to highlight other prominent members of the kuti family, starting from his grandfather.
People have been saying that they didn’t know that Wole Soyinka is Fela’s cousin. His mother was a Kuti who married into the Soyinka family. That was a nice touch that we thought the audience would appreciate.
So, for the Family Tree illustration, Musa Ganiyy highlights 22 prominent members of the Kuti family, some whose individual defiance and excellence would have shaped Fela himself.
As a Fela fan, what do you think he would have done with his music in this present Nigeria?
He would have continued, and I think it wouldn’t have been any different from when he lived. Maybe he would have even had more resources to do more. Sometimes, I wonder how, with limited resources, he made a huge impact on society. There was no social media at the time. Technology was also coming of age. It was a very experimental period for so many people, even Fela himself. So, to even think of what he would have been able to achieve now with his music is unimaginable. Unimaginable.
Could you highlight the Lagos Baby section?
This section highlights the hustle and bustle of Lagos. You have the market scenes, go-slow. If you look closely, you will observe that there are people entertaining themselves right under the bridge. This captures the essence of what inspired Fela- the sounds, the visuals, and very colourful Lagos that we still know today. It has changed from political administration, but we still have the very lively energy that Lagos always has. You can see somebody pushing a truck, selling food and water. It’s evident how we live in Lagos.
So why is that section titled Lagos Baby?
There’s a song titled Lagos Baby by Fela. You can see that we took some of the lyrics out of that song ‘Lagos baby, na so so money’.
People knew Fela with Afrobeat. But now they are talking about Afro soul, highlife, and highlife jazz. What would you say about that?
Before Fela got to Afrobeat, he was experimenting with other genres. Fela was a trained classical musician. He didn’t just wake up and form Afrobeat. He was taught the classics in school. He talked about it in one of his interviews in that room. You can listen to it when you have time. It was a Voice of America broadcast interview with Sean Kelly that was done in the 90s. He said he was trained at Trinity College in the UK, where he studied classics. He also played the piano
from as early as when he was nine years old. However, he had to go out to listen to jazz because Jazz wasn’t taught in the schools. So, he went to clubs where he listened to great jazz musicians like Davis, Charlie Parker, etc. He also experienced people like James Brown; those sounds were prominent.
The story of Fela’s life and times could be told without including his underwear. Don’t you think so?
Well, in addition to showing photos of Fela in his underwear, we included samples of his pants as well. The essence is to counter the myth that he performed on stage in his underwear. That was never true. He had very tailored outfits that he wore on stage. If you saw him in his underwear, he was either at home relaxing, or during rehearsal, or just entertaining people; he just liked being comfortable.
Could you explain briefly what you have in the library section?
Here we have some books written about Fela by some authors. Fela was an avid reader; he was always reading. The books on the left side are books by Kwame Nkrumah, Malcom X’s autobiography, Thomas Sankara, etc, which he read. Many of them must have inspired his activism. There are also books about him, as I said earlier.
What is the one thing you would want observers to take away from the exhibition?
This is a huge project, and everybody is coming into this project in a different way. There are people coming in with a nostalgic mindset; they’ve experienced it before and may be coming to experience Fela again. Some people may also come just to know if the project truly captures his spirit and legacy. There are people coming just to get a deeper knowledge about him for the first time; this is also a good entry for them. So, at any level, we truly believe that there’s something in this exhibition. So, whether you’re coming to learn, to be entertained, or for serious thoughts about the exhibits, it’s worth your time.
What happens to the exhibits after the 28th of December when the exhibition closes?
Many of them will go back to their owners. We had many people who loaned us materials. So, they’ll go back to their owners. They are not for sale. This is a non-selling exhibition. It is free to the public. The performance outfits will go back to the family because the family loaned them to us.
Since this is a travelling exhibition, where next?
You have to stay tuned and find out where the exhibition is going next.
Credit: Vanguard
A Lagos-based lawyer, art broker, curator, and cultural strategist, Ali has through her platform- June Creative Art Advisory (JCAA), worked at the intersection of law, curation, and cultural strategy to develop exhibitions, art collections, and community-centered projects that expand the reach of African creative expression.
Seun’s practice focuses on fostering collaborations between artists, collectors, and cultural organizations while guiding investors and institutions on African art market trends and cultural engagement strategies.
In this exclusive interview, Ali shares her reasons for curating the Afrobeat Rebellion exhibition, reasons for bringing the show back to where it should have begun, what Fela would have done in the present Nigeria, and more. Excerpt.
Could you give us an insight into the exhibition?
This is the Afrobeat Rebellion exhibition. It was first showcased in Paris in 2022. It was conceived by the Philharmonie de Paris. So, it’s a travelling exhibition which has come to Lagos which, of course, is Fela’s turf and base. Lagos is actually where it should have started at first, but we are happy to receive it here. In the exhibition, there are 10 sections. The first section is the introduction. Here, we have a landmark piece by Diana Ejaita, a Nigerian-Italian Illustrator and textile designer. She’s based in Berlin. The works she produced were specifically for this exhibition. We gave her a brief to portray something that will speak to the Legacy of Fela and something that is also very celebratory.
Visitors will then step into the Kalakuta Republic and the Afrika Shrine sections to illuminate how these spaces served as open platforms during Fela’s lifetime.
So, as much as we had the activism – very serious political engagement going on, we wanted something that would be immersive. Something that would speak to the spirit that we hoped to capture in the other sections of the exhibition.
Is this your first time doing something on Fela?
As a project, yes. This is my first major project on Fela.
So, what made you decide to curate the exhibition as part of the annual Felabration?
This is a travelling exhibition which was first conceived in Paris, as I said earlier. We thought it was time it was brought home. It is also to cement the existing relationship between France and Nigeria. I’m also a Fela fan.
I’ve been very familiar with his music over the years. But for me to curate an exhibition about him, I had to really do my homework. I’ll say this is me continuing my Fela studies. Having been familiar with his music, I needed to know the man. So, I had to dig deeper into his background. I needed to unearth what could have made him go through this journey not just musically but politically. That is how he changed the landscape of Nigeria, West Africa, and even the world. So, it’s something that I am very happy to be part of. I wanted people to see the Fella that I know; who was human first, before any other bad connotation about his personal life. He was a musical genius and a very dear cultural icon to not just me, but to many people.
Is there any difference between Fela’s Afrobeat and the Afrobeats being pushed by the Gen Z artistes?
Obviously, what the current musicians are playing today is another genre and quite different from Afrobeat. You might have Nigerians, West Africans singing Afrobeats, the sound is very different from what Fela did. The composition as well is very different. So, with Afrobeats, you hear various instruments being played before you even hear the lyrics. I mean, a typical Afrobeats song is about maybe 20 or 25 minutes long.
The first thing that may pop up in the mind of any viewer is, ‘what is Prof. Wole Soyinka doing under Fela’s family tree?
That was the essence of including the Early Years section. This section documents Fela’s background. Fela was a prominent activist, very popular, yet he started off somewhere. We thought it was important to highlight other prominent members of the kuti family, starting from his grandfather.
People have been saying that they didn’t know that Wole Soyinka is Fela’s cousin. His mother was a Kuti who married into the Soyinka family. That was a nice touch that we thought the audience would appreciate.
So, for the Family Tree illustration, Musa Ganiyy highlights 22 prominent members of the Kuti family, some whose individual defiance and excellence would have shaped Fela himself.
As a Fela fan, what do you think he would have done with his music in this present Nigeria?
He would have continued, and I think it wouldn’t have been any different from when he lived. Maybe he would have even had more resources to do more. Sometimes, I wonder how, with limited resources, he made a huge impact on society. There was no social media at the time. Technology was also coming of age. It was a very experimental period for so many people, even Fela himself. So, to even think of what he would have been able to achieve now with his music is unimaginable. Unimaginable.
Could you highlight the Lagos Baby section?
This section highlights the hustle and bustle of Lagos. You have the market scenes, go-slow. If you look closely, you will observe that there are people entertaining themselves right under the bridge. This captures the essence of what inspired Fela- the sounds, the visuals, and very colourful Lagos that we still know today. It has changed from political administration, but we still have the very lively energy that Lagos always has. You can see somebody pushing a truck, selling food and water. It’s evident how we live in Lagos.
So why is that section titled Lagos Baby?
There’s a song titled Lagos Baby by Fela. You can see that we took some of the lyrics out of that song ‘Lagos baby, na so so money’.
People knew Fela with Afrobeat. But now they are talking about Afro soul, highlife, and highlife jazz. What would you say about that?
Before Fela got to Afrobeat, he was experimenting with other genres. Fela was a trained classical musician. He didn’t just wake up and form Afrobeat. He was taught the classics in school. He talked about it in one of his interviews in that room. You can listen to it when you have time. It was a Voice of America broadcast interview with Sean Kelly that was done in the 90s. He said he was trained at Trinity College in the UK, where he studied classics. He also played the piano
from as early as when he was nine years old. However, he had to go out to listen to jazz because Jazz wasn’t taught in the schools. So, he went to clubs where he listened to great jazz musicians like Davis, Charlie Parker, etc. He also experienced people like James Brown; those sounds were prominent.
The story of Fela’s life and times could be told without including his underwear. Don’t you think so?
Well, in addition to showing photos of Fela in his underwear, we included samples of his pants as well. The essence is to counter the myth that he performed on stage in his underwear. That was never true. He had very tailored outfits that he wore on stage. If you saw him in his underwear, he was either at home relaxing, or during rehearsal, or just entertaining people; he just liked being comfortable.
Could you explain briefly what you have in the library section?
Here we have some books written about Fela by some authors. Fela was an avid reader; he was always reading. The books on the left side are books by Kwame Nkrumah, Malcom X’s autobiography, Thomas Sankara, etc, which he read. Many of them must have inspired his activism. There are also books about him, as I said earlier.
What is the one thing you would want observers to take away from the exhibition?
This is a huge project, and everybody is coming into this project in a different way. There are people coming in with a nostalgic mindset; they’ve experienced it before and may be coming to experience Fela again. Some people may also come just to know if the project truly captures his spirit and legacy. There are people coming just to get a deeper knowledge about him for the first time; this is also a good entry for them. So, at any level, we truly believe that there’s something in this exhibition. So, whether you’re coming to learn, to be entertained, or for serious thoughts about the exhibits, it’s worth your time.
What happens to the exhibits after the 28th of December when the exhibition closes?
Many of them will go back to their owners. We had many people who loaned us materials. So, they’ll go back to their owners. They are not for sale. This is a non-selling exhibition. It is free to the public. The performance outfits will go back to the family because the family loaned them to us.
Since this is a travelling exhibition, where next?
You have to stay tuned and find out where the exhibition is going next.
Credit: Vanguard
