Read < 1 minute
African artists who have made it big on the global stage are few and far between.
Among them is Chief Nike Davies Okundaye; a Nigerian professional textile artist and painter.
At 68 years of age, Chief Nike as she’s fondly referred to, is an icon in her own right.
With a career spanning 5 decades, the textile queen’s art pieces grace some of the most prestigious art galleries in the world and her fabrics are celebrated as contemporary jewels of traditional African art.
Today, Chief Nike is on another mission: To pass on generations of knowledge and skill to the future custodians of Nigerian cultural heritage. I sat down with Chief Nike at the Nike Art Gallery in Lagos to explore her unrivalled passion for art, her mastery in the business of textiles and the Chief’s quest for cultural preservation in Africa.
