He visited Poland for his exhibition, when the pandemic started. For Nigerian artist Bob-Nosa Uwagboe, temporary home is now Gdańsk. He tells his story to the head of the BSCC, Larry Ugwu.

He appeared in Gdańsk on 13th May, invited by Małgorzata Paszylka-Glaza, the curator of the National Museum in Gdańsk. It was his first stay in Europe. The artist was planning on a monthly residency during which he would welcome his guests on his exhibition called “Transit”. The initial plan did not succeed. The exhibition could not be opened due to the coronavirus pandemic. The artist himself got stuck in Poland as his flight back to Nigeria were postponed. He is continuously living at his curator’s apartment.

Despite the unsafe situation and worrying information on new cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria, the painter keeps on being productive. He dedicated the works he is creating on his prolonged artistic residency to the victims of the pandemic.

Uwagboe’s painitngs are personal, often painfully satirical, commentaries on the social situation in Nigeria. The artist observes governmental instability, human rights descending and the migrant crisis. He creates his emotional works in his Protest Art Studio in Lagos.

We used this opportunity of having Bob-Nosa Uwagboe in Gdańsk and invited him to our headquarters, the Old Town Hall. He told our Head, Larry Ugwu, also a Nigerian, what if feels like to be a Nigerian artist, how he spends his days in lockdown and what benefits he tries to take from the situation he met.

The video will premiere on 14th June at 7:00 p.m.

Don’t forget to follow our next episodes:

• 21th June – Rita Stashiulonak (Belarus)
• 28th June – Olena Ulianova (Ukraine)
• The first episode with Hanna Tiekucheva (Ukraine) is available to watch!