Learn about persistence from Peju Alatise

Her persistence. That’s possibly the only thing more inspiring about Nigerian artist, Peju Alatise (PICTURED |  ARTSCOOPS.COM), than her amazing talent and the ability to express it in so many different ways.  She is an architect, a novelist, a painter, and a sculptor.

I recently learned about Peju whilst looking for an artist to feature on my Facebook cover picture.

The story is told (By Ayodeji Rotinwa) how at the Venice Biennale in 2017, Alatise arrived at the stand where the Nigerian works of art were being set up and realized that her room-sized installation, ‘Flying Girls’ (pictured below) would not be raised to the height she had specified.

Without the budget to get it sorted and 12 days to go before the big launch, Alatise decided to fix it herself with the help of an assistant. Rotinwa reported that she “worked nine-hour days nonstop for 10 days: on the floor, nailing, painting, unwrapping; on a ladder, stitching, tying fiberglass birds to a false roof.”

Her installation was ready two days before the opening. All the hard work was worth it. ‘Flying Girls’ is internationally acclaimed and even went on to inspire a musical composition, ‘Suite for Flying Girls,’ by composer and trumpeter Sean Jones.

MORE PEJU:

• On Facebook
• On her official website

THE FULL BIENNALE STORY HERE:
Where there’s an ironclad will, there’s a way for Alatise

FLYING GIRLS – PEJU ALATISE | PHOTO BY JOEY KENNEDY | THE AUGUST WILSON CENTER