Twins Seven Seven, the Nigerian-born artist who now lives in Philadelphia, has been named the 2005 UNESCO Artist of Peace.
Seven Seven, who has been showing work at Indigo Arts Gallery for a more than a decade and also had some work in the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s “African Art, African Voices” show, will receive the award from UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura at a ceremony in Paris on May 25. The ceremony will be attended by His Excellency Olusegun Obasanjo, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Chairperson of the African Union. Nobel Peace Prize-winner Wangari Maathai (2004) will also be receiving a UNESCO award at the ceremony.
Seven Seven is being honored partly for his promotion of dialogue between cultures as well as for his career as a painter, teacher and musician. Seven Seven was one of the original artists of the famed Oshogbo School (named for the city of that name), which arose in the newly independent Nigeria of the early 1960s. His work is now in museums and private collections around the world, including the Smithsonian Institution.
Seven Seven has lived and worked in the Philadelphia area for much of the last decade. You can see more of his work and some info about him here on the Indigo gallery site.
