I am excited that I presented my first international conference paper on “The Cultural Production of African diaspora identities across Social Spaces” in person at the 19th ACASA (Arts Council of the African Studies Association) triennial symposium on African Art at DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois (August 7-11, 2024). In early 2023, I was accepted into two conferences in the United States. One for the ISA (Igbo Studies Association) Conference and the Annual Africa Conference at the University of Texas at Austin. Unfortunately, I could not get any funding to attend the conferences in person as a graduate student and staff member of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State. However, exactly a year later, I was privileged to present alongside these academic stars: Dr. Okechukwu Nwafor (Wesleyan University) and Samuel Mark Anderson (NYU Abu Dhabi) under Dr. Nwafor’s panel titled “Online Visual Imaginations of the Nation”. I engaged the audience in how cultural identity is a production, a continuous process borne out of the representation of the past and the present. We can call it ‘otherness’- the intersection between separation and unification. Intentionally, I often incorporate African essentialisms of cultural elements from my Igbo heritage in my way of life, which Brent Hayes Edwards (2001) refers to as ‘présence Africaine.’
I had never felt the need to prove my ‘Africanness’ till I came to the United States last year for my Postgraduate studies. This urge to always represent Africa in my attire or manner of speech, and how I wish to be addressed, is all borne out of the context of social spaces. In Africa, we do not refer to ourselves as Africans, nor do we feel the need to always wear “African” prints to feel represented. We are normal, regular individuals . This feeling of ‘otherness’ is constant among African diasporans like Nnenna Okore, whose work Strata (2011) was analyzed for this research. The case study of Nnenna Okore's art and its digital reception further underscores how individual artistic expressions can catalyze broader conversations about diaspora identity and cultural hybridity. Online spaces allow for the proliferation of these narratives, facilitating a decentralized and democratized artistic production process that resonates with Homi Bhabha's concept of the "third space," where new hybrid forms of identity emerge (Bhabha, 1994).
Dr. Peju and I at the ACASA conference, Chicago, 2024
I had always wondered if I could combine Art History and Practice. Prof. Nwanna Clifford convinced me of its possibility by citing Adepeju Layiwola (University of Iowa), an Art Historian, sculptor, and professor. When I had this conversation with Prof in 2022, Dr. Peju, as she is fondly called, was a lecturer at the University of Lagos! I started following her on LinkedIn after that conversation. “At least we had a lot in common,” I had thought. Finally, I had the chance to meet her in person at this Academic star-studded conference. She is everything she says she is and much more! Again, I was also fortunate to meet my academic advisor at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra state, Dr. Pencil, as we all fondly call him. An excellent mentor, he guided me through my conference presentation when I grew cold feet and later treated me to some sumptuous Indian cuisine… I was barely done with my master's program during the heat of the academic strike 2022 when Dr. Nwafor got a job offer at Wesleyan University and fled Nigeria with his entire family! After a full year, we met again! All thanks to God and Rice University for saving me from Nigeria’s incessant strikes and their underlying problems.
Dr. Nwafor and I at the ACASA Conference, Chicago. 2024
Another surprise loomed as I also met Dr Krista Thompson. When Dr. Thompson was featured in Rice Art History Katherine Tsanoff Brown's lecture on August 31st, 2023, I barely knew who she was. Dr. Thompson is an art historian, author, and a Mary Jane Crowe Professor of Art History at Northwest University. The Brown Lecture at Rice was a hybrid event, and she presented via Zoom. I eventually met her in person at this conference! It was an Aha! moment for me. Seeing these outstanding personalities was like seeing A-grade movie stars, and my God! They are all so humble. Flinging their titles aside, we all wined and dined together! A lot of serious networking went down, and I must thank my advisor, Dr. Young, for encouraging me to go, and the HRC Conference funds for helping me actualize my dream.
Dr. Krista Thompson and I at the ACASA Conference, Chicago. 2024
I had another surprise too. Sometime in 2019, I applied to Kent State University. I made it through to the interview stage and even secured admission, but I was waitlisted for the next semester for some reason. I met one of my interviewers at the same conference, and she recognized me! I was so stunned at her cognitive abilities!
When all the conference presentations were over, we toured the entire city of Chicago! As a big fan of Prison Break, I was excited to have walked where Michael Scofield and Dr. Sara Tancrezi walked. At first, I had thought that the Fox River Penitentiary was in Chicago, for I had planned to visit it; sadly, I was disappointed to find out that though it is in Illinois, it is outside Chicago. And I may never have found it because the actual name of the abandoned prison is Joliet State Penitentiary (1858-2022). It was very far from my location, and I had limited time to return to Houston. However, I saw the Trump Tower, visited the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Water Park, and I must confess, the architecture that graced the city of Chicago blew my mind! And I wanted to live in Chicago for the rest of my life …
About the author:
Osinachi Okafor was born in Aba, Abia State. She hails from Ebenator village, Azigbo town in Nnewi LGA of Anambra State, Nigeria. She is a current Ph.D student in Art History. She got her B.A in Fine and Applied Art at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria in 2017. Read more.
Further Reading:
Sometimes, You Gotta Nominate Yourself
My First Policy Hackathon: Lessons from MIT’s 7th Annual Event