Oseloka Osadebe, member of ‘Zaria Rebels’ that shaped Nigerian art, dies at 89

Professor Oseloka Osadebe, who was a pioneer member of the famous Zaria Art Society, died on Wednesday, December 27, in Jackson Mississippi, United States of America, where he had been based since 1998.

A statement issued on behalf of the Osadebe family, by his nephew, Nn’emeka Maduegbuna, confirmed Osadebe’s death.

It will be recalled that in 2018,  Osadebe who had been a United States resident since 1965, returned  to Nigeria for the first time to present a retrospective exhibition of rare works he created from 1960 to 2014.

The exhibition, titled ‘Inner Light,’ which was held at the National Museum, Onikan, Lagos, received rave reviews.

Born in 1934, he was an outstanding artist, playwright, theatre director, and teacher. Osadebe grew up in Onitsha, Anambra State, and, from an early age, distinguished himself as a brilliant draughtsman, eventually earning acceptance into the prestigious Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology, Zaria.

It was at Zaria that he joined a group of dynamic students who were seeking to express a fresh perspective on classical art—a perspective which embraced their rich African traditions.

Those forward-thinking art students of which only Demas Nwoko, Okechukwu Odita, and Bruce Onobrakpeya, are still alive formed the Zaria Arts Society. They became known by the popular name “Zaria Rebels,” and the members would become the fathers of the contemporary art movement in Nigeria.

Osadebe graduated from the college at Zaria in 1962 with specialisation in painting and sculpture. He proceeded to teach art at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka from 1962 to 1965, during which period he featured prominently in the lively Nigerian art scenes of the decade. Thereafter, he left the country on an Aggrey Fellowship for African Students to pursue graduate studies in the United States.

He graduated with a Masters of Fine Arts degree from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1967, and he received a second master’s degree in 1973 from the Goodman School of Drama, Chicago, specialising in scene design, lighting, and directing.

He completed his doctoral work at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois in 1981, specialising in Western and African theatre and drama and spent years teaching theatre and set design at numerous universities, including Spelman College, Jackson State University, Northeastern Illinois University, Tougaloo College, and Central State University.

Osadebe retired in 2007 and spent the last 16 years of his life on his passion for visual art at his studio in Jackson, Mississippi.

Maduegbuna stated that information regarding his obsequies will be shared by the family in due course.