Alaafin of Oyo hosts Pencil Artist, Alesh Akeem

• Calls for documentation of cultural property

The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III, received Nigeria’s celebrity and leading Pencil Artist, Alesh Akeem, in his palace, who is currently on familial  tour to promote  his project, “Celebrating 10 Kings”.

The Celebrating 10 Kings Project, an initiative of Alesh Akeem and his management – The RedAce Company, is aimed at recognizing 10 traditional rulers in Africa with outstanding excellence, and by extension showcasing the Nigerian monarchical system to other parts of the world.

According to Alesh Akeem’s Management representative, Olubunmi Adeyera, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III is being recognized in the project for his continuous effort in maintaining peaceful co-existence between the people of Yoruba Nation and other cultural denominations in Nigeria.

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Alesh Akeem added that Kings are the Custodians of culture who have taken it upon themselves the duty to ensure that cultural heritage is being transferred from one generation to another; therefore, they deserve to be celebrated globally.

During the visit to the Palace, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III did not only bless the Pencil Artist and his works but also took him down the line of history, being a Professor of Ancient and Modern history.

The Alaafin noted that as Africa continues to re-write its history and stride into the Millennium, there is urgent need for leaders in the continent to begin a systematic documentation of what they have in the name of cultural property. These, he pointed out, should include objects made by forefathers, the monuments of the land and things created by us today that would become of historic importance tomorrow.

“Africa is opening up herself to the world in a way that she had never done in the past. We are no longer ‘the Dark Continent’ and Africans are no longer ‘the primitives’. The civilizations that once flourished in Africa have become the issue in the Art world today. Hence, the head-count of our cultural property should be properly and fully documented in this regard”, Oba Adeyemi declared.

Alesh Akeem also disclosed that a light of Celebrating the Monarch, a Life-Size Hyper-Realistic Pencil Masterpiece will be drawn and presented to the office of His Imperial Majesty, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III as a monument.