TWO volumes of books on the writings of the late eminent curator and art scholar (of Nigerian parental origin), Okwui Enwezor, have been released by the publishers, Duke University Press.
Edited by Terry Smith, the books are titled: “Okwui Enwezor: Selected Writings. Vol. 1 (Toward a New African Art Discourse, 444 pages/ 72 illus) & Vol. 2 (Curating ...colonial Condition, 528 pages/ 82 illus), Duke UP, 2025. $40 each volume.
Painter and art historian, Chika Okeke-Ogulu, one of Enwezor’s closest aides on his IG post, states: “This publication is a labor of love made possible by the commitment of dear friends: @salahsmh, @hooralq, Terry Smith, and @kwiss.”
He continued, “There is no greater way to honor our friend and brother than to bring together 900+ pages of nearly all his important writings originally scattered in exhibition catalogues, journals, magazines and book chapters.
“From, “Toward a New African Art Discourse,” his introductory article in the very first issue of Nka: Journal of Contemporary African Art (1994) to “Art and Mourning in America (2020), one of his last writings published posthumously in the catalogue of the exhibition “Grief and Grievance” at @newmuseum. I am forever grateful, guys.”
Okeke continues: “In our Advisory Editors’ preface, @salahsmh and I begin thus: “By the time our dear brother and colleague Okwui Enwezor died in March 2019 at 55, he was a peerless presence and voice in the world of contemporary art. During a career that lasted only 25 years, he led the way, more than any other curator and critic, in re-ordering not just the landscape of contemporary art but also how we talk and write about it. The clarity and tenacity of his vision were remarkable, compelling, urgent and necessary, and Terry Smith has made this utterly evident in this two-volume anthology of Okwui’s important writings.”
Further reading:
https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/aia-reviews/okwui-enwezor-cuator-duke-collected-writings-1234748432/