Premiering at Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art on 6 November 2024 is a screening of Dr Jareh Das’s directorial debut, The Enduring Legacy of Ladi Kwali (2024). The screening of this documentary film will be followed by a panel discussion with an intergeneration of artists, scholars and ceramicists including Dr Jareh Das, Bisila Noha, Isis Dove Edwin and Professor Ozioma Onuzulike who delve into the intriguing clay histories by Black women ceramicists that have been forgotten or overlooked.

The film provides an insight into Kwali's life through newly recorded interviews with her family and community members in Northern Nigeria.

To support this research, Das consulted archives on Kwali's legacy at the Craft Study Centre, York Museum Trust, National Archives of Nigeria in Kaduna, and the Kwali family archives in Suleja, Nigeria.

Credits:

Director: Dr Jareh Das

Cinematographer: Adewole Dada

Editor: Elana Joseph

Still Photography: Andrew Esiebo

Research Team: Japhet Sha'agi Kineze, Founder and Chief Executive Director, Dr. Ladi Kwali Foundation) and Mr. Bulus Sheshi, Volunteer, Dr. Ladi Kwali Foundation

Potters: Mallama. Wusa Muhammed G. Kwali (1969-2024), Head of Pottery and Ceramics at Dr. Ladi Kwali Foundation; Kaka Ramatu Suleiman Kwali; Kaka Alheri Luka and Aishatu Yusuf Piri

With thanks to the family of Ladi Dosei Kwali in Kwali (F.C.T) and Suleja, Minna State, Nigeria, stakeholders Kwali Area Council and Kwali traditional council members

This documentary film received its main funding from Paul Mellon Center for the Studies in British Art with additional support from Decorative Art Society and Art Council England Developing Your Creative Practice.

Image (c) Andrew Esiebo