Ndidi Dike’s biography, fact, career, awards, net worth and life story

Intro Nigerian artist
Is

Artist

From Nigeria
Type Arts
Gender female

Ndidi Dike is a visual artist working in sculpture and mixed-media painting. She is one of Nigeria’s leading female artists.

Biography

Ndidi Dike first became interested in art as a very young child taking art classes in primary school. She completed secondary school in England, further exploring her creativity in interdisciplinary art classes. “I loved the sense of freedom of interpretation, of exploring different media and I always felt a sense of peace during creative processes. I existed in a world of my own.”

Ndidi Dike graduated from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, with a Diploma in Music Education (voice), followed by a B.A Fine and Applied Arts in 1984 (major Mixed Media Painting). After her mandatory year in the National Youth Service Dike make the choice of becoming a professional studio artist in her home of Owerri. The artwork she created while in service was the majority of work that she put in her first solo exhibition, titled Mixed Media Expose, 1986. Dike is a member of the Guild of Fine Arts, Nigeria (GFAN), and the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA).

Exhibitions

Dike has had 10 solo exhibitions between 1986 and 2002 and 57 group exhibitions between 1986 and 2005. She has participated in exhibitions in Nigeria, Africa and internationally, including Women to Women, Weaving Cultures, Shaping History (2000), University Art Gallery, Indiana State University; Totems and Signpost, Goethe Institute, Lagos (solo), 2002 and Seven Stories about Modern Art in Africa (1995), Whitechapel Gallery, London. Her work is to be found in public and private collections in Nigeria and abroad.

Ndidi Dike’s most recent solo show “Waka-into-Bondage: The Last ¾ Mile” for CCA (Lagos 2008) was curated by Bisi Silva. this exhibition was commemorating the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slave trading, that was ignored within the cultural calendar of Nigeria. Through her works in “Waka-into-Bondage”, Ndidi Dike is determined to keep alive the memory of the epochal matter that led to the capture, enslavement, killing or death of some 21 million Africans.

In an insightful conversation with curator Bisi Silva about this exhibition, Ndidi Dike said: “I visited Badagry in 2002 to see the slave route through which large numbers of our people were sent to the Americas to work daily, for long hours on plantations under subhuman conditions. During that visit, I knew I was standing face to face with history. Yet, much as I wanted to go back sooner, it only happened in 2007 at which point I knew I wanted to capture in a dramatic visual form this cataclysmic episode in human history. No-one can visit Badagry without being moved by this ignoble part of our history or by the consequences of man’s inhumanity.” Dike’s experimentation with form led to the sculptural offering “Dwellings, Doors and Windows” in which she appropriated harbor pallets; she then broke them down to reconfigure the materials in a manner that evoked the Middle Passage. Blood is a striking motif of the sculpture, and Dike explains: “The blood represents what was shed before, during and after the Trans-Atlantic trade, but also what continues to be shed today.” –

Although slavery is no longer legal anywhere in the world, human trafficking remains an international problem and an estimated 29.8 million persons are living in illegal slavery today. In modern times, the trading of children has been reported in modern Nigeria.

Ndidi Dike announced in an interview after her last exhibition that she would like to further explore this issue in her future works: “As I stated earlier, slave trading may have been abolished by the British parliament 200 years ago, but it is still in practice in certain countries. There are so many countries where the condition of the Black people leaves much to be desired. These new forms of slavery are not yet captured in the current works. I hope to reflect them soon in another set of works.”

You May Also Like

Stephen Baldwin’s net worth, biography, fact, career, awards and life story

Stephen Baldwin Net Worth: Stephen Baldwin is an American actor, director, producer, and author who has a net worth of $1 million. The youngest of the Baldwin brothers, Stephen is known for his various film and television roles, as well as for his outspoken support of Christianity and conservative politics. His most notable projects include “The Young Riders” (1989–1992), “8 Seconds” (1994), “The Usual Suspects” (1995), and “Bio-Dome” (1996), and he has appeared in several reality TV series, such as “Celebrity Apprentice” (2009), “I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!” (2009), and “Celebrity Big Brother” (2010). Baldwin has also published two books: the autobiography “The Unusual Suspect: My Calling to the New Hardcore Movement of Faith” (2006) and the religious crime novel “The Death and Life of Gabriel Phillips” (2008). Early Life: Stephen Baldwin was born Stephen Andrew Baldwin on May 12, 1966, in Massapequa, New York. He grew up in a Catholic household with mother Carol, father Alexander (a teacher and football coach), brothers Alec, William, and Daniel, and sisters Jane and Elizabeth. As a high school student, Stephen joined the varsity wrestling team, and after graduation, he enrolled at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Career: Baldwin made his acting debut in a 1987 episode of the PBS anthology series “American Playhouse,” and the following year, he guest-starred on “Family Ties” and appeared in the films “Homeboy” and “The Beast.” In1989, he began starring in the western TV series “The Young Riders,” appearing in 67 episodes over three seasons. That year, Stephen also appeared in the films “Last Exit to Brooklyn” and “Born on the Fourth of July” and guest-starred on “China Beach.” In the 1990s, he starred in 20 films, including “Crossing the Bridge” (1992), “A Simple Twist of Fate” (1994), “Half Baked” (1998), and “Friends & Lovers” (1999). In 1995, Baldwin co-starred with Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Kevin Pollak, Benicio del Toro, and Chazz Palminteri in the Oscar-winning film “The Usual Suspects,” and in 2000, he starred as Barney Rubble in “The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas.” He hosted eight episodes of the Syfy channel hidden camera show “Syfy” in 2004, and he also directed and co-produced the documentary short “Livin’ It” that year. In 2007, Stephen appeared as himself in the Vince Vaughn-Paul Paul Giamatti holiday film “Fred Claus” and was cast on “Ty Murray’s Celebrity Bull Riding Challenge,” but he dropped out in the second episode after he fell from a wooden pontoon and ended up with a broken shoulder blade and cracked rib. In 2008, he came in fifth place on “Celebrity Apprentice,” and competed on “All-Star Celebrity Apprentice” in 2013. Baldwin produced and directed the documentary “The Will to Drill” in 2012, and in recent years, he has appeared in numerous religious films, such as “I’m in Love with a Church Girl” (2013), “Faith of Our Fathers” (2015), and “The Apostle Peter: Redemption” (2016). In 2019, he portrayed real-life missionary Graham Staines in “The Least of These: The Graham Staines Story,” and he has starred in several made-for-television movies, including “Cutaway” (2000), “Jesse Stone: Night Passage” (2006), and “Harpies” (2007). Financial issues: In 2009, Stephen’s home in Rockland County, New York (which he purchased for $515,000 in 1997) was auctioned in foreclosure after he defaulted on more than $800,000 worth of mortgage payments. It was also revealed at the time that he owed tens of thousands in state and federal taxes on the property. Baldwin filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 2009. His court filing claimed that the actor had several million dollars’ worth of debt. In 2013, Stephen was ordered to pay $300,000 worth of back taxes and penalties after pleading guilty to failing to file New York state income taxes for three consecutive years (2008, 2009, and 2010). Activism: Baldwin became a born-again Christian after the 2001 September 11th attacks, and in 2006, he founded Breakthrough Ministry with Bobby Brewer and Mario D’Ortenzio. The organization staged arena tours (AsSalt Tours) to reach people through extreme sports. Two years later, Stephen launched Antioch Ministry, a for-profit organization meant to “facilitate the gifts and calling of Stephen Baldwin” and reach young people “with a culturally relevant presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” He formed another ministry, Now More Than Ever, in 2009, which was dedicated to reaching people that were enlisted in the military all over the world. Personal Life: Stephen married Kennya Deodato, a Brazilian graphic designer, on June 10, 1990, and they welcomed daughters Alaia and Hailey Bieber in 1993 and 1996, respectively. Baldwin is the father-in-law of musician Justin Bieber, who married Hailey in 2018. Stephen got an “HM” tattoo on his shoulder after Miley Cyrus dared him to, saying that he could appear on “Hannah Montana” (which his daughters were fans of) if he went through with it. Though he showed Cyrus the tattoo at a 2008 book signing, he never appeared on the show. In 2010, Baldwin sued Kevin Costner for $3.8 million over oil-separating technology that was developed by Kevin’s Costner in Nevada Corporation (CINC). According to Stephen, he and Costner had made an agreement that Baldwin and friend Spyridon Contogouris would be allowed to market the technology to BP after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, but Kevin met with BP without them. Stephen alleged that Costner used the $18 million down payment that BP agreed to in that meeting to buy Baldwin and Contogouris out, resulting in the two men having to give up $2 million of their shares in the enterprise just before BP paid $52 million for the CINC technology. A jury voted in Costner’s favor in June 2012. Awards and Nominations: In 1995, Baldwin shared an Awards Circuit Community Award and a National Board of Review award with his “The Usual Suspects” castmates. He also received a Stinker Award for Worst On-Screen Hairstyle for “Biodome” in 1996. Stephen was nominated for a DVD Exclusive Award for Best Actor for “Slap Shot 2: Breaking the Ice” in 2003, and “The Flyboys” earned him a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 2008 Hoboken International Film Festival.
Read More