This lecture reflects on the remarkable life and artistic legacy of Ladi Dosei Kwali (1925–1984), Nigeria’s most celebrated potter, whose mastery of Indigenous Gbari hand-building techniques shaped a pioneering transnational ceramic practice. Drawing on oral histories, archival photographs, and field research in Kwali and Suleja, Dr Jareh Das explores how Kwali’s waterpots, once everyday vessels, became icons of artistic innovation and cultural heritage in Nigeria and beyond. The talk situates Kwali’s hybrid practice within the shifting landscapes of British colonial craft training, postcolonial modernism, and the studio pottery movement, while raising key questions about how her legacy is remembered in Nigeria today. This lecture reconsiders Kwali not only as a master craftswoman but also as an artist of agency, innovation, and enduring resonance, whose story remains incomplete.
Dr Jareh Das is an independent curator, scholar, and occasional florist who navigates between West Africa and the UK. Her research and curatorial practice span global modern and contemporary art, with a cross-disciplinary approach rooted in performance art. Between 2022-24 she was awarded an Early Career Fellowship from the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art which facilitated research into Kwali’s work and legacy.
