Friday Tour | Paul Nugent

Name: Friday Tour | Paul Nugent
Start: 2024-09-27T12:30:00+01:00
End: 2024-09-27T13:30:00+01:00
Location: South Bridge,Edinburgh,EH8 9YL,GB

Schedule

Fri Sep 27 2024 at 12:30 pm to 01:30 pm

UTC+01:00

Location

South Bridge,Edinburgh,EH8 9YL,GB | Edinburgh, SC

Paul Nugent is Professor of Comparative African History (History, Classics and Archaeology/ Centre of African Studies).
Paul Nugent is Professor of Comparative African History (History, Classics and Archaeology/ Centre of African Studies). With a focus on the history and politics of Ghana, Paul will lead a tour that considers international borderlands, the production and consumption of alcohol and contemporary political relationships to the idea of nationhood. El Anatsui’s work was made in a context of post-independence Ghana (independent from 1957) and Nigeria (from 1960), with works like Sovereignty seeming to contain a complex map of Ghana and the sub-region – which Paul will use to describe locations of historically significant developments. With Woman’s Cloth – one of the first works Anatsui made using discarded liquor bottles – we will then consider the role of alcohol in colonial and contemporary contexts, from the trading of products like Dutch Gin, to the black market and the role of alcohol in chieftaincy and traditional ceremonies. Lastly, with Scottish Book Mission Depot Keta , Paul will introduce a conversation about how different places and peoples conceive of national identity – with contemporary Ghana being a complex assembly of irreducible parts. Ideas relating to Kente Cloth will thread throughout the tour as an important counterpart to the artworks and African identity.