Dr. Nadine Siegert: Uncovering a New Dawn for Nigerian Art Scene

The new Director, Goethe-Institut Nigeria, Dr. Nadine Siegert, is a writer, researcher, curator and publisher who is committed to channelling her energy into a series of cultural and creative engagements in Nigeria as she reveals in an encounter with Yinka Olatunbosun

Dr. Nadine Siegert approached her seat with a warm smile covered with a mask. After it was mutually agreed upon to see each other’s face briefly, the masks went up again but her roll-up-your-sleeves-attitude could not be masked as she revealed her plans for her tenure as director of the German cultural institution. Siegert had applied for the role while she was the Head of Culture and Development at Goethe-Institut in South Africa. She has the added advantage of being familiar with some of Nigerian artists and their works; hence she was taking her career strides from one big cultural hub to another.

“I had asked my Regional Director in Johannesburg if I should apply and he said ‘yes.’ The reason is that I just joined the Goethe-Institut in 2019 and my first position was in Johannesburg. And usually, we are supposed to stay at least three years on a position and not change too often. And I was only there for one and half years when I saw the call for Lagos,’ she recounted.

She became successful and subsequently received her confirmation letter. The elated Siegert saw this as an opportunity to rekindle her previous working relationship with Nigerian artists.

“I won’t say it is a homecoming, that will be too much. Nigeria is a place that has meaning for me and matters to me,’’ she said.

For more than a decade, she had worked at a German University, the University of Bayreuth, which housed the famous Iwalewahaus, founded by Ulli Beier- one of the co-founders of the Mbari Club in Ibadan. A non-academic intellectual, Beier lived and worked in Nigeria for about 20 years in the 50s and 60s. Upon his return to Germany in 1981, he founded Iwalewahaus where Siegert worked before she joined the Goethe-Institut.

“Iwalewahaus has a big collection of paintings, sculptures, graphic works and I would say that more than 50% of these are from Nigeria. Artists like Uche Okeke, Muraina Oyelami, Bruce Onabrakpeya are part of the generation that were really important for the Nigerian art history. I was glad to work with the art collection of that institution for more than ten years,’’ she said.

But beyond working with the older generation of artists from Nigeria, she had actively engaged with younger generation of artists. She was in charge of a residency which hosted Uche Uzorka, Ndidi Dike and others.

“One of the former directors of Goethe-Institut here in Nigeria, Ronald Rupprecht, was working here in the early 80s and then he went to Iwalewahaus. It is the right moment to be here and I hope that I can stay long and do some work,’’ she revealed.

Incidentally, Siegert had visited Nigeria three times before this new appointment by Goethe-Institut. In 2014, she was in Nsukka to attend an academic conference in honour of Obiora Udechukwu and El Anatsui. The second visit was in Lagos, 2018 where she attended a workshop at CCA called ‘Women on Aeroplanes’ and her third visit to Nigeria was in 2019 where she visited Asele Institute in Anambra state which is the legacy of Uche Okeke, run by his family.

“I am in close contact with the daughters. So, I was visited the place to have a look at the archives,’’ she said.

In spite of being a new resident in Lagos, she is still discovering the pulsating city that she had heard and read so much about.

“I have some feelings already and that could change in two months, if you ask me. I find it quite lively. I don’t feel it is threatening or violent. I think Nigerians are straight-forward but still polite and appreciate you. I have some issues with the climate I have to say because I get to move around spaces that are very cold inside and very hot outside. I am not used to air conditioners and yes, I got a little cold at the weekend but I feel much better now,’’ she said.

On her hands lay the task of rebuilding the Goethe-Institut after the vandalism in October 2021. The institute was attacked and destroyed in the aftermath of the EndSARS protests but was offered a temporary accommodation first by the Alliance Francais; and then another at Victoria Island. Right now, there are efforts towards securing a permanent office for the institute in order to set in motion all the planned activities for the season.

“We are now ordering books and media for the library. We want the library to become a place where people could come and not just read German literature but also African literature. I am very interested in supporting my colleagues in the language department to make the German classes further accessible in particular now where we teach digitally.

Maybe next year, we would work even more with hybrid forms, depending on the needs and interest of our clients,’’ she said.

Due to the Covid-19 restriction and lack of space in the temporary office, the capacity for offering exams had reduced drastically. In the meantime, there are other programmes lined up this year in addition to the programmes already established by the previous directors.

“For instance, I inherited a wonderful residency programme with institutions in Berlin, SAVVY Contemporary and the ZK/U. This year, still three artists will come from Berlin to Lagos. This is a beautiful residency project. Also, one Nigerian artist, namely Jere Ikongio, would go to Berlin in September and spend two months there to work on a project,’’ she said.

Siegert is very keen on projects that deal with sustainability and equality, publishing. Hence, she would be working with writers and journalists on the art of writing and publishing. Inspired by the Pan-African online resource platform called the House of African Feminisms of which she is a part, she plans to curate a two-year project that would boost the book eco-system.

“One project that I am bringing is called “We Make Books”, a networking and capacity building project for independent publishing houses. I plan to first collaborate here with Kenya and South Africa. We would also like to work with established book festivals. We’d continue to have our Support and Connect- small grant project that artists can apply for in 2022 with their projects in music, performing and fine arts. We also look forward to connecting with British Council, Alliance Francais and others,’’ she revealed.

The current cultural restitution, museum discourse and digital archiving are of interest to Siegert and she hopes that through workshops and laboratories, positive outcomes can emerge.

“I would love to visit Jos and the film archive there. Archives and museum collections are another strong interest of mine, and how to support them through digitalization. I want to see how Goethe-Institut can support institutions with panel discussions and artist residencies on restitution- in view of the returning Benin bronzes. It is not only important to do archiving and digitization but at the same moment, we need to think of its accessibility because archivists can also be gatekeepers. They are the ones who do not allow people in. But what then is the worth of an archive if it is not accessible? We should look at the possibilities of making archives accessible so that all these treasures and legacies become seen and known,’’ she argued.

2022 marks the 60th anniversary of Goethe-Institut Nigeria and it was on this mouth-watering anticipation of celebration with the community of creatives and cultural practitioners that the hour-long conversation with Siegert was a wrap.