Nkanda masquerade commission by Nigerian artist added

BY JORDAN FENTON WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM JACK GREEN

The past year provided an opportunity for a distinctive new commission for the Richard and Carole Cocks Art Museum (RCCAM): a Nkanda masquerade made from ukara cloth by local artist, Chief Ekpenyong Bassey Nsa. Chief Bassey Nsa, from Calabar, Nigeria, is a third-generation multimedia artist hailing from the Efik culture. The Ekpe secret society is a longstanding institution based in ancestor veneration that once served as the government for many cultures in southeast Nigeria and West Cameroon. Ukara cloth serves as a primary symbol of Ekpe and only members may wear the cloth during ceremony and occasion. The motifs on ukara cloth result from a process whereby motifs are stitched with raffia threads, which serve as the resist when the cotton cloth is dyed in indigo pits. The raffia cord is then cut out to reveal the white motifs known as nsibidi, the esoteric body of knowledge of the Ekpe secret society that members learn as they progress and advance into the Ekpe society.

The sacred Nkanda performance signals transition and provides stability during an uncertain time following the death of a leader, such as a local king or Ekpe lodge head. Nkanda, in bearing nsibidi signs on its body, summarizes how art and knowledge are united. The meaning helps us understand why this masquerade is one of the Ekpe’s most sacred and anticipated masquerades in Ekpe society.

This acquisition enhances RCCAM’s African Art collection in significant ways. The museum now has three contemporary masquerades from Nigeria thanks to a unique relationship based on trust and reciprocity established between Dr. Jordan Fenton, Associate Professor of Art and Architecture History at Miami University, and Chief Bassey Nsa of the Ekpe Society, Nigeria. This has led to the ethical commission of several masquerades from Chief Bassey Nsa for Western museum collections, including RCCAM.

The Nkanda masquerade is featured in RCCAM’s Heritage exhibition this fall (see pgs. 12-13) and Jordan Fenton will present more about the Nkanda masquerade as part of the October Heritage symposium. This artist commission would not have been possible without the support of the Orpha Webster Art Fund, the Office of the Provost, and the College of Creative Arts at Miami University, in addition to Art Museum supporters Ralph and Barbara Drake Bresler, and Willam Brenner.

To find out more about the Nkanda masquerade, read the article online on the Moments @ the Art Museum blog.

Photos courtesy of J. Fenton.

Chief Ekpenyong Bassey Nsa and Dr. Jordan Fenton posing together with a piece of the unfinished Nkanda masquerade, Calabar, Nigeria, 2022

Chief Ekpenyong Bassey Nsa (Nigerian, b. 1973)

Idem Nkanda Ensemble of the Ekpe Society, 2022 Mixed media textiles with raffia, 84 x 28 x 24 inches. Museum commission through the Orpha Webster Art Fund with support of the Provost’s Office and the College of Creative Arts at Miami University, Ralph and Barbara Drake Bresler, and Willam Brenner. 2022.16

Idem Nkanda performed, By Chief Ekpenyong Bassey Nsa, Calabar, Nigeria, 2022