The Afrobeat Rebellion exhibition, organized by the French Embassy and the Kuti family, builds on one held in Paris in 2022 and coincides with the launch of the week-long “Felabration” festival that honours the musician every October.
The Paris exhibition was outstanding, but to have it here at home feels so special, said Papa Omotayo, a Nigerian architect who helped to organise the Lagos event.
Designed as an “immersive multi-sensory journey” through Fela’s life, music, and political ideas, the exhibition recreates the scenes he inhabited, from his “Kalakuta” commune to his Afrika Shrine venue, layering archived objects, photographs, multimedia installations, and, of course, a soundtrack.
Fela left an indelible musical mark, continued today by his musician sons Femi and Seun and his grandson Made, but he also earned a name as a prominent political figure known for his Pan-Africanist and socialist activism.
