Nike Davies-Okundaye is a Nigerian artist, who from her first solo exhibition at the Goethe Institute, Lagos in 1968 grew to become one of the major imprints on the international art circuits. As a textile designer, Nike brought a vivid imagination as well as a wealth of history and tradition in regulating the production of adire, the traditional Yoruba hand painted cloth. Born in Ogidi-Ijumu in 1951, Nike’s inclination towards the arts was nurtured by her parents and great grandmother, who were musicians and craftspeople. Also, she studied at a local art school in the town of Osogbo, a fledging centre for art and culture in Nigeria where she spent the early part of her life. For many years she created both adire and batik works that glorify the social practices and the cosmic drama of Yoruba tradition. With this, she achieved international acclaim.
In 2007, Nike was invited by Harvard and Cambridge universities to conduct workshops and lectures on batik and technique of adire textile processing and African dyeing techniques. These were followed with invitations from the University of South Florida, Tampa, and University of Alberta, Edmonton Canada. Nike’s art centre offer free training to a hundred or more young artists in visual, musical and performing arts.
