Demas Nwoko

ART- Soja Come Soja go, Beggar, Bathing women, The philosopher, Adam and Eve, Rickshaw man, Mama Teddar (Wall mural in Teddar hall University of Ibadan), Carved Pillars departure hall Muritala Mohammed Airport, etc Demas Nwoko (born 1935) is a Nigerian artist, protean designer, architect and master builder.

As an artist, he strives to incorporate modern techniques in architecture and stage design to enunciate African subject matter in most of his works.

[1] Nwoko, sees design as an ingenuous activity that carries with it a focus on social responsibility for positive influences in the environment and culture of the society.

He grew up in Idumuje Ugboko appreciating the newly constructed architectural edifices in the town and in the palace of the Obi, his father.

In 1962, he received a scholarship from the Congress of Cultural Freedom to study at the Centre Français du Théâtre in Paris where he learned scenic design.

In the 1950s, Nigeria's campaign for self-rule was dominated by two major ideas on how to achieve a truly independent and stable polity.

This allowed the work to express less ambiguity and more clarity of intentions and to showcase a modern African art form.

He used clay and laterite found around the site chosen and built a brick house and studio from the natural resources lying around.

[9] His inventiveness in using modern and new techniques for selected and protean African art works led to his name being spread around town and in the country.

Although, his initial design was a little bit crude with the utilisation of free-hand drawing, it was meant to accommodate local exigencies such as the sunny atmosphere in Ibadan.

Godwin and Hopwood manage to capture all of these facets of Nwoko's career while keeping the focus on his architecture.

[10] His body of stage design and direction, which started at Ibadan includes Wole Soyinka's A Dance of the Forests, Bertholt Brecht's Der Kaukasische Kreidekreis (The Caucasian Chalk Circle), and the Mbari Theatre production of John Pepper Clark's The Masquerade.