Professor Peju Layiwola of the Department of Creative Arts has emerged the 21st President of the Arts Council of the African Studies Association (ACASA) 2021. She was elected at the close of the virtual triennial of the Council, which held from June 16 to 20, 2021.
She assumes the position as the first African scholar to so do since the first gathering of the Association in 1968 and its official founding in 1980.
The Arts Council of the African Studies Association is an international scholarly body which promotes greater understanding of African material and expressive culture in all its many forms, and encourages contact and collaboration with African and Diaspora artists and scholars.
In a similar vein, the Professor of Art and Art History has been honoured with the 2021 Lagos Studies Association (LSA) Distinguished Scholar Award. The award was formally presented to her at the closing ceremony of the LSA virtual conference on Saturday, June 26, 2021. Previous recipients of the award include Kristin Mann, Ayodeji Olukoju and Jonathan Haynes.
The Lagos Studies Association is an international, interdisciplinary organisation of academic and non-academic practitioners whose interest focus on Lagos and its peoples.
Professor Peju Layiwola’s research interests positions the ‘ordinary’ within complicated historical and socio-cultural contexts, uncovering the inherent richness and density of everyday traditions. They highlight how the threads of daily customs feed into an overall tapestry of empathetically considering one’s history and identity.
On behalf of the University community, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, FAS, congratulates Professor Peju Layiwola on her achievements.
