IJE ART MOVEMENT; CONFRONTING THE QUESTION OF IDENTITY CRISES IN NIGERIA AMIDST SWEEPING SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND GLOBALIZATION FORCES

Abstract

The practice of art lends itself to not just the issues that concerns aesthetics, but also it is employed in social reconstruction and interrogation of identities, meanings and belief system of a people with the potency of initiating a shift in behavior. These are some of the things the Ije Art Movement group set out to do from its inception. How successful this mission will be is left to history. However, this article chronicles the formative years of the movement, its activities, and the philosophy behind it, its mission and place in the Nigerian contemporary art space. This paper sets out therefore to chronicle the activities of this group for the period that it was active, as well as the challenges that it faced and continue to face.