A panel discussion held to launch Still Standing, a major new work from leading Nigerian artist Victor Ehikhamenor, at St Paul’s Cathedral 17th February 2022.
Still Standing is curated by Dan Hicks (Pitt Rivers Museum) with Simon Carter (Head of Collections, St Paul’s Cathedral) as part of the University of York AHRC-funded “50 Monuments in 50 Voices” project — which commissions thought-provoking, individual responses to fifty of the Cathedral’s monuments from leading artists, writers, musicians, theologians and academics.
The panel:
Dr Sarah Ladipo Manyika is a novelist whose works have been translated into seven languages. Her debut novel, 'In Dependence', is an international bestseller, while her second novel, 'Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun', was shortlisted for the UK’s Goldsmiths Prize and the California Book Awards. Sarah’s published works include intimate profiles on people she meets from Toni Morrison, Michelle Obama, to Margaret Busby, as well as essays, short stories, and reviews. Sarah has served as judge for literary prizes including the Goldsmiths Prize, California Book Awards, Aspen Words Literary Prize, and Chair of judges for the Pan-African Etisalat Prize. She was Founding Books Editor for Ozy.com and currently serves as the Board President for the women's writing residency, Hedgebrook. Sarah has served on the board of the Museum of the African Diaspora, where she is creator and host of Conversations Across the Diaspora hosted by Sarah Ladipo Manyika.
Dr Paula Gooder is Canon Chancellor which means that she oversees all the Learning and Theology that take place here at the Cathedral. She is a biblical scholar and widely published author. She is also responsible for the art within the Cathedral and is leads the Challenging History project which is reflecting on how we respond to the Cathedral’s many monuments in the 21st century.
Professor Dan Hicks is Professor of Contemporary Archaeology in the School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, and Curator of World Archaeology at the Pitt Rivers Museum. He is a writer and broadcaster. His most recent book 'The Brutish Museums' has brought issues of cultural restitution to a mainstream audience.
Victor Ehikhamenor is a visual artist, writer and photographer who lives and works between Lagos, Nigeria and Maryland, USA. He has been prolific in producing abstract, symbolic, and politically/historically motivated works. Victor has received numerous awards for both his writing and art, as well as fellowships from organisations such as the Rockefeller Foundation (USA, 2016), the Nirox Foundation (South Africa, 2016) and the Norman Mailer Centre (USA, 2014).
The event is chaired by Bryan Knight, a London-based journalist, oral historian and podcaster who has extensively written and produced shows on British history and current affairs.
Bryan has worked with BBC News, BBC Bitesize, Al Jazeera, Novara Media, Roar Magazine and Digital Spy.