UI to open International Centre for Yoruba Arts and Culture

University of Ibadan (UI) is set to open an International Centre for Yoruba Arts and Culture in April 2020 by eminent Yoruba leaders. The Publisher of Alaroye Newspapers, Alao Adedayo, said: “Being the largest user of Yoruba language (in print) in the world today, and because of our daily interactions with the language, arts, culture […]

University of Ibadan (UI) is set to open an International Centre for Yoruba Arts and Culture in April 2020 by eminent Yoruba leaders.

The Publisher of Alaroye Newspapers, Alao Adedayo, said: “Being the largest user of Yoruba language (in print) in the world today, and because of our daily interactions with the language, arts, culture and history of the people, through our newspaper, we can confirm that there is no one institution in the entire world where researchers, or anyone at all, can stay to conduct and complete works on the history, arts and culture of the Yoruba people.

“And we strongly believe there should be a centre to serve as a one-stop shop, offering old, new, recreated and reconstructed materials for researchers, lecturers, students, authors, journalists and members of the public interested in Yoruba history, arts and culture.

“It is for this reason we registered the International Centre for Yoruba Arts and Culture (INCEYAC) in 2014 and began to equip it with acquired materials. So, for these five years, that has been the main activity.

“Now, we think the Centre is ripe, at least on skeletal services, for use by the public, and to also organise some of its public programmes.”

The Centre will have books, documents, artefacts, records, and artworks. It is being put together by the Alaroye Newspapers Group as a research centre for researchers, journalists, writers and members of the general public interested in Yoruba history, arts and culture.

In addition, the Centre will locate lost or forgotten Yoruba historical materials, music and arts, and make same available for general use. It will also digitise and reconstruct historical facts through documentaries and films on all subjects relating to the Yoruba people, thereby making research easy and needed materials ready.