As more of the original players die out - Susanne Wenger a.k.a Adunni Olorisa (d. 12 January 2009), Ulli Beier (d. 3 April 2011) and Twins Seven-Seven (d. 16 June 2011) - the curtain closes gradually on the famed Osogbo Art School. But a curtain also rises, because their works live on. The Susanne Wenger Archives will open today in Krems, Austria. In attendance at the Susanne Wenger Foundation event will be Hugh and Robin Campbell of the Adunni Olorisha Trust. The Campbells are shown in the image below, photographed at the Demas Nwoko Celebration at the Grillo Pavilion in Ikorodu on April 23, 2011.
Wenger's adopted Yoruba children, Doyin Faniyi and Sangodare Ajala, respected traditionalists and artists in their own right (Sangodare won the 2010 National Art Competition), will speak at the opening of the Archives in Krems today. I expect a man by the name of John Adeleke will also be there.
I've linked Wenger's name above to an obituary I wrote on her on the night of her passing. It was published the following morning, on January 13, 2009, the first to appear in the press anywhere in the world.
May Adunni rest well among the Orisa. Ase.
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