Africa, in the early 20th century, was a country that many hundreds of Europeans as well as Cypriots looked to for a new beginning and a better future.

Anastasios G. Leventis was born at the beginning of the 20th century in Lemythou, Cyprus. After completing his higher studies in France, he decided to set up a business in West Africa,  making him among the first wave of Cypriot immigrants to the African continent. His business ventures thrived and he found that he loved country, the peoples and its cultures; Ghana and Nigeria became like second homes to him.

This exhibition focuses both on the life of a gifted, creative man with vision and insight, but also on the bold artistic creation that developed within the context of Modernism in West Africa and in particular in the newly established states of Ghana and Nigeria, mainly from the 1960s until today. It does not, however, touch only upon this geographic area at the given time of transition from tradition to modernity. The ideas it addresses surpass the borders of West Africa; they are timeless, global and deeply humane. One could perhaps say that they are concepts of particular importance, especially for Cyprus: perceptions about the notion of identity, both personal and national; about the desire of nations to break the bonds of the past; about the quest of artists to create a new, visual language that is always of its time; about every man’s need for vision and creativity.

The A. G. Leventis Gallery collaborated with the A. G. Leventis Foundation, Nigeria, Gallery Tiwani, London and the Director of the Museum of Natural History A. G. Leventis, University Obafemi, Awolowo Adisa Ogunfolakan, Nigeria. The exhibition is enriched with artifacts, photos and other objects from Anastasios G. Leventis’ personal archive and the A. G. Leventis Foundation archives in London and Athens.  Traditional fabrics were borrowed from Anthony Griffiths, the former Curator of the Department of Prints and Drawings of the British Museum in London and the Curator of the Textiles Department of the British Museum Jude Rudoe. The works of Nigerian modern artists came from the Leventis and David family collections.

Creative Visions: Anastasios G. Leventis and West Africa traces A. G. Leventis’ path to success, a nation’s struggle for freedom and a group of artists’ transition to modernism. From Ghana to Nigeria, from colonialism to independence – a journey in the footsteps of Anastasios G. Leventis, through art, photography and much more.

A catalogue of the exhibition will be available, and special tours and educational programmes will be offered.

With the support of Coca-Cola and CDB Bank.

Media Sponsors MEGA and Kathimerini.