Olukemi Lijadu

The moving image and sound are tools of time travel. In the CIRCA 2025 Manifesto, Bayo Akomolafe evokes Yoruba complementary dualism, rooted in Ifá metaphysics. My aunts, the Lijadu Sisters, embodied this duality as revolutionary artists and Ifá priestesses. Fearless in their prime, they were the first woman-led West African band to reach global acclaim, yet later created refugia in Harlem. Growing up, I sought them and found sanctuary in their bond. Sister, Sister captures their bravery, home, and care. My practice, rooted across the Black Atlantic, twists memory into sonic cinema, inviting others to feel the world.

HOW DOES YOUR SUBMITTED WORK RESPOND TO THE CIRCA 20:25 MANIFESTO?
My aunts, Taiwo and Kehinde Lijadu, embodied the Yoruba principle of complementary dualism, rooted in Ifá metaphysics, as revolutionary artists and as Ifá priestesses. Fearless in their prime, they became the first woman-led band from West Africa to reach global acclaim, later creating refugia in Harlem, a sacred space alive with twin totems, relics, and ritual memory. Growing up in Lagos, I carried their echoes in my name, Olukemi Lijadu, and went searching for them. Sister, Sister captures their bond, bravery, and home, through layered sound and ritual, becoming a quiet act of witness that echoes CIRCA’s vision of refugia.

IF AWARDED THE £30,000 CIRCA PRIZE, WHAT 10-MINUTE WORK WOULD YOU CREATE – AND HOW WOULD IT EMBODY THE SPIRIT OF REFUGIA?
The prize would allow me to travel to New York, hire crew and materials, and complete a poetic documentary/portrait expanding on SISTER SISTER. The film will continue to follow the Lijadu Sisters, centering Yeye Taiwo Lijadu, one half of the legendary duo, after Kehinde’s passing in 2019. It traces Taiwo as she finds her voice and place on stage again. Blending unreleased footage, interviews, and intimate family footage, it is a meditation on sisterhood, grief, legacy, and the power of music as spirit. The film will be a historically significant testament to music, African, and women’s history, seen through the eyes of their kin – an audiovisual refugium of courage, resilience, and enduring love.

FOLLOW OLUKEMI LIJADU ON INSTAGRAM

Funding for the CIRCA PRIZE is generated entirely by the #CIRCAECONOMY, a circular model that reinvests proceeds from affordable art sold on CIRCA.ART into new public art commissions, charitable causes, art education and prizes. Since launching in 2020, the initiative has raised over £1 Million, placing artists and communities at the centre of an economy that continually reinvests in the future of art and culture.

The CIRCA PRIZE 2025 winners will be revealed LIVE in Piccadilly Circus on Monday 13 October, with a special 30-minute award ceremony starting at 20:00 BST. Don’t miss it!