To celebrate the 60th anniversary of Things Fall Apart, Smithsonian National Museum of African Art and publishers Penguin Random House are collaborating on an event themed: “The Ongoing Legacy of Chinua Achebe in Contemporary Art and the Current Moment.” The spectacle, organised to “celebrate the life, work, and ongoing legacy of Chinua Achebe,” will feature a conversation between esteemed Nigerian-American artist Victor Ekpuk and renowned historian Nwando Achebe, who is Chinua Achebe’s daughter.

Things Fall Apart was published in 1958 by Heinemann.

Victor Ekpuk.

Here is part of the announcement on Victor Ekpuk’s Website:

Like Achebe, Ekpuk draws from indigenous sources to tell visual stories. He will discuss nsibidi graphic system, Igbo Ikenga, and other aesthetic forms and concepts, which inspired his impressive cover art for the 60th anniversary edition of Achebe’s ground-breaking trilogy, Things Fall Apart, No Longer at Ease, and Arrow of God.

Achebe will discuss her father’s legacy in connection to African history and current moment in global affairs.

Nwando Achebe. Image from Premium Times.

Here are details of the event:

Date: Thursday, March 15, 2018

Time: 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM

Venue: Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, 950 Independence Avenue, Washington, DC 200013

The event is free and open to the public.