For the first time in its history, the @smithsonian National Museum of African Art @nmafa will travel an exhibition to the continent of Africa! “Chief S.O. Alonge: Photographer to the Royal Court of Benin, Nigeria” opens at the National Museum, Benin City, Nigeria, Friday, Sept. 29, and will remain on permanent display. The retrospective exhibition showcases the work of noted Nigerian photographer Chief S.O. Alonge, the first official photographer of the Royal Court of Benin, in conjunction with royal arts from the Benin kingdom. The National Museum of African Art exhibited Alonge's work beginning in September 2014, displaying some of his rarely seen photographs. The exhibition, which coincided with the Nigerian celebration of 100 years as a united country, was curated by professor and photographer Flora S. Kaplan, who corresponded with Alonge and visited Benin in 1982.[2] Among the first visitors to the exhibit were members of Benin's royal court and Alonge's family. Attendees included his colleagues and friends, his children, and Prince Ademola Iyi-Eweka, grandson of the oba who served from 1914 to 1933. Also present were many subjects of Alonge's photographs, now in their late 70s and 80s. #edo #edostate #SOAlonge #nigeria #photography #art #history #culture #power #artifacts #purpose #nigeria #benincity #yoruba #dna (at Benin-City, Edo, Nigeria)