A Day in the Life: Uche Okeke’s Artistic Routines and Inspirations

Published 12 June 2025 in The Work

Uche Okeke Legacy Editorial

Few artists have shaped African modernism as profoundly as Uche Okeke. An innovator of the Natural Synthesis philosophy, Okeke was more than a visual artist—he was an intellectual, cultural preservationist, and mentor. To truly grasp the depth of his influence, one must look beyond his canvases and into the patterns of his daily life.

Morning: Reflection and Sketching

Uche Okeke’s day began before dawn, in hours he described as sacred and clarifying. This quiet time was devoted to reflection - often with a cup of tea or a kola nut, a culturally symbolic gesture rooted in Igbo tradition. For Okeke, morning was not just about routine but communion - with self, heritage, and the ancestral voices that informed his art.

He would sit by the window, sketchbook in hand, letting the first light guide his pen. These sketchbooks - filled with elegant Uli motifs - were far more than studies; they were philosophical documents. Uli, traditionally painted by Igbo women on bodies and walls, was reimagined by Okeke as a modern visual language, central to his theory of Natural Synthesis: the merging of indigenous aesthetics with contemporary expression.

Uche Okeke, Book of Drawings, 1961, Mbari Publications

His early drawings were meditative and deeply cultural - gestures of preservation and transformation. As he once wrote, “To draw in silence is to listen to the echo of our ancestors.” These moments laid the groundwork for some of his most iconic works and teaching methods, connecting visual practice with cultural memory.

For Okeke, morning was not only the beginning of the day - it was a daily return to origin, a practice of grounding his art in the rhythms, symbols, and stories of Igbo tradition.

Mid-Morning: Teaching and Collaboration

By mid-morning, Uche Okeke moved from solitary reflection to the shared space of the classroom at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. There, he taught not just art techniques but a philosophy of cultural reclamation. He urged students to cast off colonial frameworks and explore their own histories through creative expression.

His teaching style was open and dialogic. His office, filled with books, Uli sketches, and artifacts, became a place of exchange. According to Olu Oguibe, it was in these spaces that the foundations of the Nsukka School were laid - not through lectures alone, but through spirited conversation and critical inquiry.

Okeke mentored a generation of artists including Obiora Udechukwu and Chike Aniakor, shaping a postcolonial aesthetic grounded in African realities. His mantra, “art must speak the language of its people,” was not just instruction - it was a challenge to reimagine what African modernism could be.

For Okeke, teaching was a collaborative act of cultural awakening, where knowledge flowed in many directions, and identity became the medium of art.

Afternoon: Studio Work and Experimentation

In the afternoon, Okeke returned to his studio - a space of intense focus and quiet experimentation. Here, he worked across media: ink, gouache, linocut, and paint, channelling the energy of the day into form. Each mark was rooted in the questions he posed in the classroom: How do we make art from who we are?

He often turned to local materials - natural dyes, textiles, and pigments drawn from the land. This was more than aesthetic; it was ideological. According to Chika Okeke-Agulu, his material choices reflected his belief that African art must arise from African realities.

His studio was a site of transformation. As Olu Oguibe noted, these sessions weren’t just about technique, but about philosophy - where indigenous forms met modernist strategies. The resulting works, spare yet symbolic, became touchstones of the Natural Synthesis movement.

Afternoons were a ritual of making and re-making, where the personal, the political, and the ancestral converged in each composition.

Did You Know?

Uche Okeke once spent several months living in a rural Igbo community to fully immerse himself in indigenous traditions. He participated in local rituals, studied ancient symbols, and documented oral histories, all of which later influenced his artwork.

Evening: Conversations and Cultural Gatherings

As dusk fell, Okeke would often open the doors of the Asele Institute in Nimo - his cultural archive and salon. These evenings were informal yet generative, bringing together artists, writers, and thinkers to discuss art, politics, and postcolonial identity.

Figures like Chinua Achebe, Bruce Onobrakpeya, and Demas Nwoko were regular guests. They debated ideas over palm wine, traditional music, and the display of rare manuscripts from Okeke’s collection. According to the Asele Archives, these gatherings helped shape the intellectual and aesthetic contours of modern Nigerian art.

For Okeke, the Asele Institute was more than a home for memory - it was a living space for future-making. It embodied his belief that cultural knowledge must circulate, evolve, and inspire. Evenings were not a pause but a pulse - a vibrant culmination of the day’s reflections, enriched by collective vision and shared artistic purpose.

The Triumph of Asele: Uche Okeke at 70, Uche Okeke, Published by Pendulum Art Gallery, 2003, Asele Institute archival material

Late Night: Writing and Reflection

Long after the last conversation had ended, Okeke would return to his writing desk. In the stillness of night, he recorded thoughts, refined theories, and shaped the ideas that would guide his art and teaching. These writings, now housed in the Asele Institute, reveal a mind continually at work.

He wrote of memory, prophecy, and responsibility. “Art is memory, history, and prophecy,” he once penned - words that echo through his sketches, syllabi, and public lectures. For him, writing was a studio of its own - a place to sculpt language around intuition and insight.

According to Chika Okeke-Agulu, this nightly ritual sustained the intellectual backbone of the Nsukka School. Okeke’s journals connected the visual and the verbal, the tactile and the theoretical. Night was not an end but a quiet continuation - a return to the inner world, where art became reflection, and reflection became legacy.

Uche Okeke, Village Square at Moonshine, Ink on Paper, 8.8 x 5.71 inches

The Legacy of a Life Well-Lived

A day in the life of Uche Okeke was not just about creating art; it was about preserving culture, educating future generations, and engaging with the socio-political landscape of Nigeria. His disciplined routine, rooted in tradition yet forward-thinking in execution, solidified his place as a cornerstone of African modernism.

His legacy continues to inspire, proving that art is not merely about aesthetics but about identity, history, and the collective consciousness of a people. Through his meticulous routines and relentless pursuit of cultural synthesis, Uche Okeke ensured that African art remained alive, dynamic, and ever-evolving.