PARIS, FRANCE.- Prince Twins Seven-Seven, the Nigerian artist, was designated UNESCO Artist for Peace by UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura in a ceremony at Organization Headquarters on May 25 (Room I at 2.30 p.m.) in the presence of Olusegun Obasanjo, President of Nigeria and of the African Union. The ceremony takes place on Africa Day. Born in Nigeria in 1944, Prince Twins Seven-Seven’s career began in the early 1960s. He has since become the most famous representative of the renowned Oshogbo school of painting, which is at the heart of Yoruba civilization. His work reflects the cosmology and mythology of Yoruba culture, depicting a fantastic universe of human figures, animals, divinities and plants. His varied style, using different techniques and astonishing materials, is the most copied in contemporary Nigerian art.

A multidimensional artist, Prince Twins Seven-Seven is also recognized as a singer, musician, actor, writer and poet. His work has been shown in numerous exhibitions throughout the world, notably at France’s National Museum of Modern Art – Georges Pompidou Centre in Paris, the Houston Contemporary Arts Museum, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C. and the National Modern Art Gallery in Lagos.

Prince Twins Seven-Seven will be named a UNESCO Artist for Peace “in recognition of his contribution to the promotion of dialogue and understanding among peoples, particularly in Africa and the African Diaspora.”

UNESCO Artists for Peace are internationally-renowned personalities who use their influence, charisma and prestige to help promote UNESCO’s message and programmes.