Tam Fiofori Explained

Tam Fiofori
Other Names:Uncle Tam
Birth Place:Okrika, Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria
Death Date:25 June 2024 (aged 82)
Nationality:Nigerian
Occupation:Photographer, filmmaker
Education:King's College, Lagos
King's College London
Father:Emmanuel Fiofori

Tam Fiofori (1942 – 25 June 2024) was a Nigerian documentary photographer. Notable for his albums chronicling Nigeria's history, Fiofori was also a filmmaker, writer, critic and media consultant.[1] The subjects of his films include the Nigerian artists Biodun Olaku, J. D. 'Okhai Ojeikere and Olu Amoda. Much travelled, Fiofori lived in Harlem, New York, in the 1960s, becoming Sun Ra's manager, and producing writing that is considered "a founding connection between Ra and the movement that would be known as Afrofuturism".[2] Fiofori died on 25 June 2024, at the age of 82.[3]

Early life and education

Born in Okrika in Rivers State, Fiofori in 1942.[4] He grew up in Benin City, where his father, Emmanuel Fiofori, taught at Edo College.

Fiofori was educated at King's College, Lagos, going on to university studies at King's College London, before turning his attention to writing and music.[5] As a student in London, he interacted significantly with a group of pioneering Nigerian musicians who were students at Trinity College of Music: Adam Fiberesima, Peter King, Fela Ransome-Kuti (later known as Fela Anikulapo-Kuti) and Wole Bucknor.[6]

Career

In a 2019 article, Fiofori wrote: "By 1965, I had ventured into music journalism and criticism and started writing for American music magazines from London. My first major article, for Change magazine, was a review of Ornette Coleman's London concert during Coleman's first-ever tour of Europe in 1965."

Travelling extensively since the 1960s, Fiofori became an associate in the US of Sun Ra.[7] [8] According to the Pan African Space Station, "Uncle Tam later invited Sun Ra to Lagos for FESTAC 77, took him to the Kalakuta Republic . . .  and wrote about it all in the Nigerian journal Glendora Review."[9]

Fiofori was the first New Music/Electronic Music Editor for DownBeat, and wrote for many other art and literary publications in the US and Europe — among them International Times[10] and Change magazine[11] — and has been credited with being "largely responsible for bringing underground black creativity to the American national consciousness in those heady days of the 1970s". His writing has been regularly published over the years in a range of Nigerian outlets, including NEXT newspaper,[12] and the blog Shèkèrè.[13]

Fiofori was a film consultant to Rivers State Council for Arts and Culture, the director of Rivers State Documentary Series, and consultant/scriptwriter to NTA Network on Documentaries. He was also founding executive of the Photographers' Association of Nigeria (PAN).[14]

His work has been shown in Africa, Europe and the US, including Odum and Water Masquerades (1974), screened at FESTAC '77, Tampere Film Festival, 10th FESPACO, Ouagadougou, 1987, Pan African Writers' Association, Accra, Ghana, and 1979: A Peep into History and Culture.

His publications include the "print documentary" A Benin Coronation: Oba Erediauwa (2011).[15] As described by the author: "The book's journalistic format has technically provided for 84 pages of photography featuring about 150 original photographs, accompanied by 72 pages of text; all about the Benin City Coronation ceremonies of Oba Erediauwa as the 38th Oba of the Benin Kingdom, from March 23 to 30, 1979." Nigeria's Guardian newspaper judged that Fiofori "paints a poetically enchanting picture", and said: "The author undertakes a very insightful rendering of the dynasties of the Benin Kingdom and gives an elaborate account of the 45-year reign of Oba Akenzua II which started on April 5, 1933.... Tam Fiofori has through his groundbreaking book, A Benin Coronation: Oba Erediauwa, given Nigeria and the rest of the world a timeless study in lofty heritage."

He was a contributor to the 2018 book African Photographer J. A. Green: Re-imagining the Indigenous and the Colonial (edited by Martha G. Anderson and Lisa Aronson), in a review of which Lindsay Barrett referred to Fiofori as "Nigeria’s iconic photographic genius".[16] "VOICES FROM WITHIN: Essays in Honour of Sam Amuka, 2015, where he wrote "The rise and rise of Press Photography”(pp 95-106) and ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA: Redefining Reality, Situating Entrepreneurship, 2020 (pp 30-37) where he wrote, “Film, Entertainment, and Social Consciousness”. Fiofori died on 25 June 2024, aged 82.[17]

Awards

Among honours Fiofori had received are awards from the Pan African Writers' Association (PAWA),[18] iRepresent International Documentary Film Festival,[19] and Music in Africa.[20]

Films

Exhibitions

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Adie Vanessa Offiong, "Tam Fiofori: Telling Nigeria’s story in pictures", Daily Trust, 2 October 2010.
  2. http://panafricanspacestation.org.za/tam-fiofiri-the-speed-of-thought/ "Tam Fiofiri- The Speed of Thought"
  3. https://thelagosreview.ng/irep-mourns-as-tam-fiofori-renowned-nigerian-storyteller-passes-away-at-82/ "iREP mourns as Tam Fiofori, renowned Nigerian storyteller, passes away at 82"
  4. Oliver Enwonwu and Oyindamola Olaniyan, "Leading Photographers Based in Nigeria (Part One)", Omenka, 4 February 2017.
  5. Web site: Meeting Tam Fiofori. Michael. Jimoh. The Will. 15 May 2022. 24 November 2022.
  6. Tam Fiofori: Why I am making a Peter King documentary. 6 June 2019. Music in Africa. 4 July 2024.
  7. Thom Holmes, "Sun Ra & the Minimoog", Bob Moog Foundation, 6 November 2013.
  8. Tam Fiofori, "Sun Ra: Myth, Music & Media", Glendora Review, African Quarterly on the Arts, vol. 3, No. 3 and 4.
  9. "Sun Ra: Myth, Music & Media", Review, African Quarterly on the Arts, vol. 3, No. 3 and 4, cited in Thom Holmes, "Electronic Jazz--The Early History (Part 5): Sun Ra and Early Synthesizer Jazz (1969-70)", Noise and Notations, 9 December 2012.
  10. http://www.internationaltimes.it/archive/page.php?i=IT_1969-07-04_B-IT-Volume-1_Iss-59_018&view=text International Times Archive
  11. Michael Fitzgerald, "A Bibliography of Change Magazine", Current Research in Jazz 1, (2009).
  12. Jason Pitzl-Waters, "The 'New Religion’s' Crusade Against Art", The Wild Hunt, 22 November 2009.
  13. https://shekereblog.wordpress.com/columnists/ "Shèkèrè Columnists | Quintessence by Tam Fiofori"
  14. https://www.thenigerianvoice.com/news/44441/holloway-shehu-arulogun-fiofori-for-honours-at-film-fest.html "Holloway, Shehu, Arulogun, Fiofori for Honours at Film Fest"
  15. Uzor Maxim Uzoatu, "The abiding relevance of Erediauwa", The Nation (Nigeria), 6 August 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  16. Lindsay Barrett, "A historic legacy in pictures". The Guardian (Nigeria), 7 March 2018.
  17. News: Goodbye Tam Fiofori – A pioneering visionary storyteller. Guardian Nigeria. 29 June 2024.
  18. http://www.panafricanwritersassociation.org/activities-3?showall=1&limitstart= Chronicles of PAWA Activities (1989 -2013)
  19. https://www.nigeriafilms.com/movie-news/87-nollywood-affairs/9408-holloway-shehu-arulogun-fiofori-for-honours-at-film-fest "Holloway, Shehu, Arulogun, Fiofori for Honours at Film Fest"
  20. Ed Keazor, "Music In Africa celebrates Nigerian Music anniversary at Social Media Week", Music In Africa, 30 January 2015.
  21. DatboyJerry, "#LCA2016: Lights Camera Africa Film Festival List – Synopses & Trailers", 360NoBS, 26 September 2016.
  22. Lauren Said-Moorhouse, "'A love letter to Nigeria': The master photographer who captured nation's life", African Voices, CNN, 13 October 2014.
  23. http://www.africanartists.org/event/film-screening-jd-ojeikere-the-master-photographer "Film Screening: J.D Ojeikere, The Master Photographer"
  24. http://lightscameraafrica.com/films/olu-amoda-a-metallic-journey/ "Olu Amoda: A Metallic Journey"
  25. Amarachukwu Iwuala, "#Nollywood Movie Review Of ‘Olu Amoda: The Modern-Day Archaeologist’", 360NoBS, 28 April 2015.
  26. http://nigeriang.com/entertainment/tam-fiofori-images-exhibited-in-benin-palace/1712/ "Tam Fiofori images exhibited in Benin Palace"