A Reading and Discussion of New Culture Magazine Centred on Architecture and Environmental Design, led by Omenogor Udome and Amanda Iheme
On 28th August, 2026 G.A.S. Lagos hosted Reading New Culture, the second activation of The Reading Room, a curatorial archival project exploring archives through collective reading, conversation, and public programming. Led by curator Omenogor Udome and G.A.S. alumna Amanda Iheme, the reading focused on New Culture: A Review of Contemporary African Arts, Volume 1, the opening volume of a pioneering Nigerian art publication founded and published by artist, architect, and designer Demas Nwoko through New Culture Studios in Ibadan, Nigeria. First published in November 1978, the magazine brought together critical writing and ideas around contemporary African art and culture. The session focused specifically on an article on architecture and environmental design edited by Nwoko, exploring ideas of Nigerian modernism, architecture, design, and cultural development within the intellectual context of New Culture.
The session began with Amanda reading selected passages from the article and inviting participants to pause and reflect on what they had heard. This was followed by a collective discussion in which attendees shared their responses to the text and considered the questions and arguments it raised. The article situated architecture within the broader African context, reflecting on its achievements while identifying environmental challenges and proposing possible approaches to addressing them. Participants further questioned and unpacked some of the assumptions and enquiries presented in the text, bringing their own perspectives to the discussion.
Following the reading, attendees were invited to explore a reading table featuring books from the G.A.S. Library and Picton Archive, selected to complement the themes of architecture, Nigerian modernism, and environmental design explored in the article. The session concluded with participants selecting a book that resonated with them and briefly sharing their reflections on it, extending the collective reading into a broader exchange around the library and archive.
About the Facilitators
About Amanda Iheme
G.A.S. Alumna Amanda Iheme is an architecture photographer and a clinical psychologist living and working in Ibadan and Lagos, Nigeria. Her works are focused on documenting and preserving Nigeria’s architectural heritage and the celebration of its design, history and culture.
Portrait of Amanda Iheme. Photo: Nengi Nelson.
About Omenogor Udome
Omenogor Udome-Onyesom is a writer and curator whose work centers on culture, community, and creative practice. She is deeply interested in building platforms, experiences, and spaces that support and document creative communities. Her work spans projects across art, music, and storytelling, with a focus on how people gather, create, and share. As Editor-in-Chief of Keere Ò, she is building a growing archive of Ibadan’s creative ecosystem through stories about the people, spaces, and scenes shaping the city.
