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From a one-naira arts newsletter in 1991 to global recognition by UNESCO in 2024, the life and work of Jahman Oladejo Anikulapo reflect a deep, disciplined devotion to Nigerian culture. His story, preserved through the photographs of Hakeem Shitta, is a record of how journalism, theatre, and advocacy shaped a national cultural memory.

A look inside Goethe-Institut Lagos between 1985 and 1995, when the Institute became a hub for art, music, theatre, and cultural diplomacy.

John Chukwu and Julie Coker helped define Nigerian entertainment: one through comedy, the other through television. Their stories live on t

Sola Osofisan is a writer, filmmaker, and cultural archivist whose work spans literature, film, radio drama, and digital publishing. This HS

Fred Agbeyegbe’s “Woe Unto Death,” a drama on mortality and courage, preserved through Hakeem Shitta’s archive.

A rare photographic record of the 1992 Nigerian Music Awards in Abuja. from airport departure to the event. Preserved in the HSPACA archive.

A rare look at the 1988 Roots Jazz Award in Lagos, where Didier Lockwood, Randy Weston, Zeal Onyia, Femi Kuti, and Art Alade shared one stag

ORI is one of Lagos State’s most important cultural productions. Through the photographs of Hakeem Shitta and the work of Sonuga, Dominu, an

A tribute to Nigerian filmmaker Eddie Ugbomah, whose cinema challenged corruption, celebrated heritage, and shaped the roots of Nollywood.

Juju music existed before Sunny Ade, but he rebuilt it from the inside out. He took talking drums and sekere, married them to electric guitars, added synthesizers when others were still suspicious. Shitta's lens captured one moment of recognition, but the archive holds decades of transformation.

“He didn’t just tell stories; he sculpted memory.” A curatorial reflection on Nigerian writer and filmmaker Biyi Bandele, his theatre legacy

In the late 1980s, Lagos theatre was alive with defiance. While others sought glamour or applause, one group rehearsed revolution. They called themselves Collective Artistes, a theatre company born in 1988 under the direction of Professor Chuck Mike. Their goal was simple but bold: to use performance as a mirror, a weapon, and a way of healing. Hakeem Shitta was there. With his camera pressed against the pulse of that decade, he captured faces, sweat, laughter, and silence: t

Susanne Wenger, photographed by Hakeem Shitta. Under the trees of the Osun Sacred Grove, art became more than expression. It became prayer, and prayer became a way of keeping memory alive. When Hakeem Shitta photographed Susanne Wenger, he wasn’t just taking a picture. He was capturing devotion, the kind that doesn’t demand to be seen but quietly changes everything around it. Known to the Yoruba as Adunni Olorisha, Wenger came to Nigeria as an artist and left the world

Portrait by Hakeem Shitta From Bendel to Billboard , Mike Okri’s voice carried the rhythm of a generation that learned to dance and reflect at the same time. This portrait by Hakeem Shitta, now part of the Hakeem Shitta Photo and Cultural Archive (HSPACA), captures more than a performer, it captures a pulse. Known for hits like Rhumba Dance and Time Na Money , Okri made music that spoke with both wisdom and warmth. His songs were never just entertainment; they were phil