Professor Nelson Edewor To Deliver DELSU 119th Inaugural Lecture February 5

By Akpobomeh Oghenerukevwe

Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, will once again turn the spotlight on academic excellence as Professor Uyoyou Oghenefejiro Nelson Edewor delivers the 119th Inaugural Lecture in the university’s prestigious lecture series on Thursday, 5th February 2026.

Popularly known as Nelson Edewor, the distinguished scholar is a renowned Nigerian sculptor, art historian, and academic in the Department of Fine and Applied Arts, Faculty of Arts, Delta State University. His forthcoming inaugural lecture marks a defining moment not only in his career but also in the intellectual history of the institution.

The inaugural lecture series represents the highest academic honour accorded to professors whose contributions to teaching, research, and service have significantly advanced their disciplines. Professor Edewor’s selection reflects the depth of his scholarship and his enduring influence on Nigerian art education, sculptural practice, and cultural discourse.

As a practicing sculptor, Professor Edewor’s works interrogate form, material, identity, and cultural memory, drawing deeply from indigenous African aesthetics while engaging contemporary artistic conversations. As an art historian, his research and writings have helped preserve, contextualize, and reinterpret Nigeria’s rich visual traditions within both local and global frameworks.

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The lecture, scheduled for Thursday, 5th February 2026, is expected to attract scholars, artists, students, cultural practitioners, and members of the wider public. Beyond a personal academic milestone, the occasion promises to stimulate critical reflections on the role of art as knowledge, heritage, and social commentary in modern Nigeria.

For Delta State University, the 119th inaugural lecture further reinforces its commitment to intellectual leadership and interdisciplinary scholarship. For the Nigerian art community, it is a celebration of a scholar-artist whose career has consistently demonstrated that creative practice and rigorous academic inquiry are mutually enriching.

As Professor Nelson Edewor mounts the podium to deliver the lecture titled ‘Where God and Mortals Meet: Nelson Edewor’s Odyssey of Recontextualized Ivri Corpus in a Nation Soiled by Oil,’ it will stand as both a summation of decades of scholarly and creative engagement and a forward-looking contribution to the future of art history and visual culture in Nigeria.

The event will hold at 750 Lecture Theatre A, Site III, as guests are to be seated by 10:30am.