The 3D documentation of the Busanyin Shrine, one of eight monuments within the Osun-Osogbo Grove, has now been completed.

Supported through the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP), the project titled, “Digital Documentation, Training and Conservation Planning for National Heritage Busanyin Shrine within the Osun Osogbo Sacred Grove” was awarded to CyArk, a California-based nonprofit organisation.

At the public presentation in Osogbo, U.S. Consul General Will Stevens explained that the 3D documentation of the Busanyin Shrine provides the most accurate record of the current conditions of the site to effectively plan a restoration project. 

He thanked CyArk, Adunni Olorisa Trust and their local partners for working so hard to preserve a valuable national heritage. He also lauded their efforts in providing training to local professionals to build capacity in digital documentation skills and cultural heritage management.

“The United States Mission to Nigeria has a long history of supporting the protection and preservation of Nigerian cultural heritage through the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation,” Consul General Stevens said. “We have funded over $ 1 million for preservation projects across Nigeria through the AFCP in the last 10 years.”

The public presentation was attended by Nigerian alumni of U.S. government exchange programs, senior government officials, media leaders, representatives of cultural institutions, as well as officials of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments.

In addition to the Busanyin Shrine project, additional AFCP projects include documentation and conservation of the 14th-century Sungbo Eredo earthworks of the Yoruba Ijebu Kingdom in southwest Nigeria; documentation of the Ifa oral traditions in Oyo State; rock art preservation project in Cross River and Jigawa states, among many others.

The AFCP program was established in 2001 by the U.S. Congress to assist countries in cultural heritage preservation while also demonstrating American respect for other cultures.

The U.S. Mission to Nigeria continues to explore opportunities to support the preservation of Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage using the AFCP and other partnership mechanisms. 

We are delighted to invite you to the exhibition opening of Statues Also Breathe. A Collaborative project between the Department of Fine & Applied Arts, Obafemi-Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and renowned French sculptor Prune Nourry. The exhibition is unveiling a major project honoring the Chibok girls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram from their high school in Northern Nigeria in 2014 — many of whom are still missing. The project comprises 108 portraits in clay, modeled after the missing girls imaged in the style of iconic ancestral Ife heads. Inspired by the ancient Ife terracotta heads and titled Statues Also Breathe, this collaboration aims to raise awareness about the plight of the girls who are still missing while highlighting the global struggle for girls’ education.