Susanne Wenger House: Everyday Life

Archival photo of Susanne Wenger interacting with members of her household, in the house on Ibokun Road in Òṣogbo, where she lived from the late 1950s till her death in 2009. The residence contains over 400 works of art, mostly works by artists of the New Sacred Art Movement. Wenger also collected a small number of traditional artefacts including masks and ritual objects, as well as a number of works by contemporary Nigerian artists, such as Bruce Onobrakpeya. Wenger collected this art not only to adorn the house but also to encourage the sale of the works, particularly those those by New Sacred Artists.
This beautiful stone building was probably built in the early 20th century in a style which is in Nigeria commonly called ‘Brazilian’ – a legacy of the so-called Àgùdà people - thousands of freed slaves and their descendants who returned to West Africa from Brazil and Cuba during the 19th century. Many were technically skilled artisans who introduced the architecture from the trans-Atlantic diaspora to their homeland. Wenger’s House is one of the most impressive and best maintained examples of this style of architecture in Nigeria.

Today, her adopted daughter Chief Priestess Adedoyin Talabi Faniyi lives there with the extended family. As was the case in Wenger’s time, the house is still a meeting point for artists and traditionalists. The house is open to visitors and Susanne Wenger's private living quarters and studio are located on the upper floors and remain untouched - as a reminder of how she lived and worked in later life.
The residence also contains a cooperative shop run by the New Sacred Art Movement where art and books can be purchased. The Adunni Olorisha Trust is the custodian of the Susanne Wenger House and its contents and raises funds to pay the rent and finance repairs and maintenance.