A Critical Theoretical Investigation of the Concept of Authenticity in Nigerian Contemporary Art

Authenticity is one of the most contested concepts in the critical reception of contemporary African art, operating simultaneously as a curatorial category, a market value indicator, a cultural identity claim, and an aesthetic criterion, and the critical theoretical investigation of how these competing deployments of authenticity operate in the Nigerian context constitutes an important original contribution to art theory. This study conducted an original critical theoretical investigation of the concept of authenticity in Nigerian contemporary art. A critical theory methodology drawing on aesthetic philosophy, postcolonial cultural theory, art market sociology, and Nigerian art criticism was employed, supplemented by primary research through structured interviews with 25 Nigerian artists, 10 curators, 8 collectors, and 6 art critics. The theoretical investigation began with a genealogy of authenticity discourse in Nigerian art criticism from colonial era classifications through to contemporary debates about Afrobeats visual culture and NFT art. Interview analysis identified four distinct and often competing authenticity claims operative in the current Nigerian art field: ethnic-cultural authenticity (art as authentic expression of specific ethnic tradition), national authenticity (art as authentic expression of Nigerian national identity), artistic integrity authenticity (art as authentic expression of individual artistic vision), and market authenticity (original artwork versus reproduction or AI-generated work). The original Authenticity Pluralism Framework proposes that these four claims are incommensurable in principle but practically navigated by artists, curators, and collectors through a dynamic of strategic deployment rather than principled resolution.