Developing an Original Framework for Decolonising the Creative Arts Curriculum in Nigerian Universities

The creative arts curriculum in Nigerian universities continues to be organised primarily around Western art historical narratives, European aesthetic theories, and Eurocentric studio practice conventions, and developing an original theoretical and practical framework for decolonising this curriculum constitutes an urgent and significant scholarly contribution to both creative arts education and decolonial studies. This study developed an original framework for decolonising the creative arts curriculum in Nigerian universities, drawing on theoretical analysis and empirical consultation across six universities in all geopolitical zones. A multi-stage framework development methodology was employed: systematic critical review of decolonisation discourse as applied to arts education in Africa and the African diaspora (68 publications from 2015 to 2024); curriculum content analysis of 24 university creative arts programme curricula against an indigenous knowledge inclusion checklist; structured interviews with 35 creative arts faculty, 20 students, and 12 practising artists; and expert validation. The curriculum audit confirmed that 78.6 percent of studio arts content referenced European art historical movements as the primary narrative framework, with Nigerian and African art history comprising fewer than 18 percent of art history curriculum content. Studio practice assessment criteria were derived from Western modernist values in 87.5 percent of audited programmes. The original Decolonial Creative Arts Curriculum Framework proposes seven transformation principles: Nigerian art history recentring, indigenous aesthetic theory integration, community arts knowledge recognition, multilingual creative education, indigenous materials and techniques restoration, decolonised assessment criteria development, and critical decolonial arts pedagogy training.