Dana Professor of Fine Arts Obiora Udechukwu brings his philosophy of art from the Igbo culture in southeastern Nigeria. He pushes students to develop their work by focusing on the process and not the final product. He says he believes that if a student has spent valuable time on a piece, it cannot be bad.

Prof. Udechukwu previously taught drawing and painting at the University of Nigeria, where he received his B.A. and M.F.A. in painting. Internationally known, he has exhibited in many countries, and at the National Museum of African Art at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. He says St. Lawrence’s fine arts program compares very favorably with those of larger universities.

Prof. Udechukwu, who came to St. Lawrence in 1997, states, “Although I have my Nigerian heritage, I've been living in the United States for 10 years, and you can't exist as an island. You have to be part of the society where you live.”  This outlook, he says, informs his art.

Several new classrooms, studios and rehearsal spaces, along with the Newell Center for Arts Technology, have been opened in the Noble Center, as part of a multi-phase arts expansion project. Prof. Udechukwu points out that “the future of the new arts facility involves interaction among the departments.” He hopes the fine arts, music and performance and communication arts departments will offer team-taught courses, creating a more holistic approach to the arts.

Indicating his own interdisciplinary interests, Prof. Udechukwu, who has exhibited his work along with other faculty members in the Richard F. Brush Art Gallery, says he believes that music should be enjoyable as well as educational. He recalls one of his most memorable experiences at St. Lawrence: “Finding enough people to start a Nepali drumming ensemble, and finding enough Nepali students to be amused by our efforts.”