Artists to Dine, Reunion with Fasuyi

Rebecca Ejifoma
 

 

In celebration of an Icon, Timothy Adebayo Fasuyi, who has undoubtedly contributed to the Nigerian Art, great artists have set up plans to exude repertoires of various works at the art exhibition to hold for November 30 at the Resource Place in Ikeja, Lagos.

The exhibition titled, Redefinition, buttresses the revival of the erstwhile TAFAS gallery and its redefinition. The Resource place as a resourceful venue for art exhibition, fashion shows and book launch among others.        

The exhibition is intended to bring to the public glare of artist, art collectors and connoisseurs the accessible and befitting ambience of The Resource place located in the heart of Lagos state capital Ikeja.                             

According to Fasuyi at a press briefing held at the Resource Place recently, he is not producing art piece for sale; “I don’t need to go round for exhibitions. I want to leave them as legacy for the next generation. Each work I do carry some relevance to history, politics, environment and people so that the coming generation will learn what was there before them. It’s a wealthy programme.”

The names, Adebayo Fasuyi, has become like words to art connoisseurs and artists in the country so much so that several, who have benefitted from his awards across the country, have come to dine on canvass ones more. “After many years of absence of art activities in this place, I want to re-open it to its original focus, which is the promotion of artists and their works,” he said.

The exhibition, slated to start on 23rd November, will feature 40 works of seasoned artists including the pioneer of the Gallery; Chief Adebanjo Fasuyi; a Sculptor and Lecturer in the Department of Fine art, Yaba College of technology Mr Adeola Balogun and Bolaji Ogunwo, a Painter and Lecturer in the Department of Creative arts, University of Lagos.

A born artist, who through the rides and tides of this world has pictured man on canvass, said until now artists and art students come to ask him questions. “I want to see the best students come from all over n discuss this art,” he added.

He is a core student of Art, one of the first set of the Zaria Art School, worked in many art sectors and was the Federal Art Adviser who took over from late Professor Ben Enwonwu. As a result of his love for art, he established the Fasuyi prize for best graduating art student in tertiary institutions in the country to help art students. He added, “I also established Tafas Art gallery located in Akora Estate, off Adeniyi Jones Ikeja, Lagos in 1976, the first structure designed for art and culture, theatre, drama and dance. I was one of the officials, who selected the model for this national theatre with Enahoro. But the Tafas gallery played its role then, in fact it was at the gallery that most of the plans for the FESTAC ’77 were done, but after some while the place was used for other purposes.”

Besides the exhibition, the organisers said they were trying to bring together the artists, who have won the Fasuyi prize, an establishment when he was the FAA. “Although, some of them have not met him before it will be more like a re-union. We will look at the award and see how it has impacted on them,” one of them continued.

Art pieces include oil, acrylic, water colour, metal works, ceramics and mixed media among others.

Meanwhile, one of the exhibiting artists and creative arts lecturer at the University of Lagos, Bolaji Ogunwo, pointed out that it would be a platform to acknowledge Fasuyi on how he had impacted positively on artists through his award and at the same time put the place to its original use.

Redefinition will also feature the artistic rave of the moment, Dudu Emmanuel who was trained in Auchi Polytechnic, Edo state; prolific painter, Onyeka Gregory and a dexterous Ceramist, Ojetunde Sheriff trained in the University of Lagos while Biodun Badmus, an OAU best graduating student some years ago, will showcase his artistic talent.                          

The exhibition Promises to display experimental and expressionistic tendencies that characterised the artists’ works in recent times. Titles of works include: Marriage vows, Sunset and child labour, Expectation, Nostalgia, Acquatic Habitat and Shrine, Forest of demons, Sunset on child labour, Bushmeat on drier and Ifa.

The Return of Kakadu the Musical

Rebecca Ejifoma

Live Performance on Stage
 

Last year’s premiere of Kakadu the Musical at the MUSON Centre Onikan Lagos was worth the while. But this time, it returns more energetic with a different set of young characters, as an initiative to breed the youths and take them back to the experience of their parents. It is set to hold this afternoon at 3 p.m. at Cinema Hall, National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos.

Kakadu the Musical is an exciting, inspirational and moving experience that takes its name from the famous Lagos night club of the 60s. It gave birth to an era of wonderful music and the distinctive social life that followed the coming of a young nation.

According to the Director, Kanayo Omo in a press briefing recently, it is meant to help the youths find themselves and discover beauty and excellence in themselves. “Play House Initiative is about mentoring the next generation in the arts,” he said. “And that’s what we want. It is one thing to find excitement and something new, it’s another thing to find yourself live that concrete reality.”

Tribalism and Enmity Strikes Nigeria

Kakadu presents to the people the unity of the country, the unique influence highlife music had on the psyche of Nigerians and how it showed unity on diversity. Things fell apart in Kakadu, Lagos and in other parts of the country, hence, the centre could no longer hold. They, who marched down to war with weapons, came back on able-bodied men’s shoulder. Some lost their eyes during battle, some were amputated and others went to their early grave.
 

Omo alongside the Stage Manager and Assistant Director, William Ekpo, called on Nigerians to come and experience the era when everyday then was as good as Christmas at Kakadu.

A play by Uche Nwokedi, it heralds the widows’ anguish during and after the war from 1965 to the 80s. “Mecca” of collegial love lit up lives as much as it gave it. Suddenly, everything went wrong and the fun days were lost; love betrayed, honour taken away and birthrights shattered. Kakadu never remained the same again.
A collection of songs playing from different styles were creatively woven together by the author to elucidate the story of friendship, love and brotherhood.
The musical, which is set against the backdrop of a newly independent Nigeria, promises to surprise all this afternoon.

Aphorism Goes Beyond Aesthetics......Rebecca Ejifoma

Wisdom is Better than Silver and Gold
 

 

 

A solo art exhibition, featuring the recent works of Johnson Uwadinma, will open on Friday 1^st November at 4 p.m. at the Mydrim Gallery, 74B Norman Williams in Ikoyi Lagos.

 

The exhibition, titled Aphorism, will display 80 paintings based on truth and morality. According to the artist, he draws his thematic strength from proverbial, political, social, economic and spiritual didactism. ‘The body of work offers visual narratives that implore a discourse on life and living,’ he explained.

 

Uwadinma's recent array of aesthetic piece explores the dynamics of destruction and the visual tessellations of hues which he combines with strong compositional organization to create complex, yet simple visual metaphors.

 

This present engagement underscores his urge to see a world transformed by the engagement of truth and morality through his works, which will be exuded at the gallery. It will run from 1^st to 12th November.

Lagos Comic Con Sets to Improve Youths

Rebecca Ejifoma

 

Recently, art in Nigeria has become a centre of attraction and attention. The Annual Lagos Comic convention calls up for young up-coming artists, who are yet to find their paths, to come and learn more at its next event set for November 23 this year at Freedom Park, Lagos Island, Lagos.

The event, themed Comic Animation and Digital Extension, will have the seminar and the trade fair sections, where people can buy what they want like comics, animation, graphics and illustrations among others.

Ayo Elegba

The founder and organiser of the Comic Con, Ayodele Elegba, said this at a press conference held recently at his Ikeja office. “It is an opportunity for young people to meet lecturers in the career, who are already in the industry. We have provided a platform for networking; bring speakers and different investors to come and see the talents we have in Nigeria. Then to probably pick or invest in some of the products the participants have. We are bringing speakers from all over the industry, game, comic and movie,” he assured.

The art trade fair, which started last year, has attracted the attention of the state. Who would have ever imagined the Lagos comic could get this far? Therefore, with such thrill and partial fulfilment, Elegba explained, “Because Lagos believes in this, the Lagos state ministry of tourism and the Intergovernmental Relations have sponsored this programme − they have seen the benefit of what we are doing to bring tourists to Nigeria and towards youth development.”

Elegba, who has been in the industry for 12 years or thereabouts says animation will come from abroad this time, “because most of them have seen what we do here and say they want to come back to Nigeria with their products; to start up something in Nigeria.”

With his project-100-programme in this event, which will be the first seminar for the day to start at 10 a.m., he says there will be great job opportunities for the youths. He added, “It is for 100 teenagers and youths to learn digital colouring and painting with the computer, free.”

Elegba also said that the con will give tickets and t-shirts to the first 500 persons that register unlike the last time.

With much certainty, he said the government entertainment is not all about music and movies; there is comic, animation and paintings among others. We see and watch films like avengers and the incredible hulk; they were once comic books but now they are block busters, making millions and billions.

This year’s comic con is giving hope to the young creative persons, who draws, writes and paints. Elegba is calling these teen-artists to come and meet like-minded people. “In America, there are schools that focus on animation, which is what we shall do soon, there is no standard animation school in Lagos right now,” he said.

The Nigeria Prize for Literature

On Wednesday October 9th, organisers of the Nigerian Prize for Literature, The Nigerian Liquified Gas Limited (NLNG), announced Tade Ipadeola as the winner for the NPL 2013 edition of the $100,000 literary prize.

At a world conference held today at the Oceanview Restaurant, Victoria Island Lagos, the panel of judges said Ipadeola’s The Sahara Testaments beat the other 200 entries submitted for the competition this year. “Ipadeola used the Sahara as a metonymy for the problems of Africa and indeed, the whole of humanity. His work encompasses vast stores of knowledge in an encyclopaedic dimension,” the chairman of the panel of judges, Professor Romanus Egudu, said.
Tade Ipadeola, the author of two volumes of poetry – A Time of Signs (2000) and The Rain Fardel (2005) and Lawyer, has also published short stories and essays. In 2009, he won the Delphic Laurel in poetry with his poem ‘Songbird’ in Jeju, South Korea. Tade currently serves as the President of PEN Nigeria Centre and lives in Ibadan, Nigeria, where he writes and practices law.

According to the panel, his work contains potent rhetoric and satire on the topical issues and personalities, ranging from Africa’s blood diamonds and inflation in Nigeria to contrite…Blair. “His use of poetic language demonstrates a striking marriage of thought and verbal artistry expressed in the blending of sound and sense. Sahara is replete with historical, geographical and literary allusions and tropes,” the General Manager, External Relations, Dr Kudo Eresia-Eke.

Other members of the panel of judges for this year's prize included

the Nigerian Prize for Literature winner 2008, Kaine Agary; International Literary Consultant, Prof. Kofianyidoho; Member, Advisory Board for Literature, Prof. Ben Elugbe; Vice Chairman, Advisory Board for Literature, Dr. Jerry Agade; Judges, Prof. Omolara Ogundipe and Dr. Andrew Aba.