Bona’s box of delights refreshes Aka legacy

BONA Ezeudu is known for his work in metal and color media. He is a member of the famous Aka Circle of Artistes and has established a reputation with his works in local and international collections. With his first solo exhibition in 1982, Ezeudu has over 14 solo exhibitions and numerous group exhibitions including all AKA exhibitions, to his credit.
Ezeudu is also known for his expressive canvas and board paintings and his utilitarian and ornamental wrought iron sculptures. With his expressive and stylistic explorations Ezeudu presents a travelling exhibition titled A Box of Delights, his recent experiment with conventional painting media is currently being exhibited at Thought Pyramid Arts Centre, Abuja. It will be hosted in Lagos later in the year.
It is the first solo exhibition of the artist in the FCT, and will provide an opportunity for the Abuja and Lagos audiences opportunity to see the latest studio work of Ezeudu using the conventional painting media.

Ezeudu has spent a greater part of his career advocating for the arts; he established a modern art gallery in Enugu – the Bona Gallery – and has space for emerging artists.
In March 2013, Ezeudu made a return to the arts arena after a long break with the exhibition The Old and New Testament. For many, the exhibition was a big relief as it settled the concern about the artist’s whereabouts in the art scene. Since then, Ezeudu has maintained his presence in the Nigerian art-space with two solos and some group exhibitions, the latest of which are the Anya Fulu Ugo Exhibition and dele jegede at 70 exhibition in Nsukka and Lagos respectively.
Ezeudu has also been engaged in his studio practice for over 30 years and has garnered local recognition within the artscape and widely beyond his Enugu state base. The artist began his career teaching at the Federal College of Education, Eha Amufu and then Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu, before leaving teaching to focus on full time studio practice. Also in his early years, Bona explored a great deal of wrought iron construction.
In 1995 at the Lagos Hilton Hotel, Ikeja, Ezeudu presented the first Box of Delights, a title from John Masefield’s 1935 novel, The Box of Delights, which has also been adapted for several radio and television series. Twenty years after, he brings another edition of delights.
Through his oeuvre, Ezeudu has shown a creative manipulation of media and through a clever rendition of forms. From his Music Maker (1981), Ezeudu shows his near realistic presentation of forms in colourful brush strokes of a drummer hitting away at his wooden drum.
This shows an artist’s thorn between his attention to lively and exciting colours and subject matter. By the early 90s the artist’s practice began to reflect the privileging of colour over subject.. The works Nearby Village on a Market Day (1989), Welcoming her People (1990) and My People (1993) show the impressionist style.
The artist became completely absorbed in the expressive qualities of colour. Hence his Migrants (1991), Riverine Masquerade (1995)shows the artist’s high point as he just like a dancer absorbed in the drum beats enters a trance, oblivious of the audience as he explores blobs and abstract patches of colour.

In Age Grade Dance (2003), In Homage I (2004) and Trio (2005), Bona had gradually begun to drop his palette knife and big brush strokes in favour of smaller vibrant strokes.
As if the bigger brushes and palette knives could not accommodate his palette, he began to experiment with smaller slashes, and daps so as to enable him add more colours to his paintings as in First Outing (2002) and later manifested fully in his Fuel Subsidy I (2012) and Fuel Subsidy II (2012).
As if the color tubes could no longer satisfy him, Bona in his Money Through the Ages series, incorporated cowries, Manila coins and the old and new naira coins into his canvas.
This was perhaps in response to the Nigerian government’s failed attempt to reintroduce coins at that time.
In using his art to address socio-political and economic issues that negatively affect the society, he engaged themes that largely revolve around mundane living, nature and culture-based concepts especially those dealing with esoteric subjects like masks and masquerading.

---Published on The Guardian: http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/2015/09/bonas-box-of-delights-refreshes-aka-legacy/

Anisah Launches NËNË with Arts, Photography and Fashion

Arts enthusiasts, professionals and members of the diplomatic community and friends made quite the interesting turn out for the support and appreciation of debuting artist, fashion designer and entrepreneur, Anisah Ahmed at the exhibition of her art, photography and fashion works and launch of NËNË Magazine, held at the Thought Pyramid Arts Centre, in Abuja.

Anisah’s aim to promote creativity in young Nigerians is targeted at development in youths through the NËNË magazine; which she said would serve as a platform to showcase talented & hardworking Nigerians and urge youths to be creative in whatever field of work they choose.  

She said, “I believe having a creative mind set together with resilience of Nigerian people will be a good starting point for the “Change” we so desperately seek in others for us to thrive as a Country. The message is “By 9ja, for 9ja.”

Anisah Ohunene Ahmed is a Fashion Design student at De Montfort University, Leicester, UK. She started Art & Design four years ago, during her ‘A’ levels course as a subject at Abbey College, Manchester with no experience or knowledge of art. She had to learn the basics. Anisah has from then grown to appreciate art, not just as a subject but have also applied it in different fields of studies including Architecture during a foundation course at the Architectural Association School of Architecture (AA), London.

Anisah’s creative portfolio also includes her exploration into the Arts through Architecture, and Fashion Designing which eventually led to her being accepted as a Fashion Design student at De Montfort University, Leicester, UK.“It was at the AA School I nurtured my creativity and hence decided to study fashion design instead of architecture, luckily  the  portfolio  created  during  this  academic  year  was  diverse  enough  to  get  me  into  other  schools,  so  I  went  ahead  to  study  Fashion  Design. While  I  was  making  all  these  decisions,  the  only  thing  that  remained  constant  was  my  interest  in  art  &  design;  painting,  drawing,  sketching,  taking  photographs,  exploring  etc. and different aspects of it,” she added.  

“I decided to have an exhibition not only to showcase my work, but also to get the younger Nigerian generation more interested in the art world. I always wondered where I would be today if I was more exposed to art and pursued my creativity earlier on; instead of looking down on it because I was told it was insignificant in comparison to other subjects. I want the general public to look at my work and be inspired to do something and not just think they can do the same (or  better) but try and be more open to other  industries such as Art, Fashion, Textiles, etc.

 'Why Market for Artistic Enterprise Is Borderless'

 

The Arts' viability, appreciation, development and advocacy attract the attention of renowned textile artist, Nike Okundaye-Davies in this interview with OLUDARE RICHARDS as she explains her role in promoting Nigerian art and the rich indigenous Yoruba fashion culture of Adire across the world.
THE artist traces the value of Adire, its History and Influence on Yoruba Culture, noting that the native Adire textile derives its name from "Adi (To Tie), 'Are' (To Dye), Adi-re (Tie and Dye)." She describes the cloth as fashion statement used to communicate in the days when women used to celebrate the 'Age Mate' Festival. Adire, she recalls, was used as a medium of communication among the ladies.


"The use of symbolism is natural in Adire fashion statements. Some of them include: Cycle of Life, Gecko, Tree of Life etc. These patterns are all meaningful especially in their lives. Once you see the patterns they are wearing, you know what it means. So Adire is not just mere fashion, it is communicative in nature, just like how the drums (Talking Drum) can be used to send messages or information. There is also a pattern called 'Talking Drum'.

"There are various kinds of Adire, we have the 'Ibadan Dun' (Ibadan Is Enjoyable); 'Olokun', the mother of baby fishes. Olokun is a symbol of fertility and is also a design in Adire that represents the sea goddess. 'Ori Mi Pe', represents Osogbo, 'Ilu Aro' (Land of the Dye Colors) depicting the indigenes assertion of position that says: 'We are not just doing the dyes, we have our heads in it, we do also Adire'. They say that because normally, the makers of Adire are not the makers of the Dyes, but Osogbo does both. That is why they call the design made in Osogbo 'Ori Mi Pe'.
 
"We have other kinds of Adire; 'Yotomi La Wa'; 'Owo Ati Omo Ni Mofe Be' (Its Money and Children I Want As Such). 'Yiyo Lon Yo', whose title is depicted by the after glow that follows the finishing of the dyed cloth Adire design. 'Kofo'orun' (Do Not Put It In The Sun!). 'Etu', used for the chieftaincy associated reasons. It reigned for quite some time. But as the nature of people are, they always want something new. Then a newer design came in vogue called 'Petuje' (This One Has Killed The Etu). Etu means Guinea Fowl. Guinea Fowl is an official requirement during chieftain cy installments.


"We also have 'Atari Ajanaku Kii Seeru Omode' (The Head Of An Elephant Is Not A Load A Child Can Carry). 'Oju Dii' (Tree of Life), depicting the proverb 'Only the mother of a child knows the father of the child'. 'Ashewo To Lo Mecca' (The Sex Worker That Went To Mecca), is a kind of Adire made by a former sex worker who made enough money from the trade to finance her Mecca pilgrimage.

"All the Adires have meaning. 'Mabaayo Mi Je Oluwa' (Don't Undo My Joy Oh Lord), 'Asiri Alaadire Kiin Tu' (The Secret of The Adire Will Never Leak Out). The Art of Adire is usually passed on from one generation to another; the Adire maker usually teach only their children and do not teach outsiders, so it stays in the family.

"This is an old tradition where families are reknown for their specialties, like the Hunters, Fishermen, Dyers, Clothiers, Drummers etc. They keep it in the family so the art can remain as their own identity. This has changed with the modern times, which is why the media plays an important role, because now, we want to teach the world."

Davies-Okundaye who has spent all her professional career promoting Adire stresses that Nigerians should take the lead in advocating for African traditions and art at home and in the Diaspora.
"My part in promoting indigenous art, especially the creativity part of it is to showcase our culture. Nigeria is a giant of Africa. Almost a quarter of Africans live in Nigeria. Over 180 million people.
There is so much to showcase from Nigeria. When the Oyinbo (white people) come to Nigeria, they want to stay. Whatever you plant here grows, even a dry stem.

"There is so much we can achieve in this country, that is why they come here and own all the businesses. We, who should be owners of these businesses have failed. We once use to export cocoa, from which chocolate is produced, used to be well exported from Nigeria. Also, Nigeria exported Palm Oil through the Niger Delta.
"We used to trade well with the Oyinbo. Palm Oil used to be high commodity in trade. There's so much creativity in this country. There are so much rich sources in Nigeria, resources abound here.


"Little by little, breakthrough is imminent in life. If you know what you are doing, you won't need any support from banks, you can support and promote yourself through marketing in the right way. We need the Media, this is true, but what about your character? Humility! Saying 'Thank You' goes a long way. When you make sales, say thank you to the buyer, he/she will come back again and buy more. Humility and honesty goes a long way.

"Humility and honesty should be very important to all Africans because they always think African people are not honest, which is not true. There are a lot of us who are very honest. We all should be good ambassadors of this country."

Having made success selling Nigerian art worldwide, she sees business viability in creativity to be necessary in Modern Art. "I tell you this: art is the only thing you can sell anywhere, all over the world. Art is even better than Oil because wherever you take an art piece to, you can sell it, unlike oil. The society decides the value of art. Art is priceless. Many artist's work are valued so high as much as in the millions, because they have added an African touch to it. For example, a Picasso art went for as much as four to five million dollars.

"We are the originators, we have it in-born in us. Many talents in art are in-born in the artist, but many artists don't discover themselves until someone discovers them. We have to always appreciate and make use of any talent we are good with and market ourselves in a good way."
For the artist who has benefitted so much drom the informal art training, giving back to the society through workshop comes with challenges.
 




"It has been a journey with ups and downs, but we thank God, most of the women that have trained with us have been able to progress, even building houses of their own. They have been able to earn a living through art, and their children also have benefited; many have been able to further in education through financial assistance from their mothers. And some of the mothers also have been able to acquire MFA in arts.

"It has been a great pleasure and I thank God for giving the gift of life and the opportunity to be able to see our own achievements and the fruits of our labor because the people we have taught are an achievement for us who have trained them as they also teach other people. Training the trainer. We even train in Abuja. Even the young ones who come become professionals. I have no cause to not say thank you because every life is a blessing everyday, a blessing to us from God.

" Maybe if I had been formally educated, I would not be alive today, yet I always encourage anyone who has the opportunity to be educated to do so because it will help you get better at whatever you choose to do besides the white collar jobs, even in the arts.

She recalls her years as members of the Osogbo school. "There were two female teachers during the Osogbo school period: Susanne Wenger and Georgina Beier. Ulli Beier was a writer. His wives were the teachers. When they started, they only taught men then but the credits went to Ulli Beier for all the work and teachings, even after I started.



 Published in The Guardian on 10th December 2014

Foundation launches Girls’ Safety Initiative campaign in FCT

Foundation launches Girls’ Safety Initiative campaign in FCT


 

Tabitha Cumi Foundation with support from the Australian Government launched the Girl’s Safety Initiative with the aim of providing security awareness, peace building, conflict resolution, life building skills, mentorship, etc. on the weekend in Abuja. The Girls Safety Initiative also aims at addressing some of the multiplicity of challenges facing girls education and widening access to education for girls.

At the launch of the initiative in Abuja, the Executive Director of the Tabitha Cumi Foundation, Mrs. Adetayo Erinle said the project was conceived as a result of the state of insecurity in the country which has been unsafe and insecure for young women and girls who have been the most affected of the security challenges facing the nation.

“The country is insecure and girls have been the prime targets. Many of these girls stay in communities that are underserved on the outskirts where accommodation is relatively cheaper than the city. These communities have been found to be places where people who migrate to from other places can stay for a while quietly before they launch out to do whatever they want to do. These girls are usually the first targets,” Mrs. Erinle said.

“We have brought out these girls to teach them about their environment, security, how they can identify strangers in the community, how they can know what to do when they notice suspicious activities or persons. Besides these points mentioned, in many communities, there are so many isolated areas where girls have been violated and nothing has been done about it. They can’t speak out, sometimes nobody become away and most often, these experiences affect their lives.”

“These girls have also been brought together to learn life building skills so that they can grow beyond their environments because we have found that it is not as if these girls are dull, what they lack is opportunity. If they have the same opportunities the ones in the city have, they can become whatever they desire to be and more in the future. Because they don’t have the high fences and security that protect the girls in the city, we don’t want them neglected but to have safe places within their communities.”

“These girls have had a wonderful time with their facilitators and have done well through the learning process and I believe that if they take their knowledge back to other girls in their communities, in time, we would have developed hundreds of girls with these life building skills,” Mrs. Erinle also said.

With the Girls Safety Initiative Campaign, Tabitha Cumi Foundation aims to create Girls Clubs in five communities across the Federal Capital Territory to support over 300 girls and young women to provide them with a safe place to grow, learn, have fun and develop confidence in themselves and their ability to stand out and make a difference.

The launch of the initiative signified the end of a three-day training workshop for 50 girls selected to be peer educators and leaders of the Girls Clubs. The girls who have learnt valuable life skills about safety, security, family and health, society and culture are expected to take the shills back to their communities and pass it on to other girls through their clubs.

The Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Jonathan Richardson, said, “The Government of Australia has a steadfast and ongoing commitment to be at the forefront of women and girls empowerment through our development assistance program. The right for girls to learn and develop in safety is one of the most basic ones we hold dear both in Australia and Nigeria,” he said.

Mr. Richardson was appointed one of the Girls Safety Ambassadors for the High Commission’s support for the project.  According to Mr. Richardson, the project is one of the 21 projects the High Commission has supported over the last one year alone which he said is worth a total of approximately 110 million naira.

The supported projects by the High Commission were funded across a wide range of fields including education, agriculture, health, good governance, water and sanitation. According to Richardson, the Development Assistance Program of the Australian High Commission was designed to help the most vulnerable in the society, including those displaced by conflict in the North-East, people living with disabilities, women and girls.

Awards were presented to personalities at the launch, including representatives from the Ministry of Women Affairs, Ministry of Education, Civil Society Coalition on Education for All (CSACEFA), and popular radio personality, Ahmed Isa, Hembelembe crooner. The recognitions were given to the awardees for their support for the education of the girl-child and young women in the F.C.T., Nigeria and the Diaspora.

PhotoJunctions and its Abuja Photosynthesis

 The fifth anniversary of the festival, LagosPhoto spills into 2015 with the theme "The Year of Photography," a year-round programme of exhibitions and workshops in Lagos. The festival's expansion from its month-long annual presentation, aims to evolve into a comprehensive and permanent educational platform.

 Last year, LagosPhoto presented a ten-month initiative leading up to the sixth edition of LagosPhoto set to hold in October 2015, with programmes including series of exhibitions highlighting new works of participating artists, a group thematic exhibition that explores the relationship between photography and design, residencies for international artists to produce new photographic work in Lagos, and workshops, talks and extended mentorship for emerging photographers.

 

The Year of Photography, as promised by Lagos Photo, to allow renowned international and local photographers interact with new audiences in the country, brought about the initiation of the first edition of the PhotoJunctions, which debuted in Abuja, Recently.

PhotoJunctions, in a week-long event/exhibition, was organised by the embassies of France, Germany, Spain and The Netherlands, the Thought Pyramid Art Centre and in partnership with LagosPhoto Festival.

Two artist talks based on the topic “The Journey” was also a feature of the week-long event which involved Nigerian photographers Aisha Augie-Kuta and Tom Saater, who share explicitly, their experiences and struggles through their 'journey' into professional photography.

Most interesting, however, was Tom Saater's story, which depicted rare details of information on his struggle without a degree, but through passionate and relentless efforts, got two contracts with an international news agency, while still homeless, sleeping at a post office and without a camera. Tom was in London a day after the PhotoJunctions Artist Talk by invitation from Oxford University to share with students of the prestigious educational institution.

 

 According to Wunika Mukan, Director at the African Artists' Foundation (AAF), organisers of the Lagos Photo Festival, "The aim of the initiative is to promote international photography in Abuja and to provide local photographers with an opportunity to exchange their visions and photographs also with foreign photographers."

Three facilitators from France, Spain and The Netherlands, namely William Daniels, Lurdes Basolí and Hans Wilschut, were in Abuja to give workshops to photo artists and specialist who had attended from Lagos and Abuja.

 

The facilitators led the photography participants through analyses of creative works and experiences of other professional photographers and icons, the works of the participants and themselves in an enriching interactive process which led, eventually, to the formation of a group of creative photographers and photo journalists called the Abuja Photosynthesis.

Highlights of the PhotoJunctions Workshop includes an exhibition of works from the previous year of the Lagos Photo Festival, Artist talks With Aisha Augie-Kuta and Tom Saater, the PhotoJunctions Workshop; featuring a week-long interactive and an exhibition of photos of the participants with works from an outing initiated to facilitate an output process of knowledge acquired from the workshop and the formation of the intercultural and intercontinental group of Photo Artists, Photographers and Photo Journalists, Abuja Photosynthesis.

 

Kaduna to Korea; T-SOD Emerges K-Pop Champions

  The Kaduna-based dance group, T-SOD, have emerged winners of the 4^th edition of the annual K-Pop Dance Competition organized by the Korean Cultural Centre, held on Saturday, 4th of August, 2015, in Abuja.

The winning dance group will go on to represent Nigeria at the grand-finale of the K-Pop competition in Changwon City, Republic of Korea, later in the year. 

KWON YONG-IK, Director of the Korean Cultural Centre with DG, NCAC, Mrs. Dayo Keshi

The K-Pop Dance Competition which is organized in various countries worldwide is based on the music and dance choreography of the pop culture of Korea through a system the Director of the Korean Cultural Centre, Kwon Yong-Ik, described as “efforts from effective and positive culture observation”.

Winners emerged from two categories: Adult and Students. While T-SOD won the Adult category with their performance of the song ‘Danger’ by Korean pop group ‘BTS’, K-Popians (Boys) Gwagwalada made the 1^st position in the Students Category with their chorographical dance rendition of the song ‘War’ also by Korean Pop group ‘BTS’.

Besides the entertainment vibes by the performing participants at the competition, other highlights and probably the peak of the event was the collaborative performance of the 2012 and 2013 winners, Elevatorz and Idez, with their electric performance of the Korean pop hit ‘Gangam Style’.

Awards and cash prizes were given to the 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd prize winners along with about 60 Samsung smart phones given to award recipients. The competition’s finalists were drawn from states Kaduna, Delta, Edo, Lagos, Rivers and Enugu.

Kwon Yong-Ik said, “We are happy that this year’s K-Pop competition was successful. The participants have all performed well. This shows that Nigerians are lovely and lively people and we hope to keep doing great things in this country”.

Anisah Debuts with Arts and Design, To Launch Nene Magazine

 The allure of abstractness of style and

 

distinction along with the aesthetic quality of redefinition, play on a dance of bold artistic expressions of Anisah Ahmed in her exploration with redefining approaches on various forms, expressing her romance with art, fashion and architecture and her aim for exhaling refreshments against the trends.

 

Her debut exhibition of her works of art and photography coming up on the 14^th of August 2015 at the Thought Pyramid Arts Centre, Abuja, will also host the launching of Nene Magazine with a following all day exhibition on the 15^th of August, 2015. 

 

Anisah Ohunene Ahmed is a Fashion Design student at De Montfort University, Leicester, UK. She started Art & Design four years ago, during her A levels course as a subject at Abbey College, Manchester with no experience or knowledge of art. She had to learn the basics. Anisah has from then grown to appreciate art, not just as a subject but have also applied it in different fields of studies including Architecture and fashion.

 

“It  was  at  the  Architectural  Association  School  Of  Architecture, London I  nurtured my creativity and hence decided to study fashion design instead of  architecture, luckily the portfolio created during this academic year was  diverse  enough  to  get  me  into  other  schools,  so  I  went  ahead  to  study  Fashion  Design. While  I  was  making  all  these  decisions,  the  only  thing  that  remained  constant  was  my  interest  in  art  &  design;  painting,  drawing,  sketching,  taking  photographs,  exploring  etc. and different aspects of it,” she said.

 

“My  art  works  consists  of  mixed  media  created  for different  projects  (both  personal  and  academic)  at  different  times. The  recent  pieces  are  made  using  knit  yarns,  embroidery  threads (a  medium  revisited  from my A  level  years), watercolors,  acrylic,  oil  and  spray  paint,  inks,  fine  liners,  recycled  glass  etc.”

 

Anisah’s application of the expressionists’ style of art especially with her work; “Manchester Town Hall” is done with the hope to challenge the seeming trends of styles of art in the society and to encourage further explorative and redefining forms of art including the stylistic approach of art with Cubism and redefining fashion design statements.

 

She said, “Another way I want to promote creativity in Nigeria is target the youth through NËNË magazine; which would serve as a platform to showcase talented & hardworking Nigerians and urge youths to be creative in whatever field they venture. I believe having a creative mind set together with resilience of Nigerian people will be a good starting point for the “Change” we so desperately seek in other for us to thrive as a Country. The message is “By 9ja, for 9ja.”