Twelve finalists have emerged for this year’s
National Art Competition.
Organised by African Artists Foundation (AAF)
and Nigerian Breweries (NP) Plc, the finalists are Chidinma Nnorom Chinke, Mary
Edoga Chioma, Alayande Ayanwale, Brigitte Sésu Tilley-Gyado, Karimah Ashadu and
Taiye Idahor.
Others are Olanrewaju Tejuoso, Felicia Okpara
Tochukwu, Erasmus Onyishi, Victoria Udondian, the duo of Chuka Ejorh and
Olamide Udo-Udoma, as well as the duo of Halima Abubakar and Zemaye Okediji.
The finalists were engaged in a retreat,
which began on July 29 till last Friday at Nimbus Art Gallery, Ikoyi, Lagos,
where they had the opportunity to exchange ideas with one another and
participate in workshops facilitated by leading artists, scholars, and
practitioners in their fields. After the retreat, finalists are expected to
spend four months to execute their final project.
The curator of African Artists Foundation,
Joseph Gergel, said over 100 entries were received from the six geo-political
zones from which 26 names were shortlisted, then 12 finalists emerged after
screening from Prof El Anatsui led selection committee.
Furthermore, he said: “For us, the criteria
were how the artist was able to interpret the theme, “Identity: Who Do You
Think You Are” in a very original way. We encouraged the artists to think
intellectually about what their message content is,” he said.
The theme explores how artists view the
relationship between individual and collective identity in Nigeria today and
examines the role of art as a vehicle for social change. The ongoing debate in
Nigeria about the value and function of our national identity is persistent: do
we identify ourselves with our state of origin, or do we accept the communities
in which we reside, embracing them as our home? What are our anxieties about
our perceived status in society and how has globalisation and social media
boosted or influenced this status? These and other ideas addressing personal
identity will be explored in the National Art Competition 2013 through the
development of the 12 finalists’ projects.
The organisaers also said that the
competition aims to promote the development of contemporary African art and
raise awareness on social issues through the use of creative artistic
expression.
Workshop facilitators and artist mentors at
the retreat included Olu Amoda, Uche Okpa-Iroha, Jelili Atiku, Delphine
Fawundu, Kelechi Amadi-Obi, Robin Hammond, Prince Yemisi Shyllon, Nick Hagen, Joseph
Gergel, Orlando Reade, Roger Woodbridge and Richard Eko.
This year’s competition experienced
unprecedented number of strong and conceptually impressive
entries, which proposed a variety of artistic practices in response to the
theme.
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