The maiden edition of Edo International Book and Art Festival (EdIBAF 2023) will hold on April 26, in Benin, the Edo State capital.
Venue is Sir Victor Uwaifo Creative Hub, Airport Road.
The festival, which is an integral part of the Education Week, a brainchild of the Edo State Ministry of Education, in collaboration with Grace Foundation for Education and Development, has as theme: Every Child A Reading Champion.
It will feature Edo-born Nigerian writers and artists such as award-winning writer and filmmaker Jude Idada, Victor Ehikhamenor, Olu Ajayi, Anisa Daniel-Oniko, and Dr. Eghosa Imasuen, among others.
Foremost journalist and culture communicator Mr. Jahman Anikulapo, and foreign artists like South Africa’s Lebo Mashile and Ghanaian Nana Asaase are in the line-up of artists who will mentor children and young adults alike on how creativity is a handmaiden of education.
Special festival guest Idada will tap into his illustrious career as a multidisciplinary artist whose oeuvre traverses playwriting, poetry, children’s literature and film-making to inspire the young ones in their aim for greater heights in all fields of human endeavour.
He is expected to participate in a panel discussion entitled: The Place of Creative Art in Quality Education.
The panel will seek to answer questions such as: ‘Where is the point of convergence between creative art and education?’ ‘Could someone be creative and not be brilliant academically?’ ‘How often should teachers incorporate the teaching of creative subjects in school curriculum?’ ‘Which is superior— intelligence or creative imagination?’ ’How can the two terms be explored for equilibrium impact on the educational wellbeing?’
The versatile South African spoken word artist, Mashile, will explore the booming spoken word genre in the poetry slam segment. Mashile and two other artists will be jury in the poetry slam tagged I am a Reading Champion open to young adults aged 15 to 25. It attracts handsome prize money and will hold on April 26, by 4:00pm.
A statement from Edo State Commissioner for Education Dr Joan Osa Oviawe said the programme is a demonstration of the government’s commitment to a holistic education agenda through various programmes, initiatives, reforms and partnerships with private sector and international organisations.
“It is in view of this that the Ministry of Education has put together an Education Week scheduled to hold from Wednesday, April 26, through to Sunday 30, 2023,” the commissioner said.
Festival Director, Samuel Osaze, expressed optimism that the maiden edition of EdIBAF 2023 would be one to look forward to and enjoined everyone to turn up and enjoy it.
According to the poet and festival curator, “Edo State is home to one of the greatest empires in the world endowed with both ancient art, prodigious human talents and material resources to showcase to the world through an international book and art festival, a void that EdIBAF has come to fill.”