An art and culture platform, the Sankofa Initiative will celebrate two writers, Dr Wale Okediran and Dumebi Ezar Ehigiator, on Saturday.
The arts and culture exchange programme holds by 3pm at the NuStreams Conference Centre in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
According to the Programmes Manager, Servio Gbadamosi, who is also the founder of Winepress Publishing, this month’s edition comes with a tint of motivation. “The two guest writers have been touching the lives of many,” he said. Okediran’s immense contribution to the development of creative writing and writers across Africa are noteworthy. He is a former president, Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) and founder of the Ebedi Writers’ Residency that provides a space for writers to write. Okediran, who is the author of the new collection of short stories, entitled: Keepers of the Tribe, is also winner of the 2012 Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa.
On her part, Ehigiator, the author of the new novel, Wrecked, is a woman of many parts. She is known for her advocacy on oppression, women’s rights and empowerment, which reflected in her writings. This teacher and librarian, is also an editor of Women of Rubies and the convener of Just Us Girls Summit (JUGS), an annual workshop, providing mentor programmes for pre-teen and teenage girls. In addition, she is a blogger and the Creative Director for Glows and Sparkles, a makeup artistry outfit empowering women.
Ehigiator brings all her experiences into her writing, while giving women’s stories, plight and their successes a voice.
Guests at the Saturday event will also feature an interactive session centred on the authors’ behind-the-scenes stories of their works and the creative process involved. There would also be readings, performances and book signing session.
The event is curated by the Sankofa Initiative for Culture and Development, Arts and Culture Exchange. It is a platform for the revival of a vibrant reading culture, the promotion of creative expressions in the arts and deepening civic engagement amongst the nation’s youths.
“While incorporating the ideals of artistic scholarship with the innovations of performance practice and contemporary culture, the arts and cultural exchange, the platform seeks to mix creative dexterity of leading and emerging culture practitioners and thought leaders in Nigeria. Book readings, poetry performances, music renditions, drama, art exhibitions, panel discussions and workshops are creatively fused together to make each edition a memory to be relished,” he said.
Sankofa Initiative celebrates Okediran, Ehigiator
