To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Department of Fine and Applied Arts, University of Nigerian, Nsukka (UNN), about 100 stunning artworks of paintings, installations, mixed media and sculptures are on display.
The jubilee show, themed Nkoli Ka (recalling is greatest), is a moving exhibition, which took off from the school in April and moved to the capital, Abuja. The show is scheduled to take place in Lagos on Saturday, June 23 and runs till July 2, at the former Lagos Business School (LBS), opposite the Law School, Lagos.
“Fifty-six years on, the spirit of excellence, adventure, experiment, and boldness which characterised Azikiwe’s politics and activities still drive the vision of the Nsukka School as it wanders from one level of experiment and achievement to another. In over five decades, our contribution and impact on the art scene at home and abroad remains non pareil,” said the Head of the Department, Professor Chuu Krydz Ikwuemesi, who was at the press briefing recently held in Lagos.
Ikwuemesi, who is the curator of the exhibition, said the price of success can be high and demanding, while “success is both an end and a means to an end. Success should beget success; but it has a very thin skin and can be easily wounded. Thus, we are happy to be where we are, but careful to assure that we leave the stage better than we got there. That is the essence of this event.
“As the Department of Fine and Applied Arts is co-eval with the story of the University of Nigeria. It is long, ambitious and inspiring. If jubilee is that point where we are able to begin again, the story affords us, at this point, the opportunity to reflect on our achievement and face up to the future with superlative optimism. Any wonder we have themed this celebration Nkoli Ka (recalling is greatest)? In the words of Achebe, “It is the story that outlives the sound of the war drums and the exploits of brave fighters…The story is our escort; without it, we are blind.
It is very important to note that the works for this exhibition were created by the practising artists who passed through the prestigious institution.
“So, there is a song in our heart, a story on our lips. It is a song of victory and a story of achievement; the story of the story of success. And we have rolled out our drums in joyful celebration; we have roused our flutes to sonorous laughters.
He said it is also a time of sober reflection and critical stocktaking. “Nkoli Ka, as we recall our achievement and accolades in time gone by, we also anticipate new vistas and gesture with renewed zest at new challenges that beckon at the frontier.”
The celebration is a landmark in the electrifying and fructifying trajectory of the Nsukka School. “As a testimonial of achievement and hope, it may encourage us to nod in self-fulfilment like the red head lizard when it jumps to the ground from great heights. On the other hand, and more importantly, as the story escorts us, it will, as Chinua Achebe has aptly said, ‘save our progeny from blundering like blind beggars into the spikes of the cactus fence’.”