The Nation Newspaper

Category: Arts & Life

  • A teacher’s love for arts

    A teacher’s love for arts

    Chief James Olatunbosun Lawal is a lover of arts. He also runs a zoological garden. He says man should be closer to animals. He spoke to TAIWO ABIODUN. 

    For Chief James Olatunbosun Lawal, collecting art works and keeping live animals are not a past time. They have become a hobby.

    If Lawal, the proprietor of Greater Tomorrow International College (GTIC), weren’t a teacher, he would have been an art collector or a zoologist.

    Lawal has a big fine art studio and a zoological garden where he keeps some animals, such as Arabian camel, tortoise, donkeys and horses of various species. He also keeps  birds, such as ostrich and peacocks .

    He said: “When I was young, I was very inquisitive about animals and used to draw them thinking I would become a fine artist one day. Again, I thought I would become a pastor, preaching the gospel or a teacher. When I established Greater Tomorrow International College ( GTIC) in Agbaluku, Akoko, Ondo State, I felt it was an opportunity to practise what I’d had in mind – the arts and caring for animals.”

    His belief that the arts sector is a goldmine worth investing in has led to his collecting artworks by various artists. His love and support for the arts also led to the establishment of a well-stocked fine art studio in his school. With it, Lawal is nurturing the talent in his pupils, who he hopes would become  world-class artists.

    “I want my pupils to be great artists and sculptors, like Pablo Picasso, the famous Nigerian painter and first professor of Art Ben Enwonwu and professor in Art History Rowland Abiodun. That is what inspired the establishment of the studio. I am determined to give all it takes to ensure my pupils become first-class fine artists, and whatever they may want to be in the arts. I’m urging them not to relent in their efforts, but to strive be great like those renowned artists in different specialities.

    “We still remember Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC ’77) today that attracted all lovers of the arts and culture to Nigeria. If we really mean it as a country, we can make more money from the arts and culture more than the oil we are depending on. If you know how much an artwork costs and appreciates you would like to go into it. No wonder, some of our artists and art collectors are millionaires,” he said.

    Beyond wealth, Lawal said that the arts have the power to shape life positively for the progress of humanity. According to him, the love and expression of the arts can be nurtured by all. He said: “The world we live in is shaped by art. God is the greatest artist as is seen in His creation. The universe, as it were, is God’s design. He created man in His own image, the animal, water, hills, and so on. Indeed, art is not an exclusive to some special persons. You can a sculptor, a textile designer and an art historian, if you develop and nurture the interest. You can also become a carver like the late Professor Lamidi Fakeye, who carved the Oduduwa statue which is still at the Obafemi Awolowo University today.”

    The art advocate is also a lover of animals. He condemned poaching of animals. He expressed sadness over the death of the most loved Lioness Cecil killed by an American dentist, Walter Palmer at the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe.

    He said: “I was sad and devastated when I heard of the death of the lioness. It is high time people stopped poaching to avoid the extinction of our animals. It’s lovely to have animals; it tells you how great God is to have created and moulded different animals with different shapes and characters. Although it is expensive and time consuming caring for animals, it is also important for the educational development of the child. That is why I think we need them in schools to let our pupils would see them, feel them and understand them better. Without cramming their textbooks, my pupils can write an essay on each of the animals.

    “I am glad people also come from outside to see how our animals. Some had never seen an Ostrich, which the Yoruba call Ogongo Baba Eiye. Many only see these animals on pages of their books. Whenever I come here, they remind me of tales woven around them. I learnt this tortoise is about 75 years of age. Each time I go there to look at it and tell her its stories it would crawls into its shell as if it’s angry at its own ugly stories.”

    For those thinking of owning a zoological garden , he advised: “You would need a lot of money to take proper care of the animals. You must have a veterinary doctor that would be caring for their health.”

    Asked why he didn’t have wild animals, such as lion, tiger, chimpanzee, Lawal  laugh and said: “We wouldn’t want to scare our pupils, would we. The ones we have here are just friendly animals”.

     

  • Hoolee hits the screen Dec 1

    Hoolee hits the screen Dec 1

    MultiChoice Africa and Turner Broadcasting will make African television history this year when families on the continent will be able to celebrate their holiday break with a first African pop-up children’s channel. The channel called ‘Hoolee’ will boost their festive holidays with surprising shows and outstanding content on DStv Premium.

    Beginning from December 1st till January 31, DStv Premium subscribers can relax with their family’s favourite characters over the summer holidays. Subscribers will have exclusive rights to this ground-breaking, eight-week long family channel that will join Turner’s existing children’s channels – Boomerang and Cartoon Network-on DStv.

    The continent’s very first pop-up children’s channel will be built around a selection of the very best shows from Turner and Warner Brothers productions as well as exclusive acquisitions, which will include premieres of the latest and very best in children and family entertainment.

    “Imagine laughing, sharing surprising adventures and celebrating the summer holidays with your children every day. This is what the pop-up channel has in store for the whole family” says MultiChoice Africa CEO, Tim Jacobs.

    “Hoolee will offer to the whole family programmes that they have always enjoyed, as well as new and refreshing, exclusive shows and movies. The range of programming is truly amazing,”adds PIERRE BRANCO, VP and Managing Director of Turner Africa.

    With a large volume of 100 hours programmes, the new channel will offer carefully chosen movies and animated shows. So that, DSTV viewers will enjoy all the festivities of the holidays with bright, refreshing, surprising and joyful content.

     

  • Prof Harry Garuba headlines ANA Convention

    Prof Harry Garuba headlines ANA Convention

    Writers, under the auspices of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) is set to host its yearly International Convention. Come  October 30, all roads will lead to Kaduna State for the literary feast.

    This year’s edition would feature Prof Harry Garuba of the Centre for African Studies at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

    With the theme, The Local and Global Textures of New Nigerian Writing, the association is calling for papers from academics and specialists in fields related to this theme

    According a statement by ANA Publicity Secretary (North), Richard Ali, the convention also has as its sub-themes—

    1) Literary Imagination and the quest for cultural authenticity.

    2) Between integration and dissidence, the imaginaries of identity in a global space.

    3) The production of Nigeria as creative social space through Literature.

    4) Whither ethnic literatures and literature in the indigenous languages?

    5) Nigerian Writing in the context of African writing.

    Ali states that “the list is not exhaustive nor is it restrictive the above”, while adding that abstracts should be sent in to the Vice President, Mallam Denja Abdullahi, via email to denja.abdullahi@gmail.com.

     

  • Ebedi: Grooming tomorrow’s talents

    Ebedi: Grooming tomorrow’s talents

    •Residency hosts three artists  

    In the past six years, Ebedi International Writers Residency has become a household name in providing writers space to write. Besides, it is fast becoming a resort for artists. EVELYN OSAGIE writes that it is also grooming future talents.

    Five colourful artworks stared back at guests as they chatted about the arts and literature at the Ebedi International Writers Residency, Iseyin, Oyo State.

    There was something unique about the works leaning on the walls that were spread across the room. They seemed to share a special bond that sums up the artist’s thematic preoccupation – communication.

    The first expresses a conversation with the gods (Oracle); the second has two babies conversing on their mother backs. The third shows a man discussing on phone; and next to it was a figure of a headless half-clothed lady, and the last, a portrait of the founder of the residency, Dr Wale Okediran, in a conversation.

    There were also the pencil drawings of 15-year-old Salam Aderemi Adesola, an SSS 3 pupil of Iseyin District Grammar School (IDGS).

    It was no art exhibition, but one could say it was the making of another art exposition. The colourful art pieces by an Ibadan-based visual artist Kehinde Awofeso, a resident at the Ebedi International Writers Residency, were on display when some journalists visited the place during  Kehinde’s last days at Iseyin. She was there with culture activist and famed writer of children books, Chief Charry Adanna Onwu-Otuyelu and an emerging novelist Lynda Rubi Binos. While the writers spent six weeks working on their latest books, Kehinde spent hers developing more concepts and paintings for forthcoming exhibition in December, titled: Conversations.

    For over six years, the writer’s residency has been providing residents with space to write and stipends to cater for their daily needs for six weeks. However, it is fast becoming an artist’s resort. The trio, who passed out last month, were the fourth set this year at residency. They have since been replaced by three artists in residence – Samuel Ovraiti, Juliet Ezenwa Maja Pearce and Phillip Lexie Nzekwe – which is an interesting development. Like Kehinde, artists now have a space in Ebedi.

    Besides the three artists and Kehinde, who is also a book illustrator, Niger State-born artist Awwalu Sekiwa, is another artist and book illustrator that has benefited from the programme. However, this is the first time it would be hosting three artists in residence.

    This, the founder said, was deliberate. Having artists in residence, according to Okediran, was borne out of the realisation that while the writers write, they need the artists to represent ideas visually and artistically. Nevertheless, he noted that writers remain its main focus.

    “You’d discover that some of these artists are book illustrators too. So they work along with writers, for example, Awwalu is a major book illustrator and Kehinde too. They do a lot of book covers. And we thought we shouldn’t let out of the whole the benefits the residency has to offer. But they would be minimal. May be 10 per cent of artists would be hosted at the residency against the 99 per cent of writers realised that they would be minimal,” he said.

    For those who are still wondering what visual art has got to do with a writers’ residency, Kehinde said: “The two arts are related. And what links visual art with literary arts is imagery and imagination. When an author writes, he/she builds pictures in the mind of the reader. While in visual art, the image is what tells the story.”

    She added: “It is important to work with youths in both literary and visual concepts because it boosts their imagination. It is not surprising that children’s books come with all kinds of visual representations in form of illustrations.”

    For Chief Onwu-Otuyelu, being in the residence with the artist was an inspiring experience. She was so inspired that she hinted that the artist would be illustrating one of her soon-to-be published works which she wrote at Ebedi. During her stay there, she was able to complete three of her works with the tentative titles – Rest in Pieces, Whose Baby? and Tit More Tat. Onwu-Otuyelu and her colleagues also used their time at Ebedi to hold interactive sessions with secondary school pupils in Iseyin. According to the writer, her time with the children was one of her favourites.

    While the writers taught the kids creative writing, Kehinde schooled them on the art of painting with oil and water colour. Salam was one of Kehinde’s most committed disciples. Moved by the artist’s teachings, it was not long for Salam abandoned his admiration for those in the sciences after being convinced that art is a noble vocation. He dreams of becoming a visual artist someday.

    “Between 2013/2014 there was no resident visual artist at Ebedi Residency; however in 2015 when resident Kehinde came to Ebedi Residency I joined the programme because that is my main area of interest. I prefer the arts because to me it tells about life and one can change society through what one draws. I have chosen to study the arts in the university, and specialise on visual arts. The writer and the artist are doing the same thing in different ways. It is a proud thing that they are doing and I want to join them. I did not know this before and used to admire my friends in Science and commercial class, but no more. That is what meeting and learning from the writers and artists at Ebedi Residency has taught me.

    “Now, I am proud to say I can draw and I can write. I now paint with pencils. My drawings on a man on a boat is an environmental drawing; while the drawing of a scholar, shows the importance of education to the development of man. Besides knowing what it means to be an artist, we were taught creative writing. My English has improved. My confidence has improved; I can now confront even more than a million crowds.”

    Like Salam, interacting with residents has great impact on Chukwu Emmanuel, an IDGS JSS 3 pupil. The 13-year-old, who is already piling up his poetry and short story collection, said, he hopes to be a writer someday. Hear him: “I want to be a writer because I have learnt so many things from associating with the writers at the Ebedi International Writers Residency; and they speak with confidence that I like. Before I can’t write but now I can write a story, a play and a poem. But I now focus on drama and short story. Today, I am bold to talk to people because I can express myself and if they ask me to write I can write everything I see or feel. This makes me happy and has affected my grades at school. My mother is happy too.

    “Mummy Onwu-Otuyelu taught us about our culture; she told us folktales and made us sing folksongs in Igbo. I am from Igbo but before now, I couldn’t speak the language well. Listening to her stories and learning those songs, I can now speak it to my mother. We thank Dr Okediran for giving us the opportunity to experience the good things that residents are offering us, students.”

    After liaising with the residency for four years, IDGS Head of English and Prince Femi Olalere Tubosun, who is also the School Coordinator for Ebedi Writers/Students Interactive Programme, said: “The programme has helped the students discover their hidden talents. They even exhibit some of their works before an audience. This kind of project has a great impact on the kids, academically. I recommend it for schools across the country. The resource persons are wonderful; their interactions with the students on week day at the schools and at the residency in the evenings and on weekends are really friendly and warm. The students also relate with them well as if they have been together for a very long time.”

    Besides pupils of IDGS, she also taught art to pupils of Ansarudeen Secondary School. Ebedi Residency Manager, Mr Macdell Joshua Kofi Sackey, said the residence has extended its creative activities to those in other schools in the town, adding that two more sets of residents are expected before the year ends.

    And although Kehinde and her team passed out last month, they said the memory lingers. “The place gave us freedom and time to explore our creativity to the fullest. Indeed, it is this great vision; I feel so blessed to have benefited from it. I learnt it has been on since 2010 and continues to grow. It is hoped that the government, other well-meaning Nigerians and organisations would support the efforts of the founder,” Kehinde said.

    On her part, Chief Onwu-Otuyelu said the residency programme is “an intellectual project that should be supported by all”.  She recounted: “I had a marvellous time. There were no distractions, particularly from my grandchildren. As writers, when one is gaining inspiration and distractions set in, one might lose it forever. This is a place out of this world of confusion and madness.

    “That is why I want to commend Dr Okediran for the good work he is doing for literature in the country; it is a good thing that this residency is not only a Nigerian affair, as writers have come from Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, and many other African countries. This kind of intellectual creativity should be supported in the country and not only musical and dance creativity. I brought Igbo language to them at Iseyin.

  • Ogunmola’s Palm Wine Drinkers’ Club goes public

    Ogunmola’s Palm Wine Drinkers’ Club goes public

    It is a hilarious play, very comic, just to spice life and make people laugh.  As the Palm Wine Drinkers’ Club went on stage in Lagos last weekend, its central message was not lost on the audience.  Edozie Udeze reports.

    The opening scene of the play showed that it was going to be a bizarre sort.  The artistes had dressed up in different types of local costumes, dancing and singing to the stage.  Each of them had a calabash of palm wine in his hand as they sang in a local tongue.  The atmosphere suddenly became comic, most especially as Biodun Olayinka (Papa Ajasco) led the way in his usual characteristic manner.  Adorned in an oversized local costume, with his own calabash obviously bigger than the rest, he swayed to the beatings of the drums and the praises being showered on the powers and potency of palm wine.

    Welcome to the play, Palm Wine Drinkers’ Club, written by Kola Ogunmola.  It was staged at the Terra Kulture, Victoria Island, Lagos, last weekend by the Lagos State Council for Arts and Culture led by its director Olaitan Otulana.  The play is a comic display of the potency of palm wine and why some people often chose to have it as a habit by consuming a lot of it from time to time.  Lanke Emu (Papa Ajasco) who was the lead character was palm wine personified.  He woke to the rhythm of palm wine.  He dreamt palm wine and indeed turned it into a cult of sorts.  His love for it was incomparable.

    He did not want to marry except if it was possible for him to have palm wine as his wife.  He was so addicted to it that the first scene on stage opened with him and lots of his close friends and associates in a party mood drinking gourds of palm wine.  As they did so, they danced and sang to high heavens eulogising the need for more people to come into the club as new members.  It was a dance-drama full of songs rendered both in English and Yoruba with the central message not lost on the audience.

    The mood of the celebration had got to a maddening crescendo when suddenly they ran out of palm wine.  The left-over given to some of the guests was so bitter that they also rejected it.  This was the time when Alaba, Lanke Emu’s special tapper was called in to produce more fresh palm wine.  While the people waited with high expectations, urging him on to make it a bumper one, the chord carrying him carved in and he fell from the tree.  Alaba was feared dead instantly and immediately the party turned into mourning for the dead.

    Mourning The Dead

    As they sang deep-rooted dirges for the dead, Lanke could not stand it.  His penchant for palm wine soon overwhelmed his emotions.  Alaba was his only source of succour.  How could he live or even survive without Alaba’s palm wine in his life?  While others mourned the dead, he bemoaned his fate based on the exigencies of palm wine.  Even when other people sought to revive his spirit with palm wine by other tappers, he still could not be assuaged.

    At this point, he went into a trance, a profound midday reverie sort of, that took him away from the living to the world of the dead.  His soul wandered and wondered into the deep foyers of life, imagining that he needed to go find Alaba wherever he had gone to.  This format presented a different way of showcasing the play, for it offered the audience a clue into the spirit world.  Lanke Emu encountered so many different and diverse scenes and issues while he wandered into the strange elements of life.

    The spirit world where he got to, did not want to spare him.  But they got together and gave him different charms and amulets with which to overcome his task.  With an empty shell of a snail hanging on his neck, Lanke set sail on his expedition into the spirit world fully determined to discover Alaba.  “Oh, palm wine,” he bellowed, “whatever can I do without you?” he asked in his sleep.  Lanke then began to guzzle kegs of palm wine when he was only 8 years old.  Out of all the children born of the same parents, he vowed to make palm wine his only companion till eternity.  “It is only what makes me come alive,” he declared in a deep dream occasioned by the gods of palm wine.

    The Dream

    In his dream also, he met Bisi who had been hoodwinked by a handsome spirit husband to marry her.  Even when Lanke forced himself to rescue her from the jaws of the devil, he also found it difficult to make himself amenable to her.  Although marriage was conducted between the two, it did not bring hope and solace to Lanke.

    The Intoxicating presence of palm wine in his system had taken roots that not even the offering of the comfort of a woman could sway him.  He encountered more problems and hardships on the way, only to be woken by his people who told him that Alaba did not really die.

    But even then, waking him was a big task.  He only came alive when they poured a cup of palm wine inside his mouth.  “And so, where is Alaba?” he asked.  “He survived the accident,” they told him.  “He only sustained minor injuries but he is now fit and ready to go”.  This was the cheering news he had waited for.  And with it the drama came to an end with more kegs of palm wine going round for the celebration.

    With the infusion of drama and dance, embedded with endless songs and celebrations, the play evoked series of comic moments to relieve tension.  The appearances of masquerade spirits in different forms and guises not only terrified the audience but also intensified their longings and expectations, hoping for more intriguing scenes, nonetheless.

    Otulana explained that it was comic in approach to help embellish the place of palm wine in certain celebrations in the land.  “You could see his special love for palm wine and even how he began by inviting his people for a celebration.  Then he went into a trance because he lost his favourite palm wine tapper.  All the things that happened in the stage happened in a dream.  It shows you the power of dreams and what we encounter when we sleep.  But Lanke was seriously entangled on his own to be able to make something out of it.”

    Part of what the Lagos State Arts Council does from time to time is to package plays for the stage to entertain the public.  “Yes, we did this to put the public in a lighter mood,” Otulana said.  “As a Centre, what we do is to bring laughter into the lives of the people.  There have been so many other plays we’ve done in the past, which pricked on the conscience of the people.  Some of the plays are to encourage people to be morally upright and to see the good in the society.  It is a bi-monthly preparation to keep the theatre scene alive.”

    For Papa Ajasco (Olayinka), it was a show away from their routine at their Ikeja office to show how comic theatre could be used to diversify theatre.  “We are doing this show now to let people know what we are capable of doing.  We call it season of plays and we’ve brought it here at the Terra Kulture to intensify our reach out.  It is part of what we do to make people enjoy theatre and to tell them that life can be fun at times,” Papa Ajasco said.

    He explained that dance was introduced into the play to make it interesting and appealing.  “It is all about the life of this man who loves palm wine beyond compare.  He goes into a dream about this tapper who falls from a tree and dies.  The essence of this play is that people can sit down and write this sort of beautiful story on palm wine.  That the story itself can become a play on stage, shows how versatile and deep our playwrights can be.  Now you have a full play on just palm wine – it is so intriguing.  One cannot do without palm wine when you are getting married, during burial and other traditional functions in the society.  When you get to certain places in Nigeria, palm wine is a big deal and people hunger for it.  It is not only nutritious and healthy, it is good as part of your tradition.”

    Olayinka who expressed his special love for stage drama, said there is no room to compare TV and stage.  “I love stage more.  It is where you bring out your best as an actor.  You dare not mess up on stage because the audience will find you out.  So when I am on stage, I am conscious of what I do to make the audience follow and be happy.”

    The play has been on for a while, but it will be staged today at the same venue to let people appreciate the more the efforts of the council to make people turn to stage for relaxation.  In Palm Wine Drinkers’ Club, Ogunmola’s ability to eulogise and give life to palm wine is indeed the best way to celebrate this special gift to humanity.

  • Eight artists showcase at Alexis

    Eight artists showcase at Alexis

    Ever forty fascin-ating artworks that document day-to-day activities, captured by eight contemporary Nigerian artists are currently on view at Alexis Gallery in Victoria Island, Lagos. The show is sequel to a group exhibition organised by the gallery last year, titled Fate. This makes it the second edition of the show, and it will hold annually so said the exhibition curator and gallery owner, Mrs Patty Mastroginnis.

    “Fate is about peace and destiny,” said Mastroginnis, “And the artists getting together through fate.” The mixed media, installation, drawing and painting exhibition explores subject matter in divers-portraits, landscapes, and scene from everyday life. They all coexist with impressionism, abstract, figures and realistic subjects. Fate focuses on world peace which the artists captured with their works.

    The guest artist of the show, George Edozie who had a solo exhibition at the Museum Of Contemporary Art, North Miami, Florida, United States of America, said it gives him joy to partake in the show with the young artists who have not had solo exhibitions. “I don’t see anything wrong in exhibiting with them,” he said. Edozie has one work in this show titled 10 Faces of Onyeoma.

    Another artist participating in the show is Stanley Dudu who said the last time he participated in a group show was in 2010. “I need every show which I can get from a group and I think this is one of them,” he said.

    It was a five man show in the first edition and only three out of the five are participating in the ongoing show. Darlington Chukwumezie was one of them. He took a bolder step this year by showcasing recycling art. “I am fascinated with lose objects I find in the environment,” he said, “The way people look at certain materials or objects is deferent from the way I see it, I see it in abstract form. I am using my work in this show to bring things into existence, things which are not and also make people see that the objects have values,” the artist explained.

    Seeing Afeez Adetunji works you would think he went to one of the institutions in the country to study art, but this gifted young man is a self-taught artist. To him, self education is vital. Learning from talented artists has been part of his training and development.  “I am working on lines, I got interested in impressionism style…using dotted colour to form image. Lines create feeling and sensation and I see it as a tool I can use to convey my message.” He works focus on societal issues. He paints rooftops and adds figures to it because “what comes to my mind when I see rooftops is what goes in the mind of those living in the houses which is see top.”

    “My art is influenced by the ever changing landscapes of the developing topography of my Nigerian urban/cultural environment and scene. Evolving from the style and textures of the impressionist movement, I have been able to create and achieve my own trend and style of painting, using such medium as acrylic or oil on canvas,” said Henry Akhile who also partook in the first edition of Fate.

    Ike Gerald Chiemezie is exhibiting for the first time in Alexis Gallery and his works are philosophical. He claimed that people call him global peace artist. “As an artist my strategy is global peace,” he stated. His works focus on family, relationships and global issues. Chiemezie’s works in this show mainly depict wedding scenes. Majority of the works have yellow background. “I believe the smallest part of the whole society is family, if two people agree to get married and they are happy together, they will raise happy kids and it will be easier for this happy kids to obey the laws of the society.” His works come with Latin titles such as Auctor Amanti(Champion Lover), Regina Puella (Queen Girl, etc. This could be as result of his Catholic background.

     Works by Seye Morakinyo who just joined the gallery is also on display, and the works focus on success and growth.

    In addition the curator said the gallery is committed to providing unique exhibition opportunities for younger artists. However, they are no longer signing in more artists for now in order to reduce the work load of managing the large number of indoor house artists under it.

  • Slave Trade comes on stage

    Slave Trade comes on stage

    The phrase, it is good to catch them young has continued to reverberate in the world of theatre arts in Nigeria.  In the setting of the National Troupe of Nigeria, this aphorism has been their watchword whereby the management has never looked back in its efforts to ensure that drama permeates the lives of the younger ones.  This was why penultimate weekend the theatre scene in Nigeria was agog with series of performances by children and teens in the Creative Station programme put in place by the National Troupe of Nigeria.

    It is not only that this programme has been on in the past 6 years, the idea to use it to keep the young ones occupied during their long vacation and to also use it to teach them all aspects of the theatre is what has made the exercise quite commendable.  Since its inception, the programme has grown from strength to strength, incorporating into it more aspects of the stage theatre in order to enable the children to be more versatile and vast as artists.

    This year’s theme was not only anchored on the history of slavery and the import of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade which happened between Europe and Africa and the New World, the story was also used to remind everybody about the modern day slavery.  Presently, a lot of issues bordering on poverty and the increasing cases of migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea into parts of Europe has become a big headache not only to the European Union but to the Arab world and African leaders who have continued to orchestrate wars and strife to further impoverish their people.

    The scene opened with children singing in a choral form to welcome guests.  With the Exhibition Hall of the National Theatre, Lagos packed to the brim, it was interesting to see the children in their best forms marshalling out songs and being their own persons.  The outing, in fact, the arrangement was so glorious as the children glittered in their orange and black costumes.  This sort of costume further embellished the scene and helped the songs to permeate the audience.

    The ease with which the children took hold of the command performance before such a large audience, showed how much work the director of the programme, Josephine Igberaese, put in place to ensure that the  presentation came out fine.

    This was why she explained that “the programme has now metamorphosed into a family.”  This was also proved right because the children, both in and out of stage, no longer thought or behaved according to their social classes.  On stage, they were able to blend, dishing out songs and performances that dwelt on human experiences across nations and races.  “From what I hear, Igberaese continued, “the interactions among the children continued beyond the station which is one of the objectives, that of breaking barriers and social class.  This is why I call them children without borders for this singular reason.”

    It is for this reason that the month of August has been earmarked in the past 6 years to teach these children how to dance, how to do creative writing and do improvisation.  Also in the kitty for them is to be taught how to do voice-over, sing and mime.  On the whole, they were taught this year how to dwell on historical themes to do stage plays.  The theme of the play this year was Akrifa, coined from Africa, in order to re-direct their attention to the issues that pertain to the continent.

    According to Mike Anyanwu, the director, Legal Services of the National Troupe who wrote the play, he took his inspiration from an episode that happened in 1807.  This was soon after the Abolition of the Slavery Act in England.  “Indeed, the plot revolves around a slavery expedition by a band of British slave merchants.  These set of merchants attacked the people of Africa at the height of their annual thanksgiving festival.  However, their success and effort to ship their human cargo to Europe were stalled.”

    This was where the stage play was based on.  Interestingly, the children were able to interpret the scenes to the delight of both the playwright and the audience.  The thematic thrust of the play based on man’s inhumanity to man was basically to disabuse children’s mind towards wickedness and avarice.  The human race has to begin now to agitate for peace and togetherness and love across peoples of the world.  This is one of the primary reasons for bringing the children together, using theatre to indoctrinate them.  Theatre has a universal language based on total entertainment and education.  It is for people to use it to preach peace and to reach out to a wide spectrum of the society.

    The author put it this way:  “it is yet another literary and theatrical re-enactment of the 300 years of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade in which over 3 million slaves from Africa were transported to the America.  This was basically between the 15th and the 18th centuries… finally, the play encourages constructive gender inclusiveness in Africa.

    The director of National Troupe, Akin Adejuwon was so excited that in his opening remarks encouraged both the parents and their children to continue to show interest in the programme.  He said, “this will afford us more opportunity to develop more talents in this field.  Just sit back and enjoy these repertoire of presentation and see how the children have fared so far.”

    Among the guests present were Yemisi Shyllon, Uche Majekodunmi, Mike Ileka, Kehinde Kamson, Ibukun Odusote and many others.

  • Myths, modes of Ife sculptures

    Myths, modes of Ife sculptures

    Nigeria is rich in heritage. The ancient city of Ile-Ife is one of such places, ELIZABETH HAMBOLU writes on how ancient artists documented Ife’s greatness in various media.

    Located in Osun State, Ile-Ife stands tall for its glorious past.

    The ancient city, which was the cradle of Yoruba civilisation, is regarded as the ancestral homeland of all Yoruba speakers, from which traditional, political and religious authorities were derived.

    Classical Ife civilisation flourished between the 12th and 15thAD and this is attested to by sculptural works in Bronze, Stones, Terracotta and other artistic production in the form of beads and architectural elegance represented by potsherd pavements.

    How these objects came to the limelight has often been attributed to the activities of a German explorer, Leo Frobenius, who came to Ile-Ife in 1910 to dig and cart away some of these magnificent and rare ancient arts. It must, however, be noted that the existence of some of these objects was naturally known to the people of Ile-Ife who, in the first case, were responsible for showing Frobenius the location of the objects.

    From the available records of the regrettable transactions that took place, it is obvious that the people also knew the value of the objects.  Regarding who tricked who, that will forever remain a subject of controversy.  The exploits of Frobenius now spurned the British Colonial masters to begin to contemplate actions towards the prevention of looting of other Ife sites. Frobenius went ahead to make indelible comments about the Ife objects to the effect that they were so exquisite to such an extent that they could not have been the work of  the Ife people of  his days but rather that of some form of their superior ancestors whose works were comparable to those of Greek Civilization.

    1938 was to be another hallmark year in the discoveries of Ife Bronzes which motivated the establishment of the Museum with close collaboration of the Ooni of Ife and colonial officers.  A long list of committed archaeologists worked over several decades to bring about more discoveries and better understanding of Ife Civilisation.

    Ife sculptures occupy a place of pride among other Nigerian objects in national exhibitions and those that are taken out for international exhibitions. They represent and are also used as emblems of Yoruba culture.

    Art critics have often argued that more should be done to comunicate Ifeancient civilisation to school children. And to serve this purpose and more, the Museum of Ife Antiquities now called National Museum Ile-Ife was set up during the colonial era.

    Below is an illustrateion of how ancient artists documented this greatness of Ife in various media, such as clay (terracotta & potsherd pavements) stones, bronze and beads.

     

     Ori-Olokun

    This is the most famous of the Ife bronze heads and it has a chequered history.

    It was produced through lost-wax or cire-perdue casting method. The Olokun head was dug up in the late 19th Century in the Olokun Grove.  In the past it was used in yearly rites when honouring Olokun, the goddess of the sea and patroness of bead making.  Experts have said it probably represents an Ooni and in its original form, probably had nothing to do with Olokun. The Ori-Olokun is associated with wealth.

    We see that people, since the times immemorial, have been so conscious about wealth and they make effort to see that their businesses prosper.

     

    Sculpture of a couple

    The couple above portrays an Ooni and his queen. They hold hands together with their legs entwined together. Their necks are heavily beaded.  They put on their head crowns and staff of office (Ase).

    As seen from the object it further attest to what God wants from couples; that in their marriage vows they are to stand by themselves without breaking the vows. They are to cooperate with one another, because in the Holy book, God said a man will leave the father and mother and cling to his wife to become one flesh and here the above figure clearly demonstrate that in its action.

     

    Bronze heads found

    in a grove (1938)

    This terracotta head is exhibited at the Ile-Ife Museum. It is the head of a queen. This object shows elements of royalty, meaning that all through the ages there have been Queens, Olori or Aya Obas, most especially in the western parts of Nigeria. Other states have their own title for king’s wives, e.g. in lgbo the Queen is called   Lolo.

     

    Beaded neck

    The beaded necklaces and bracelets on this torso (chest) are similar to those that are worn today by certain Yoruba traditional leaders. It is likely that a pair of bow-shaped badges once hung from the necklaces.  The use of beads is spread across the nation, some use it elaborately and some do not. The Obas and Obis in the southern parts use beads more elaborately as symbols of authority and power more than the traditional rulers in the North. Beads are profusely used in this figure which confirms that it is a royal object.

     

    Stones

    The ‘staff of Oranmiyan’, Opa Oranmiyan, a shaft of granite gneiss more than 5.4 meters in height, (about three times the height of an average man) is studded with spiral headed iron nails along its height.  According to Professor Willet, while the significance of the arrangement of nails is no longer known, a hole and engraved lines at the top of the object confirm the object’s phallic identity. This site is a focus of remembrance. It has historical and mythological significance, as the ancestors are remembered by a commemorative object. The granite column of Opa Oranmiyan is believed to be the walking stick of Oranmiyan, one of the sons of Oduduwa. Oranmiyan is said to be the fourth Ooni of Ife, a warrior and founder of the Kingdoms of Oyo and Benin.

    Apart from Opa Oranmiyan, there are other stone sculptures called   Opa-ase (staff) given to a king when he is crowned.  This is regarded as staff of authority. The king in his power can give it to any of his senior chiefs to represent him in a function if he is not able to attend.

     

    Idena (gatekeeper)

    Idena figure is believed to be a representation of a security man.  This is shows that in the past there were also security challenges that warranted them to have gate keepers. This figure is exhibited at the National Museum, Lagos.

     

    Contemporary uses of Ife art

    The Ife objects are in different exhibitions both home and abroad, in private and National Museums. Ife bronze were first exhibited during the reign of Ooni Adesoji Aderemi  in 1948 at the British Museum. It is at this time that the bronze received wider attention of the Europeans.

    Ife objects are exhibited at Volkerkunde Museum in Berlin Germany and British Museum. Ife objects now serve as regional and national symbols.  The bronze are no longer in use in their original context, which are within shrines.  Some Institutions/ Business enterprises now use replicas and drawings of the famous bronze (Ori- Olokun ) as symbols, branding and logo.  For example, many business operators consider the Ori-Olokun which is associated with wealth as appropriate for branding their  businesses.  Examples of such are Oyo State Television Station, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife (OAU), Odu’a Investment Company, and Airport Hotel, Ikeja-Lagos. In this hotel, one of their bars’ is named Ori-Olokun bar, and many reproductions of Ife art adorn their walls.

     

    Museum

    Museum is a house or set of buildings where objects of  historical, scientific, artistic value are preserved and displayed for the public view and education of the general public. Museum building is not just a place for keeping old relics, but it is by far, more than that.  It is where education takes place.

    The mission of National Commission for Museums and Monuments is to educate the general public with some of these objects in its collections.  School children constitute a very important segment of any society. They are of especial significance for the museum world, for in essence museums are set up to convey to succeeding generations the achievement of our predecessors. It is therefore very clear why school children should be brought often to the museum.

    In doing this, we must make children’s visits worthwhile. To achieve this, consultation with teachers before bringing students is very important.

    As has been observed by Museum education experts, mid-stream consultation that allows meeting of minds between what the museum has to offer, the school curriculum, historical needs and what the children want is very important. This enables a form of genuine engagement, so schools and teachers should be seen as active partners rather than being mere recipients of what the museum has to offer. All stakeholders here should know how to measure success.  Each child is entitled to benefit from learning experiences in the museum, thus very important to find out what students really think of our collections and exhibits.

    We should not hesitate to make the best use of new technologies, which are indeed very prevalent as they provide rich, interactive learning experiences they must not be ignored.  New technologies encourage creativity and innovation.

    It has been advocated that we should use objects/museums to deliver non-core and cross curricula activities.  In this case, we use artifacts as spring board for class activities and use museum as stimulus for work as contained in the national curriculum.  Museums enable experiencing the world through art in a different way.  In this way   children are thought how to really see things deeper than mere surface level.

    Ife Museum sculptures are used to provide new and stimulating learning environments, providing access to rich resources which are meaningful and relevant both to the curriculum and the pupils.  Information concerning production, materials utilised and historical implication is presented to students. These are in addition to their aesthetic value, environmental relevance, and history of objects, value, and their relationship with other objects.

    In exploring the symbolic meaning of objects students get a deeper understanding of the cultural meaning behind them. The physical experience of visiting Ile- Ife museum, right at the heart of the cradle of the Yoruba race, creates huge excitement.  Indeed a visit to Ife museum should be a rite of passage for all students of the South western Nigeria.

    Careful readers of this article would have noticed that some issues were left unattended to. This is deliberate. After listening carefully to the museum educators at Ife museum, students should be able to answer some of the questions I will list below and then follow up with their own questions.

    A few samples of questions will suffice for now: When were the Ife sculptures produced? Who produced them? Why were they produced? Who owned them? When and how where they brought to the museum?

    Are there other art objects in the media?

    When these are answered satisfactorily, the students can then move to the next level of asking questions which relates to Ife sculptures to other ancient art traditions of Nigeria.

    Brilliant students from Kwara State for example could ask about possible relationship between Ife and Esie soapstone sculptures. Do the Ile -Ife people have stories of people turning into stone? Drinking from their wealth of experience of Benin art, students from the south- south geo-cultural zone might ask if Ife art could be regarded as ‘Court art’ the way those of Benin are referred to.

    They might want to ask, where is the equivalent of Igun Street in Ile-Ife? Students from other parts of Yoruba land might also want to ask why Ife art is deficient in wood sculpture. There are many more ways of interrogating Ife sculptures and visitors can be rest assured that the ever willing educators         of Ile -Ife museum are always ready to provide answers and where not exactly possible to provide precise ones, they can at least shine a little light into complex issues.

    At the museum, there are off course rules to obey, token to be paid to enable one benefit from a rewarding museum experience.

     

     

  • The Nation woman makes her debut as artist

    The Nation woman makes her debut as artist

    A senior Correspondent with The Nation, Evelyn Osagie, has added another feather to her creative cap. She will be making her debut as an artist on Saturday at a group exhibition by GreenHouse Empowerment Centre in Olambe, Ogun State.

    The exhibition, which is led by Prof Bruce Onobrakpeya, will also feature the works of artists, such as Sam Ovraiti, Princess Theresa Iyase-Odozi, Dr Mabel Oluremi Awogbade, Ato Arinze, Stella Awoh, K.K.Olojo, Juliet Ezenwa Pearce, Bolaji Ogunwo, Stella Ubigho and Oke Ibem Oke.

    From being one of the fresh voices promoting artistic collectives and their crafts through her insightful pieces, Osagie, who is also a performance poet, has joined the league of those documenting Nigeria’s rich cultural and artistic heritage through photography.

    Inspired by two renowned female artists, Lauren Greenfield and Elisa Paloschi, Osagie brings her experiences covering the arts/culture sector to bear on her photography.

    In line with the exhibition’s theme, Nigerian visual artists and politics, Osagie will   showcase a body of work, featuring nine pieces in colour and monochrome of various sizes. Her displays spotlight issues, such as politics, tourism, culture/art, artistic and religious expressions, hope, peace and unity.

    Her  works explore the interaction between people, their art, their environment and their attendant power-play. The pieces, spanning eight years of her journalist career, feature images showcasing places like Idanre and Osogbo; artists/poets like Prof Wole Soyinka, Odia Ofiemun, Chief Muraina Oyelami of Iragbiji, the late Suzanne Wenger; religion; children, and 2011 and 2015 elections.

    Osagie’s choice of subject arises from the desire to share in the stories that unfold around her. She says she sees photograph as an artistic self-expression of reality; thus, she uses her camera to unearth and explore the world around her.

    She says: “I have always imagined photograph as unspoken MEMORY garnished with experience. Whether it is a walk down a hill with a friend, the serene town resting in between mountains or the embrace of two iconic poets, each image is a memory of diverse tales in man’s existence.

    “Capturing these unspoken scenes in a flash is what excites me as a journalist and artist. The most exciting of all, which I consider beautiful, is that each of those moment s are kept alive in photographs.”

    Born in Lagos, Osagie’s foray into photography dated back to her undergraduate days at the University of Benin, where she engaged in poetry performances, creative writing and other artistic endeavours. As a student, this graduate of English and Literature became interested in landscape and wildlife, while visiting relations, and other universities, canvassing for a joint-undergraduate writers’ association.

    Osagie reportorial engagements have also touched a plethora of issues bordering on cultural advocacy; women and child rights; civil rights; mental health; and a host of others.

    On the advocacy front, she has been engaged in campaigns, seminars, workshops and other commitments aimed at fostering better policies in rights protection for many Non-Governmental (NGOs) and Civil Society Organisations.(CSOs)

     

     

  • Multichoice spent 800million dollars on Gotv

    Multichoice spent 800million dollars on Gotv

    Call it a magical night filled with the best of African entertainment you may be right. That was the atmosphere as MultiChoice Africa hosted it’s second content show at the Outrigger Resort, Mauritius Island, last week. It was a five-day content extravaganza that witnessed DStv’s biggest channels previewing their latest and greatest contents, reports Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME. 

    If the calibre of guests who walked  the redcarpet on to the sensational night of dazzling event was a measure of success, this year’s content show has not only hit the mark, but also achieved its desired objective, offering the biggest week in Africa’s video entertainment.

    Laced with glitz and glamour of Hollywood, Bollywood and Nollywood berthing on the Mauritius Island paradise, guests who included Genevieve Nnaji, Rita Dominic, Desmond Elliot, Ramsey Nuoah, Basket Mouth, Eku Edewor, MC Ik, Banky W, DJ Sose, Flavour, Stoneboy and The Mavins were given the full music and movie-star treatment. It was a night that featured IK and Eku as MCs.

    However, the week-long event provided an opportunity for MultiChoice and its various partners to provide answers to some issues affecting the industry, especially piracy, pricing, repeating of programmes and local contents, among others.

    Chief Executive Officer MultiChoice Africa Tim Jacobs described piracy as a massive threat to broadcasters and right holders across the globe, adding that ‘they are only enriching themselves.’ He said MultiChoice Africa, is however, working with rights holders and broadcasters to tackle it, but that it is a moving target because ‘their infrastructure means they can open new portals as we shut others down.’ He said it’s not easy to evaluate how big the impact is, since by definition, a lot of it is underground and spread through social media.

    Jacobs, who spoke at an interaction with reporters said the challenge is broader as certain competitors broadcast a beam that comes down into Africa. “If you have that decoder and smart card that can pick up a service that is not designed to be broadcast in African territories, that is also piracy because the rights for that territory either haven’t been assigned or they are owned by a mainstream service,” he added.

    Reacting to a question on video entertainment service provider’s pricing structure, Jacobs said MultiChoice Africa is constantly evaluating its cost structures while taking into account the cost of content relative to its different audience groups,” he said.

    He noted that there have been massive increases in the cost of content such as the English Premier League football rights, which MultiChoice has factored into its pricing. He said: “We’re conscious that a large part of the population is looking for a good set of quality content at the bottom end of the market, in the USD10 area, and we make decisions on the price points of our bouquet structure – it’s a continuous evaluation. We’re looking at alternatives too – there’s strong consumer behavior (especially in Nigeria) where many consumers are self-employed, and therefore, not monthly earners, so we’re looking at whether it’s viable to address a different type of model. However, it’s not something that’s on the immediate cards.

    “The market for GOtv is specific, and targeted at viewers sitting on analogue signals. This is a sector of the population that has never engaged on Pay TV. They get a rich experience on a digital platform but at a price point that’s at the bottom of the affordability scale. If you start to move up the value chain, you start to confuse the market between the DStv product, which is aspirational and high-value, and GOtv which is a fun, new, mass-market product. There’s also a capacity on DTT that’s much more restrictive than what we have on satellite, so there are also technical reasons we have to be more cautious.”

    According to him, pay-per-view sounds attractive, but it is actually a red herring. He said an easy example is the Mayweather/Pacquiao boxing match earlier this year, which sold on Pay-Per-View across the world – in the USA at USD99 for three to four hours of viewing.

    “Across the continent, subscribers pay less than that for DStv Premium for a whole month of viewing across all our channels – and in this instance, that included that fight, which was broadcast on SuperSport. That’s the benefit of scale for us. If you segment sports, for example the EPL, the reality is that the cost of that is much higher than everyone thinks because you need to divide up those expensive rights between a much smaller viewing populations so the cost goes up exponentially. That doesn’t mean we’re not looking at Pay-Per-View as an option – we need to be flexible and we get a lot of requests for it. We’re watching consumer demand and looking at whether it’s economically viable. It’s not on the cards right now, though, but we do have a research team trying to work that out,” he noted.

    He disclosed that MultiChoice investment in GOtv n excess of USD800 million, in eight countries across the continent and to recover such money means that MultiChoice cannot roll out towers into every city where the population size and affordability aspect lend itself to Free-To-Air (FTA). This, he said, explained why GOtv cannot be accessed in all regions of the continent, adding that they look at each market on the basis of population size and the economics of rolling out a network.

    “Because we’re a Pay TV service, we can’t offer FTA service like governments do. In those areas, we’d typically pair up with an FTA operator, or the national broadcaster, which is a big part of our offering. We have a limit in terms of where our network reaches – we can generally cover 70-80% of a country. Areas that are remote need to be serviced through our satellite services because of factors including accessibility and terrain – the DTT signal needs to go across ground. Normally the national broadcaster or signal provider has the responsibility to ensure that FTA has national coverage, so they put towers in areas that it’s not economical for Pay TV providers to do,” he said.

    On striking a balance between the inaugration of in-house and independent productions, the M-Net Regional Director West Africa Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu said: “We make productions in-house, but also commission, do co-productions and acquire content from elsewhere. You can’t generate enough content in-house. We need multiple production platforms to be able to service our subscribers with the quality content they desire. Our premise is that our content is created by Africa, for Africa, and we continue to nurture and build creative talent, in the hope of developing future producers and directors.

    “We invest in building them up to the quality standards we want. A good mixture of in-house and commissioned content also allows for greater variety and allows us to engage with audience and local producers – that’s how we build talent on the continent. As the Maisha Magic channels roll out, our business model is to nurture local producers and once the channels are off the ground that’s a strong focus for us.”

    The show witnessed the hosting of DStv’s and GOtv’s biggest channels, such as Sony, SuperSport, Zee World, A+E, Disney, MTV Base, BET, Comedy Central, BBC and M-Net.