By Ozolua Uhakheme, Assistant Editor (Arts)
THE Erelu Kuti IV of Lagos, Dr. Abiola Dosumu, has said the COVID-19 lockdown delayed the maiden production of Erelu Musical in memory of Erelu, Lagos’ first queen mother in the 1630s. It would have been on stage for Nigerians to savour.
She said African women were never marginalsied then but empowered long before their foreign counterparts in a very unique way. She, however, noted that African women lost the glory to modernisation because they were chasing shadows.
”But we lost that uniqueness while chasing after emancipation in the eyes of the Europeans. We had our own inhouse mechanism which was admired by their male counterpart. In fact, there were so much cooperations among women then unlike now.
“Today, women have imbibed the views of Europeans so much to the detriment of our own realities. For us, if we stage a Musical on Erelu, Nigerian women will realise how powerful they were then in terms of participation in community and nation building. So, with such musical we can jumpstart the reorientation of our women towards regaining their lost glory, power and influence in society,” she said.
Erelu Dosumu added that the production of Erelu Musical would have educated Nigerians on the age-long influences of women in nation building long before the coming of colonial administration.
She spoke at the weekend in Lagos while fielding questions from reporters on the planned opening of her project, Talala Art and Culture Afrique Centre on October 24.
The multipurpose art and culture centre located on Victoria Island, Lagos was conceived over 30 years ago, and will offer eight major services like fashion house, dance and music academy, art gallery, tea house, culture table, event hall, mussel and champagne lounge and floral stall.
The centre is a multi-floors functional and exquisite architectural structure that has been specifically designed to ensure relaxation while enjoying the beauty of art and culture. It provides a suitable eco-friendly environment that suits all age brackets for education, enjoyment and appreciation of African heritage.
Erelu Dosumu said the purpose of establishing the centre is to provide a platform to reposition African heritage into the fibre of the society and make it exportable to the world.
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“This started somewhere in London and borne out of the need to be distinct in showcasing African heritage where western culture dominates; an uncharted path. This “dive into an ocean of sharks” paid off by the wide acceptance of our cultural value by the western world.
It was the need to consolidate all aspects of Talala’s operations over the years into a single location for administrative and operational purposes that birthed this edifice, The Talala Arts and Culture Afrique Center (TACA Centre),” she said.
On the fashion house, she said a division of the centre will be dedicated to the display and retail of a wide range of indigenous fashion designs and wears.
This, she said, will provide an avenue for the promotion of emerging and established indigenous fashion designers. She added that the centre is reaching out to organisations for sponsorship of designers for spaces in the fashion house where they can showcase their collections.
“We are using such a platform to incubate the talents before releasing them to the world,” she said.
According to Dosumu, the Music, Dance and Art Academy will provide training in performing arts and visual art for both leisure and academic purposes.
“The wide array of offering includes dance: jives, salsa, waltz, Contemporary African and traditional dance, ballroom, Hip-Hop; music: vocal, piano, violin, horns, traditional instruments and; visual art: painting, drawing, adire (Tie & Dye), batik, Basket weaving, beadwork, embroidery, pottery, calabash decoration among others. The Academy boasts of highly trained instructors with proven track records and experiences. The centre also offers classes in the three major Nigerian languages (Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa) as well as French language,” she added.
Dosumu noted that the centre will provide space for young artists and assist them to get sponsorship for equipment and materials for the production of artworks.
Also, the centre will assist artists in getting entries into international exhibitions, she added.
Culture table is a roof-top garden restaurant where delicious and gastronomic dishes can be enjoyed in a hygienic, exclusive and serene setting.
“We are reconstructing the presentation of Nigerian foods both in taste and look. This will offer people with totally new experiences of African dishes in different ways,’’ she added.
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