The Photo Africa segment of the annual sixth Life In My City Art Festival will feature in Addis Photo Festival holding in December in Ethiopia, according to the festival’s artistic director, Mr Ayo Adewumi.
He said organisers of the Addis Photo Festival have sent a proposal to Photo Africa indicating their interest in featuring 30 of its shortlisted works at the festival.
The Photo Africa competition, muted three years ago, was approved by the festival board and over 70 entries were received from across the continent. Out of these, 30 were shortlisted for the exhibition that opened on Thursday at the National Gallery of Art, Enugu.
Chairman, board of the festival and former chairman, Union Bank Plc, Elder Kalu Uke Kalu said the success recorded this year in spite of the limited time for preparation is an indication that the organisers would do better in future given enough time. “I am delighted that we were able to pull this show through within the short time of preparation. It means that next year, we will do better with time on our side,” he said.
Head of the jurors, renowned photographer and journalist, Mr. Tam Fiofori observed that for a long time, photography has not been given its rightful place among the genres of visual art, saying it has always been seen as a poor cousin to visual art. He however said that it is gladdening that with this competition modern Nigerian artists would begin to appreciate photography more as one of the oldest genres of visual art. He recalled that recently, the late Bonny Island-born Jonathan Adagogo Green, who photographed the late Oba Ovonmramwen of Benin City during the 1897 British punitive expedition, was discovered to be among the pioneer visual artists of modern Nigeria.
On the entries for the competition, Fiofori said: “I am impressed by the quality of entries for the competition. Again, I am also delighted to find female photographers in the competition, because like painting and sculpting, female artists are less represented.
Curator of National Gallery, Enugu, Mr. James Irabor said the gallery is proud to partner with the festival organsers in bringing back the lost glory of Enugu. He described the Photo Africa and the festival as a whole as a wake-up call on the artists and the city of Enugu.
Director, Alliance Francaise, Enugu, Mr. Dominique Fancelli said the success of Photo Africa despite the short time of preparation is as a result of the effective network platform provided by the social media as well as the various stations of Alliance Francaise in Nigeria and across the continent.
Chairman, Enugu Council for Arts and Culture, Mr. Obiora Anidi said the festival is coming at an auspicious time when the art must be repositioned in the state. According to him, most secondary schools in the state do not offer fine art and consequently affects intake of students into tertiary institutions to study fine art.
“This is why the festival held series of workshops for art teachers in primary and secondary schools to chart a new road map for the repositioning of the arts for social engineering,” he said.
Anidi lamented that there has never been an enabling environment for the art to blossom, adding that every artist does almost everything to promote his art from conception to production and marketing. “Unlike other societies, in Nigeria, there are no grants for the artists, no residencies, no steady connoisseurs, no gallery with defined goal, no professional art marketers among others,” he noted.
