AAF national arts competition 2011 changes entry format

The 4th in the series is still sponsored by Nigerian Breweries and the competition this year departs from the traditional format of selecting winners only from finished concepts. This year, the competition is placing emphasis on the processes of art creation rather than on the end product with a star prize of two million Naira. […]

The 4th in the series is still sponsored by Nigerian Breweries and the competition this year departs from the traditional format of selecting winners only from finished concepts.

This year, the competition is placing emphasis on the processes of art creation rather than on the end product with a star prize of two million Naira.

Mr. Ageni Yusuf, the corporate affairs adviser, Nigeria Breweries, explained during a press briefing that interested participants are to propose in writing a brief plan of their interpretation and creative approach to the theme as well as the medium they want to use in any art form. This disqualifies all existing or completed art works.

Twelve finalist will be selected and invited to participate in the art retreat at Abraka Resort, an exclusive location where the art works will be produced for the grand finale/exhibition.

The 14-day workshop, according to Azu Nwagbogu, Director, AAF will be led by industry professionals at Abraka Resort, a purpose built artists residency in Nigeria. The proposed works will be created at the workshop after which an exhibition will be organized. The call for entries for the competition is ongoing and will close on the 28th of July, 2011.

He said, “With AAF’s renewed focus on artistic processes, an agenda which we will pursue rigorously for a three year period starting this year, themed: Process to Product, AAF will over the next three years focus on processes of fine art production. Artists are required to submit a brief written proposal highlighting how they intend to interpret the theme through their chosen medium. All artistic genres qualify including painting, sculpture, photography, mixed media, installation and video art or a combination of all these mediums. The AAF selection committee will assess all submitted entries and short list to a total of 12 finalists.”

The cash prizes to be won are as follows: 3rd prize – N1,000, 000.00, 2nd prize – N1, 500, 000.00 and the 1st prize – N2, 000, 000.00.