Borno female artists depict lost, resilience of Monday market fire victims  

At least 20 female artists have been engaged to paint murals and artworks to depict the loss and resilience of the victims of Monday market fire in Maiduguri. The coordinator of the exhibition, Abubakar Ali Idris, of Tatsuniya Artist Collective (TAC), said the initiative also aimed to tell the story of the hope of the […]

At least 20 female artists have been engaged to paint murals and artworks to depict the loss and resilience of the victims of Monday market fire in Maiduguri.

The coordinator of the exhibition, Abubakar Ali Idris, of Tatsuniya Artist Collective (TAC), said the initiative also aimed to tell the story of the hope of the victims in rebuilding their lives after losing billions of naira to the inferno.

“By this, we will promote arts, art education and encourage the government to key into art, and promote it in human life as a source of healing, and integrate the students to learn art,” he said.

He said the embroidered art pieces displayed during the exhibition have depicted the story of conflict survivors and recovery to preserve the rich culture of Borno State.

“This exhibition brought together students and artists mostly survivors of conflict and they used the art as a tool of healing peace advocacy.

“This marks a unique contemporary exhibition at the museum revitalising a space historically devoted to traditional crafts and artefacts with new forms of creative expression rooted in lived experience,” Abubakar said.

He commended the girls for weaving this art, describing it as a symbol of hope and resilience.

“Two years in the making, this monumental work layers woven fibres, colour, texture, and storytelling into six large panels of deeply felt memory and testimony transforming loss into a visual language of resilience, solidarity, and regeneration worthy of emulation. Therefore I must congratulate you for pulling this,” he added.

Idris said the exhibition which was Supported by Hosting Lands: Pedagogies of the Rural, a curatorial project based in Denmark, is running from October 22nd to November 5th, in Maiduguri.

Speaking during the event, the creative editor, Fati Abubakar Arts Foundation, expressed her deepest emotions on the stories depicted in a unique style.

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“I was overwhelmed hearing that the girls took over two years to craft these arts.”

Also in his remark, the director General, Borno state agency for the great green wall, Usman Aliyu who was represented by his personal Assistant, Mustapha Umar Mustapha described the exhibition as an avenue to showcase the young girls’ talents and chase their dreams.

Responding to our reporter, the vice principal, second chance secondary school Maiduguri, who led students to the exhibition commended the efforts of TAC for facilitating such an event as this will help the girls to excel.

Some of the artists, Fatima Abacha and Binta Maina Amna thanked TAC and Hosting Lands: Pedagogies of the Rural for supporting them.