How female artists view Nigeria at 50

The exhibition which took place at the Civic Center, in Lagos, showcased works of photographers Aisha Augie-Kuta, Unoma Giese and Zemaye Okediji; fashion designer and painter, Chineze Araka; visual artist Taiye Idahor; and those of new media artists, Pris Nzimiro and Lucy Azubuike. The artists, selected from an open call for participants, created works in […]

The exhibition which took place at the Civic Center, in Lagos, showcased works of photographers Aisha Augie-Kuta, Unoma Giese and Zemaye Okediji; fashion designer and painter, Chineze Araka; visual artist Taiye Idahor; and those of new media artists, Pris Nzimiro and Lucy Azubuike.

The artists, selected from an open call for participants, created works in their respective genres which included sculpture and video art, to interpret the theme.

According to Azu Nwagbogu, Director of the AAF, “through this exhibition, the AAF is drawing the focus to Nigerian women artists and offering a platform to express their vision of our great nation over the next half-century. This exhibition comes as part of the effort of the African Artists’ Foundation to nurture and promote women artists in Nigeria, as well as giving them an equal opportunity to express their creativity, with the underlying belief that a society cannot develop if its women are not developed.’’

Speaking on her works, Kuta said, ‘’in approaching this exhibition, I was interested in exploring the apparent disregard for indigenous culture in favour of a western one; something I feel is a hindrance to Nigeria’s achieving the greatness it is capable of.”

For Okediji, it was an opportunity to explore the society’s perception of women across the hierarchies. “By means of an audio-visual vehicle, I delved into the history of the Nigerian woman in all her guises.”

Araka with an interest in showcasing the immense and often neglected underdeveloped talents in women artists in Nigeria, used the exhibition to fuse both fabrics and paint together to create an innovative, original and artistic interpretation of this theme.

Lagos-based professional photographer, Unoma Giese is interested in exploring the fragmentation that exists in the Nigerian society. For her, “50 years after independence, Nigeria still endures more fragmentation than unity, with tribal, religious and socio-economic divides, and the subject of multi-racial identity is indeed a relevant and very contemporary issue, and one to which I can give an especially personal touch from several different angles.”

Interested in investigating the similarity between life and a game of chance (dice), Idahor used newspaper to produce soft sculpture hollow cubes, similar in shape to dices. “The hollow nature of the sculptures represents the errors that have damaged us. Are hope and faith enough to fill it up?”

Highlighting distinctive sounds of Lagos in her works, Nzimiro for the exhibition, aimed at highlighting the aesthetics of everyday mundane activities in Lagos, expending enormous amounts of energy, its inhabitants get on with their tasks day in, day out without any fuss.

Abuja-based new media artist, Azubike explored issues of femininity, womanhood and their roles and relationships with and in a patriarchal society, by means of video, photography and installations.

Zainab Ashadu, curator of the exhibition noted that, “These artists have shied away from the comforts of mediocrity and have achieved excellence with their visual, thought-provoking representation of Nigeria, 50 years ahead.”

In his remark, Round Sonnemans, Second Secretary of the Netherlands Embassy said “we decided to support the exhibition because we believe that all human beings were born free and equal in dignity and rights. The Netherlands is genuinely interested about possibilities for Nigerian women artists to excel.”