LagosPhoto Festival begins

Annual photo fiesta, ‘LagosPhoto Festival’ began yesterday in Lagos featuring 35 photographers from 18 participating countries including Egypt, France, South Africa, Italy, Ivory Coast, UK, India, The Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Morocco, DRC, Ghana, Germany, New Zealand, USA, Switzerland, Guinea and Nigeria. Mobile telecommunication operator, Etisalat Nigeria, alongside Eko Hotel and Suites and African Artists Foundation […]

Annual photo fiesta, ‘LagosPhoto Festival’ began yesterday in Lagos featuring 35 photographers from 18 participating countries including Egypt, France, South Africa, Italy, Ivory Coast, UK, India, The Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Morocco, DRC, Ghana, Germany, New Zealand, USA, Switzerland, Guinea and Nigeria.
Mobile telecommunication operator, Etisalat Nigeria, alongside Eko Hotel and Suites and African Artists Foundation (AAF) unveiled plans for the sixth edition of the annual LagosPhoto Festival themed ‘Designing Futures.’
Chief Marketing Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Francesco Angelone at a briefing said the event is in tandem with the company’s vision of encouraging creativity and innovation through the creation of and support for credible platforms.
He said: “Etisalat is passionate about innovation and creativity. We have also been in the forefront of promoting excellence, nurturing talent and providing platforms for people to express themselves and communicate their ideas. This is why we created the Etisalat Prize for Literature, the first ever pan-African prize aimed at recognizing and celebrating writers and other members of the literary community across Africa. We also inspire creativity and innovation with the Etisalat Prize for Innovation, also a first-of-its-kind in Africa. It is in this light also that we have sponsored the Lagos Photo Festival right from inception about 5 years ago,” Angelone said.
Director, LagosPhoto Foundation, Azu Nwagbogu, said: “LagosPhoto Festival enables us to understand why we have to take ownership of our own image and our own story or narratives.” 
According to him: “In the past, the narratives made about Africa or our country were given to us by outsiders. At LagosPhoto, we strive to take ownership of and to communicate this internationally because the world is shrinking around us. So it is very important for us to join the digital revolution and begin to communicate the more impactful vision for the country, the continent and for humanity as a whole,” Nwaogbu said.
The show which is the first and only annual international photography festival in Nigeria explores contemporary dialogues surrounding design in Africa and will include a gala night to honour participating photographers.