Pictures tell hidden African stories @ LagosPhoto Festival

Though photography art is evolving in Africa, particularly, it is increasingly gaining prominence and being appreciated by art enthusiast. The LagosPhoto Festival 2011, the second in the series, is tagged ‘What’s Next Africa? -The Hidden Stories” and is being organised by African Artists’ Foundation (AAF) in collaboration with the European National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC). […]

Though photography art is evolving in Africa, particularly, it is increasingly gaining prominence and being appreciated by art enthusiast.

The LagosPhoto Festival 2011, the second in the series, is tagged ‘What’s Next Africa? -The Hidden Stories” and is being organised by African Artists’ Foundation (AAF) in collaboration with the European National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC). It is slated for October 9th Eko Hotel, Lagos.

Zainab Ashadu, the Assistant Director AAF, said the aim is “to use the power of photography to represent the hidden stories on the continent as opposed to the over represented sensationalised, dramatic images on Africa popular across the globe. It also aims to make visible important social issues as well as capture the essence of the continent from a holistic and organic perspective.”

“We have 41 photographers exhibiting. There would be indoor and outdoor venues. We have a mix of international and local photographers and with their images, they will tell the African story,” she explained.

She noted that the photo festival will represent Africa and Nigeria in particular, develop and nurture talents and make Africans appreciate that they reflect the society.

“We hope that this event will encourage an influx of Nigerians into photo art. We hope to expose more people to photography and open a dialogue on photography. People should be able to as do a critique of photos,” she said.

Since photography is a means of livelihood, the show also seeks to emancipate people and also show them how they can empower themselves financially through photography. “With this, we can expose creative photography to participants and this can be a good source of earning a living.”

Ashadu said photography “has a lot of potentials to grow in Nigeria. We are not there yet but we will get there. All we need to be doing is seeking new ways to engage people and new ways to develop this sector.”

On the format of the show she said, there are many ways for people to get involved with the photo festival.

Besides the exhibition on 9th October, at the Eko Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, a Lagos Photo Party in the Park is scheduled for 5th-16th Oct, Muri Okunola Park Victoria Island, Lagos. The Lagos Photo Photo Walk (for amateur and professional photographers)is scheduled for Sat 22 and 23rd Oct while photography workshops (for amateur and professional photographers) will start  7th-23rd October. There will also be Fashion photography exhibitions /film screenings – Freedom park, Lagos Island among other programmes.