Nigeria Content Online

For two days in
April the works of seven Nigerian women adorned the lobby of the
Transcorp Hilton Hotel, in Abuja. Their individual artistic expressions
of the past and future of Nigeria were on display in an art exhibition
tagged ‘50 years ahead through the eyes of Nigerian Women.’ Held from
Thursday April 22 to Friday 23, the exhibition was the result of
collaboration between the African Artists Foundation, the Netherlands
Embassy, and the Transcorp Hilton Hotel. For art enthusiasts, and
guests who thronged the exhibition, the common agreement was that the
show and the works were something to behold.

A unique exhibition

Of particular
interest to many was the exploits of two artists from Northern Nigeria:
Aisha Augie – Kuta and Aisha Ibrahim Dapchi. Both successfully shifted
from the constraints of cultural and religious restrictions to freely
express themselves in the visual art form. The various mediums of
expression spanned photography, sculpture, painting, mixed media and
video art. When asked why the exhibition featured only women, the
curator, Zainab Ashadu, responded that “a society cannot develop if its
women are not invested in, and it is to this end that we choose to use
this exhibition to give a voice to the women.”

Based on its
interest in the development of female artists, the African Artists
Foundation sent out an open call for participation. This requested
interested female artists to send in proposals giving a summary of
their individual visions for interpreting the chosen theme. “All
entries received revealed a remarkable level of awareness by the
artists. With these, we created this unique exhibition,” said Omotayo
Adeola, the Project Coordinator.

All one and the same

Aisha Augie-Kuta’s
exhibit titled ‘Versus’ investigates the various factors that limit,
propel or stall us in our development as a nation, exploring identity
by challenging the apparent disregard for indigenous culture in favour
of a Western one. Through her photographic displays, Augie-Kuta
captured varied images of ordinary Nigerians at work, from the
challenging landscapes to a political party’s street trawl. She
presents the vision of a Nigeria where we can borrow from and merge
different cultures without sacrificing our own identity.

Unoma Giese, an
artist of Nigerian and German parentage, presented ‘Double Caste’, a
body of work that attempts to show identity as not merely black and
white. Her images of mixed race – part Japanese, English, German and
part Nigerian subjects – explore the fragmentation that still exists in
Nigerian contemporary society, especially with respect to mixed race
persons commonly referred to as ‘half-caste.’

‘In Women: Our
Continuity’, Shade Ogunlade used her stylised paintings to portray a
unified Nigeria where there is no distinction between one person and
the next; where Nigerians are defined not by their ethnicity but by
their similarities and achievements.

Art is life

In ‘Time Honoured,’
Priscilla Nzimoro’s lenses captured the aesthetics of everyday mundane
activities in the urban mega-polis, Lagos. The new media artist
presented us with images of ordinary lives across the landscape: the
vulcaniser and his makeshift roadside garage and the vigorous rhythmic
pounding of food by women in roadside restaurants, among others.

Aisha Ibrahim
Dapchi’s exhibition – ‘AMARYA’, was a collection that highlighted the
sacred rite of passage from girlhood to womanhood in Hausa culture.
‘Amarya’ boldly displays the beauty, pride and the evolution of Hausa
culture.

Lucy Azubuike, a
mixed media artist, explored the relationship between Nigerian Society
and the roles of women. ‘No Going Back’ is a video exploration of the
quest by African women for equality, empowerment and
self-actualisation. Using nature, particularly trees and crops,
Azubuike explored the relationship between man’s treatment of fellow
man and man’s relationship with nature.

Taiye Idahor stood
out in the exhibition with her choice of medium and theme. This
promising young artist expressed herself through soft sculptures,
formed by using readily available newspaper prints in the production of
hollow cubes with holes, representing the errors of a damaged nation.

If the organisers keep their promise, the exhibition should be a
regular platform for female artists to express themselves from now on.