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One of the leading
culture centres in Lagos, Terra Kulture, is set to expand its base, as
plans are announced for the building of a Modern Art Centre on the
premises.

The details were
revealed on February 17, during a press conference to inform the public
about the centre’s timetable of events for 2011. Among the offering for
arts lovers this year are: the Theatre at Terra twice weekly drama
performances, art exhibitions, and book readings.

Speaking with
members of the press, Bolanle Austen-Peters, the managing director and
founder of Terra Kulture, revealed that they would be expanding the
centre’s structure, in order to beat the current challenge of finding
state-of-the-art facilities for art events in Lagos.

“We have acquired
the land next door for the Art Centre, which will include an Art
gallery, theatre, bookstore, and Children Activity Centre for Craft,”
declared Austen-Peters, who added that the project will be sponsored by
Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB).

According to her,
“the greatest problem that artists in Nigeria face is infrastructure.
So, we are expanding our Art gallery. We want a world class gallery.
Same with theatre,” she added.

What we do

“Aside from grooming
(theatre) directors and giving them the opportunity to showcase their
works, imagine having a world class stage. We don’t have that yet but we
are working towards it,” she stated.

The Art manager also
set out the goals of Terra Kulture. “What we try to do here is promote
everything Art in Nigeria. We are a cultural centre.”

Among other
initiatives, she revealed that the Theatre at Terra project was set in
motion in 2006 to “create a platform for theatre lovers in Nigeria.”

“We started with
Aremo Babatope and Segun Adefila, then Wole Oguntokun. We give artists
the platform and infrastructure and we charge the directors nothing,”
Austen-Peters said, adding that the centre got financial support for
sponsors, notably GTB.

With drama
presentations every month running from January till December, theatre
directors whose plays will be staged at Terra Kulture in 2011 include:
Segun Adefila (Crown Troupe of Africa); Nick Monu (The Lotus
Theatre);Wole Oguntokun (Jason Vision); and Uche Nwokedi (Play House).
Also on the list are: Bikiya Graham Douglas (Betta Universal Arts
Foundation) and Najite Dede (Clever Girl Performance).

Adefila’s Crown
Troupe of Africa has staged performances every Sunday since January.
Terra Kulture has an Art gallery where exhibitions are regularly held.
Already, “we have had two exhibitions this year,” disclosed
Austen-Peters.

She added that the
highlight of activities at Terra Kulture this year will be the annual
auction, involving a select group of artists for an exhibition. The
auction is expected to hold in April.

Diverse events

The centre, which
has a library and bookshop, is also aiming to be a vibrant hub for book
readings. It already hosts the monthly Celebrity Reads Africa programme
and the Farafina Book Review sessions. Two readings have been hosted at
the venue so far this year.

Austen-Peters
revealed the criteria for selecting featured books: “We look at the
quality of the books. We have a Readers Club here. Also, people come in
and tell us what to put out to the public.”

“Of course, we have
our language classes and we also have Boutique at Terra,” she stated
further. “We noticed that fashion is beginning to catch on, so we
created a boutique.”

According to her,
the boutique will showcase clothing and home furnishings, adding that
“this will help to promote our fashion and fabric.”

Actor, choreographer
and director, Segun Adefila, fielded questions from the press regarding
his ability to cope with the challenges of staging regular live
theatre. He was also asked for his opinion on the Theatre at Terra
Project.

“I studied Theatre
Arts. It’s the only thing that I can do. There is nowhere else where
theatre goes on regularly. When I learnt of this platform, I met with
Mrs. Austen-Peters and she gave us the support,” he said. “It’s the
biggest thing to have happened to us,” said Adefila, who leads the Crown
Troupe of Africa.

The managing
director of Terra Kulture was asked if the centre is planning to take
advantage of the fund for Arts and Entertainment, recently made
available by President Goodluck Jonathan.

“We have learnt to sustain our business ourselves and we focus on what we have to do,” she answered.