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Osogbo artist and
adopted son of the late Susanne Wenger, Sangodare Ajala, is the winner
of this year’s National Art Competition. The batik artist won the
coveted first prize for his monumental piece, ‘The Fire of Nigeria
Burns Still’. Ajala, who received a cash prize of N1.5 million, becomes
the third winner in the annual award.

Jointly organised
by African Artists’ Foundation (AAF) and Nigerian Breweries (NB) Plc,
this year’s edition, with the theme, ‘Chronicles of a Great Nation at
50′ commemorated Nigeria’s independence anniversary. The results of the
competition, for which there had been 30 contenders, were announced at
the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, on July 21.

Another visual
artist, Stanley Dudu, placed second with his piece, titled, ‘New Dawn
at Fifty’, and won N1 million. Sculptor, Odogu Fidelis, was third
placed winner with his metal cast piece, ‘One People’; he took home a
N500,000 cheque.

The well attended
event was opened with an exhibition featuring all 30 shortlisted
entries; and one might say that, for a competition which aimed to
target “budding and emerging talent”, it went beyond it’s mark
somewhat.

Featured among the
exhibited works was a photography piece taken from a body of work
titled, ‘Hell From Heaven’ by Akintunde Akinleye. It had previously won
Akintunde recognition, as the only Nigerian to win the prestigious
World Press Photo Award. Also among shortlisted entries were the works
of Adolphus Opara, Jude Anogwih, and Lucy Azubuike, among others.

Following the
exhibition, Paul Hamers, the managing director of NB Plc, reiterated
the rationale and the achievements of the competition, noting that this
year’s edition, themed “to align with the 50th anniversary of our dear
nation, attracted far more participation by artists than previous
editions.”

Speaking further,
Hamers said his company’s sponsorship of the competition “remains part
of a broad initiative to support the promotion of arts as well as the
development of talents in various fields of endeavour.”

The director of
AAF, Azu Nwagbogu, said that the 2010 edition of the competition
recorded more than 300 entries. He said a jury comprising arts critics,
curators, and artists, shortlisted 50 entries, out of which the 30
finalists were selected. “We are encouraged by increased local interest
in the ever-increasing medium of creative expression and have observed
a significant rise in the standard of artworks submitted,” he remarked.

2010 MOBO award
winning singer, Nneka, thrilled the teeming audience to a musical
performance during a cocktail break before the announcement of winners.
Once the results were known, the night belonged to Sangodare Ajala, an
artist and religious traditionalist, often a fixture at the annual Osun
festival in Osogbo. The artist acknowledged the impact of the late
Wenger, also known as Adunni Olorisa, on his work, saying, “It was Mama
Susanne Wenger who insisted that we must have formal education,
particularly in the study of contemporary arts; and we are grateful
that we are reaping the good fruits.”

Ajala said his winning entry, the largest in the competition, “centres on oral tradition and myth of the Osogbo people.”

All the shortlisted artists were presented a certificate of
participation in the competition, while the three winners were
presented their cash prizes by Hamers and Nwagbogu.