Nigeria Content Online

Emerging
artist-photographer, Uche Okpa-Iroha, has been selected as a research
fellow in the Rijksakademie, Amsterdam, Nederlands. The selection is
seen as yet another milestone for photography practice in Nigeria, and
a major career boost for Okpa-Iroha, a previous subject of the NEXT
‘Studio Visit’ feature.

The prestigious
Rijskakdemie Van Bleeldende Kunsten was founded by King William III in
1870. It was intended as “a haven of international standing”. Today,
the Rijksakademie serves as a laboratory for developing talent on an
international level.

It focuses on
facilitating research and production for talented, emerging
professional artists from all over the world. Every year, artists are
invited for an interview for a possible selection for a residency
period. The primary selection criteria are excellence and possibility
for further development in their chosen fields.

Award winning Uche
Okpa-Iroha emerged as one of the 12 selected artists for this year’s
residency. A total of 1722 applications were received from artists;
these were then pruned to the chosen dozen, after a rigorous selection
process by the Rijkskademie’s advisors. The selection panel is made of
seasoned artists and theoreticians with longstanding association with
the the Rijksakademie.

Also a kidney
health campaigner, Uche Okpa-Iroha became a full-time professional
photographer in 2006, having apprenticed under his cousin, the Prince
Claus Laureate, Uche James Iroha. The following year, Okpa-Iroha
together with his friends set up the Black Box Photography Collective.
The group went on to have major exhibitions in Lagos and Havana, Cuba.
Okpa-Iroha has shown his own works at major exhibitions in Canada,
Belgium, Spain, Germany and France. The artist is also a member of the
Pan African Photography travel group known as the Invisible Borders; as
well as the Under the Table Pan African Photography Collective in
Maputo, Mozambique.

Milestones in
Okpa-Iroha’s so far include his first runner-up position in the Life in
My City Art and Photography competition (2007), organised by the
Alliance Franciase and Rokana Industries in Enugu. He also won the
Seydou Keita award for the Best Photographic Creation at the 2009
edition of the African Photography Biennial, Bamako Encounters. In the
same year, he received the Jean Paul Blachere Foundation Prize in Apt,
France.

Speaking of his
selection into the Rijksakademie, the artist said, “I thank God for the
opportunity to be selected into this prestigious institution. I believe
it is a good thing for photography in Nigeria and the future is bright.
It is also a big score not just for me but for all other passionate,
young and upcoming Nigerian photographers. I intend to use this
platform to help develop and encourage the growth of photography in the
contemporary Nigerian art space.”

Uche Okpa-Iroha’s research fellowship as the Rijksakademie is for a period of two years, commencing January 2011.