organisations
The African Artists’ Foundation (AAF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of African arts and artists, and the promotion of public health issues through artistic endeavours. Established in 2007, we aim to encourage the highest standard of Art in Africa. AAF serves a significant role in art and academic communities through organising art exhibitions, competitions and workshops with the aim of unearthing and developing talent, creating societal awareness and providing a platform to express creativity. Barely a year after inception, AAF organised the first National Art Competition in partnership with Nigerian Breweries Plc with the theme, “The Unbreakable Nigerian Spirit”, in which winners were provided the opportunity to exhibit their works in Europe. It has since become an annual competition, (“Nigeria the Future I see” 2009) with each edition driven by pertinent themes in line with the current state of the society while the theme of the 2010 exhibition was “Chronicles of a Great Nation at 50”, celebrating Nigeria’s Golden Jubilee. In February 2009, in a rare fusion of artistic media, the AAF hosted an exhibition that featured the works of renowned painter Bob Aiwerioba and the more contemporary form of sound installation by Emeka Ogboh. Titled ‘”This is Lagos”, the exhibition featured the unique sounds that characterise city of Lagos, Nigeria. AAF also partnered with the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) in December 2009 to present “Driver’s Dexterity’” a photographic exhibition of images by internationally renowned Nigerian photographer George Osodi aimed at raising awareness of road safety issues in Nigeria. The success of this exhibition has led to a nationwide touring exhibition of the works starting with the cities of Warri and Port Harcourt in February 2010. In March 2010, AAF organised an exhibition titled, “50 years ahead, Through the Eyes of Nigerian Women”, an exhibition of seven female artists working with the various mediums of Painting, Photography, Sculpture, and the new-media art forms of Video art and Sound Installation in celebration of Nigeria’s golden jubilee. The event was sponsored by the Royal Dutch Embassy and Schlumberger Nigeria Limited, and showcased the artists’ creatively expressed perspective of their vision of Nigeria, fifty years ahead. More recently, in October 2010, AAF organised the first photography festival of its kind in Nigeria. The Lagos Photo project is an annual photography festival organised by African Artists’ Foundation as part of an on-going project designed to use art in Public Spaces as a medium for increasing societal awareness. The inaugural edition of the Lagos Photo festival held from the middle of September 2010 to the end of October 2010, leveraging on Nigeria’s golden jubilee celebrations in order to truly make a significant impact on our society. The theme was “No Judgement: Africa Under the Prism” Other exhibitions organised by AAF in the past years include: ‘In Pursuit of Knowledge’ a three man show with works by Gerald Chukwuma, Emmanuel Dudu and Ike Francis in June 2009, and ‘Through the eyes of the Child’ an exhibition of collages by Jimi Solanke in July 2009.
African Artists Foundation, 54, Raymond Njoku Street, Ikoyi
Lagos, Nigeria
Post Mail: P.O. Box 56128, Falomo, Ikoyi, Lagos
The LagosPhoto Festival is the first of its kind in Nigeria. It is the first annual international photography festival in Nigeria. The event is organised by the African Artists' Foundation in Lagos. In October 2012 the fourth edition of LagosPhoto will be organised with participation of 40 national and international photographers, 250 participants in workshops and at least 500 visitors. The festival is curated by the director of the African Artists'Foundation, Azu Nwagbogu, and artistic director Marc Prust. Besides the exhibition itself, workshops, debates, trainings and public discussions will be organised. Dutch artist Vivianne Sassen is going to facilitate a workshop on capacity building and Maja Flink on 'Portraiture'. The aim of the workshops and artist talks is to encourage intercultural exchange, develop technical skills and help these photographers receive mentorship from established artists. The National Art Competition, another major recurrent event organized by African Arts Foundation, is an unique initiative that is of great importance for the development of Nigerian artists. In the 2008 edition on the theme The Unbreakable Nigerian Spirit, the winners were given the opportunity to exhibit their works in Europe. In 2012 the fourth edition takes place on the theme ‘Documenting Changes in our Nation’. The African Artists’ Foundation (AAF) is dedicated to the promotion and development of indigenous African arts and artists. The organisation was founded in 2007 by Azo Nwagbogu with the aim to contribute to the cultural landscape in Nigeria. The foundation aims to developing talent, creating societal awareness and providing a platform to express creativity. They strongly believe that art has the capacity to provide clues to the past and advanced questions about the future and that art inspires social change and social justice.