Five artists, one professor at IICD
Five artists have been selected for the International Art Residency program taking place at the International Institute for Creative Development (IICD), Abuja.
The artists, Vincent Parisot (France), Vasco Mahinca (Mozambique), Norman O’Flynn (South Africa), Ayo Akinwande (Lagos) and Amarachi Odimba (Abuja) will be there for one month until November 30.
IICD founder and curator, Nduwhite Ahanounu said the artists were chosen following an open call.
He said: “They responded with their synopsis stating what they wanted to do. We looked for those who ideas we could synergize with our expectations.
The artists who are sculptors, social intervention artist working in open/public spaces, mixed media specialists and photographer will be working on their individual and shared ideas and also having stimulated conversations and open studio visits in different parts of the country.
They artists will also have a presentation at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria where they will be speaking to younger artists.
Widely acclaimed artist, Victor Ehikhamenor is also expected to interact with the artists.
Prof. Jerry Buhari who is sharing his ideas, works and experiences with the artists said for him this pretty much the structure of a residency.
The widely celebrated artist: “In sharing ideas here, we connect not just on art, but globally, culturally, and are looking at the diversity of experience and differences in geographical experiences.
“I started by showing one of my performances which is one of my current directions. In ‘Man and Earth,’ I was exploring the relationship between the human and environment where I picked elements like prayer, ablution and so on. The whole idea is to cause man to see the need to realize that he is a gardener.”
Odimba said she decided to be a part of the programme because, “I love to get more knowledge and see what other people are doing and how they also relate with people from different environment. I love to see their perspectives of art and to network with them and also to show my work for critical peer review.”
Parisot said he got to know about the residency from the cultural attaché at the French Institut.
He said: “I decided to participate because it is a totally new experience and is my first time in Africa. So I said ‘just go and experience’ and here I am.
“I am hoping that at the end, I will have new ideas and it is a good way to meet people. When you talk to people you have new experiences and ideas from the interactions. As a European, it feels like I am a kid. It’s an open book being here in Nigeria. Ideas come from my surroundings.”