A TOAST TO NSUKKA ARTISTS
It is yet another milestone in the list of achievements made by artists of the Department of Fine and Applied Arts, University of Nigeria Nsukka otherwise known as the Nsukka Art School. The school, known for its experimental and intellectual art practice, has, over the years, dominated the landscape in the National Art Competition, which is an annual show organised by the African Artists’ Foundation in partnership with Nigerian Breweries Plc. Nsukka-trained artists like Gerald Chukwuma, Chike Obeagu, Uche Uzorka, Chinenye Emelogu and Erasmus Onyishi have all been winners since the inception of the National Art Competition in 2007. Interestingly, all three winners of the competition in the 2015 edition are currently with the Fine and Applied Arts Department of University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Usually, this annual art show gives artists all over the country the opportunity to express their talents through the use of different kinds of materials that best explain the theme for each year. The theme for 2015, “Future Histories” according to the organisers, seeks to provoke the thought of artists on how innovation and creativity can shape the future of Nigeria.
The competition was keenly contested by twelve finalists shortlisted out of over 200 proposals. The African Artists’ Foundation whose motive is to promote development of contemporary African art and awareness of social issues through the instrumentality of creative expression announced the finalists as: Adetunwase Adenle, Funmi Akindejoye, Michael Ametuo, Chinenye Emelogu, Maryann Kazeem, May Okafor, Stacey Okparavero, Komi Olafimihan, Ngozi Omeje, Babatunde Oyeyemi, Folami Razaq and Sabastine Ugwuoke.
Through rigorous brainstorming, conversations and dialogue with seasoned professionals in the visual arts like Theo Lawson, Patrick Koshoni, Victor Ehikamenor, Fauzi Fahm, Omoligho Udenta, Yegwa Ukpo, Stefanie Theuretzbacher, Wura Oguniji, Olu Ajayi and Dudu Emmanuel, these twelve artists were engaged in a stormy retreat where their proposed ideas and concepts were sharpened. Within a space of three months after the retreat, the finalists created art works that were displayed during the competition/exhibition which took place on November 26th, 2015 at Kongi’s Harvest Gallery, Hospital Road, Freedom Park, Lagos.
The prizes were in three categories: First Place Winner, Winner Outstanding Concept and Winner Outstanding Production. Out of these twelve finalists, it is remarkable that Sabastine Ugwuoke, Ngozi Omeje and May Okafor, all from the Department of Fine and Applied Arts, University of Nigeria Nsukka, took the prizes, leaving other participants with no prize to take home. While Ugwuoke is a recently graduated MFA sculpture student of the same department, Omeje and Okafor are among the departmental faculty. No wonder, the art department is seen as a place where critical research and painstaking techniques are often invented and used by the artists to engage vital discourses. This is why the art department in University of Nigeria Nsukka has been recognised internationally.
Ugwuoke Sabastine’s work No Rest, No Comfort, Confusion Everywhere clinched the first prize of two million naira, while Ngozi Omeje and May Okafor won a million naira each. Their works Against All Odds and Dear Content... once again projected the excellence which the Nsukka art school stands for. These prestigious laurels are indeed clear testimonies of the impact and height of creative and academic excellence the Fine and Applied Arts Department of University of Nigeria, Nsukka has attained in Nigeria, Africa and beyond.
In a reaction to the victory, the Head of Department of Fine and Applied Arts, Associate Professor Chuu Krydz Ikwuemesi, described it as another triumph of the human spirit and promised that the three artists will be celebrated in a mini-reception/exhibition to be organised in March 2016 at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.