GREAT EXPECTATIONS TRAIL LIMCAF ZONAL EXHIBITIONS, AS EL ANATSUI DANGLES MORE GOODIES

Nearly 12 years after, Life In My City Art Festival – otherwise known by its acronym LIMCAF – remains unsung for transforming the southeastern city of Enugu into a Mecca for art aficionados. Little wonder the festival, which unarguably remains the longest-running art festival in Nigeria, still grapples with basic issues like funding and sponsorship.

As part of the build-up for the festival’s week-long Grand Finale Exhibition, which culminates into a gala and awards night on October 27 in Enugu, this year’s series of zonal exhibitions have taken off in earnest. Already, zonal exhibitions for Auchi-Benin, Uyo-Calabar, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Abuja and Ibadan zones have held in their designated venues. It was at the Enugu zonal exhibition, held at the Alliance Française on Tuesday, September 11, that the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Professor Bartho Okolo expressed surprise that such an impressive harvest of artistic talents existed at all. Professor Okolo had the honour of declaring open that exhibition.

Meanwhile, the Lagos zone exhibition holds tomorrow at the Thought Pyramid Art Centre in Ikoyi, Lagos and will be declared open by Mrs Yvonne Fashinro at 5pm.

It is from each of these week-long exhibitions that a local jury selected the 100 works that will feature at the Grand Finale Exhibition in Enugu.

A statement by the festival’s art director, Dr Ayo Adewunmi, disclosed that there were altogether just under 400 entries from around the country, most of which came from Lagos, Ibadan and Enugu zones. According to the Institute of Management and Technology-based lecturer, the members of the LIMCAF board and Organising Committee as well as the many big wigs, who graced the Enugu event, were greatly excited by the remarkable increase in the quality of entries, which continued to be evident year on year.

Dr Adewunmi was also delighted by the fact that the LIMCAF alumni (consisting of finalists and winners) have, in various categories, continued to prove that their winning was no fluke. This has especially been attested by the fact that their careers had blossomed in various ways after each annual event.

As aficionados look forward to the LIMCAF’s October 27 gala and awards night, they are regaled by the morale-boosting news to the effect that this year’s LIMCAF’s six top winners will be clinch an all-expenses paid trip to the next edition of Dakar Art Biennale – called Dak’Art – by Professor El Anatsui. Last year, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka-based and Ghanaian-born professor had sponsored the LIMCAF’s 2017 top four winners to a two-week all expenses paid trip to the biennial art event.