UNILAG Creative Arts department inducts 150 students

Arts

Lagos, April 7, 2014  The President, Creative Arts Students Association (CASA), Mr Damian Enyaosah, said on Monday that the 150 students inducted into their department would encourage youths to get education in any field of their choice.



Enyaosah said in Lagos that the induction would also enable the students to understand their future challenges, while preparing to embrace the arts world.



``We want to enlighten them about the three different aspects of the arts they are to face, which is theatre, music and the visual arts.



``We want the creative arts to attract a lot of youths so that it would engage them and you know it has a lot of energy in the areas of dancing and music.



``It is one umbrella into three: theatre, music and visual arts. So it became creative arts, they can choose which area to specialise in,” he said.



The president noted that creativity can attract youths in a positive way and engage their minds; with that, they won’t stray.



``It is equally an avenue for the youths to express themselves, and the entertainment industry is growing so they need to be trained professionally.



``We have taken time to build the industry and the reputation, so we can afford to take the arts genres to the next level,'' he said.



Enyaosah, who is a final year student, however, said that he would hope for graphics, cinematography and film to be included in their curriculum.



``We need the technological advancement, the university management and the creative arts department management have been very understanding, I hope and believe they will grant us this one”.



The Coordinator of the induction, Mr Michael Ajimati, also a final year student, said: ``I have learnt from the professionals and so we want to impact it on new entrants in the school.



``We inducted them for them to know the challenges of theatre arts.



``I agree that theatre arts can be very tedious, but one can scale through with determination.



``Again, why it also looks as if it is tedious is because of the energy put into dance, plays and rehearsals all the time,” he said.



He pointed out that because of the three-in-one section involved in theatre, music and visual arts, some are not gifted in some, so they may find it difficult at first, but they do adjust.



``Some are afraid that arts is not moving in the country, so when they get out of school, how do they cope; they wanted it because they have a passion for it”.



The induction witnessed plays and other dancing acts.

Artistes urges for hope, despite challenges of life

Exhibitions

Lagos, March 14, 2014 A sculptor, Kehinde Adewuyi, on Friday urged Nigerians not to lose hope, despite the challenges of life.

Adewuyi said in Lagos that the human existence is full of ups and down but man must take courage to make life better.

He made this known at a media briefing to open his exhibition opens at Temple Muse, Victoria Island on March 24 to April 30.

The exhibition of 16 sculptures and 24 paintings are to be presented by Adewuyi and Uwatse, two Nigerian-France based artistes who speaks about human existence through their art works.

The artists who titled their works ``Affinity” have a deep commitment to drawing attention to the struggles and questions of human existence in the course of their works.

Adewuyi said that ``It has not been easy for people, life is tough out there but one must have hope, to succeed and survive.

``Cost of living is rising every day and people are becoming aggressive more than necessary.

``We live in fear and we do not love our neighbours as ourselves any more, these are the things I reflect on my works,” he said.

The sculptor explained that  he employ methods of exaggeration and elongation of the human figure to best portray and express my inner feelings about the subjects that he often see in his environment.

Adewuyi, who studied arts at the Ahmadu Bello University and uses the lost wax technique, which dates back to the 9^th century Igbo Ukwu tradition, to do his works.

He creates unique bronze sculptures which portray universal themes such as struggle, affection, and poverty.

His human elongated forms, with exaggerated feet and torsos either curled into themselves, or drawn out and extended beyond normal proportion, express a gravitas of the human spirit.

In a related development, Chinwe Uwatse, co-exhibitor, said that motherhood is being experienced by all and sundry, it is an interesting thing to behold and it touches everyone.

``As mothers we have a touch in every aspect of human life, so we have to celebrate it with happiness.

``It involves getting pregnant and bring out a human life like us and nurture them to adulthood and still advice where necessary,” she said.

She focuses on the female ethos, while studying at the University of Nigeria Nssuka, she used `Uli”, which is Igbo cultural tradition liquid form to express her works.

Uli is also used as a decoration on the walls and tattoos on women, and expresses symbols, which informs her arts on traditional architecture; and the joys of universal womanhood.

The curator, Sandra Mbanefo, said ``Uwatse’s intricate painting works and Adewuyi’s bold and massive sculptures equally express a deep affinity to the worlds’ suffering masses”.

``Their works complement each other, and show a unique African world view that is traditional and also very contemporary, realistic and also hopeful.”

The Temple Muse, Artistic Director, Avi Wadhwani, said ``we are delighted that Adewuyi and Uwatse’s amazing works are kicking off our artistic season this year.”

Both artists were born at the beginning of Nigeria’s independence 1959 and 1960 respectively.

They have over 20 years of artistic practice, drawn from rich cultural traditions that make their inspiration rooted in African history and identity.

 

Enlightenment, funding will improve art environment, says artist

Arts

Lagos, April 7, 2014 An artist, Isaac Emokpae, on Monday said the Nigerian artistic environment could be improved through funding and enlightenment.

Emokpae said at the venue of his exhibition at Wheatbaker Hotel, Ikoyi, Lagos, that funding would help to boost the artists’ creativity.

The exhibition opens from April 7 to April 30.

Which reflect the duality of humans, their soul and emotions, as encountered in everyday relationships.

“The artists create only to survive. This simply means that if they are not comfortable, they lose the edge that drove them initially.

``They need bursaries and grants to foster pure artistic pursuits, devoid of the need for profit.

``It is when artists are comfortable that we can then see an age of true genius in the visual arts sector.

``Now, what you see is that a lot of artists get stuck within a wall, rut for too long, and they wind up being creatively stagnant,” he said.

Emokpae, who started with photography, noted that with the enlightenment of the arts and showcasing them to the people, it would be less encumbered when the artistic expressions were exhibited.

“My sojourn into photography started simply because I needed references for my painting works. Initially I used magazine photos but it affected my work because most of the models were white.

``My Monad series is inspired by the work of philosophers like Liebniz, Descartes and Santayana,” Emokpae said. 

A curator, Sandra Mbanefo-Obiago, said that the artist's works existed on a spectrum, ranging from cartoon simplicity to opaque expressionism.

The exhibition, being sponsored by the Deutsche Bank, has 35 paintings on board and canvas.

Some of them are arts works titles are ``Confidant”, ``Harmony”, ``Over exposed”, ``Reeds”.

Emokpae studied painting at the University of Lagos, but has spent most of his professional life on photography-- in fashion and journalism.

He has won numerous awards, including the UNESCO "Save our Treasures" art competition in Troyes, France (1996), and the Hasselblad Masters (Semi Finalist Award) for Photography in 2007.

Emokpae paintings were featured in Arthouse Contemporary Auctions in 2013.

He is the son of a renowned Nigerian artist, Erhabor Emokpae (1934-1984).