The Arts-Muse Fair

A reporter with Prestige FM Radio, Minna, and writer with The Arts-Muse Fair, Abubakar Akote has emerged winner in the media practitioners’ category of the 2019 edition of the annual essay competition organized to mark the 78th birthday of the former Military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida. This year’s edition which is second in the series cut across four categories – Media practitioners, Legal practitioners, Medical practitioners and related fields as well as post and undergraduate categories. According to an aide to the former leader, Saka Adeyemi, who conceived the idea in 2018, the aim and objective of the competition was to deepen intellectual discourse among various professionals and youths towards finding solutions to the topical challenges facing the country.
Adeyemi said “the emphasis is not to dish out money but in furtherance of IBB’s legacy and leadership which is widely acknowledged to be the most resourceful in terms of policies formulations and implementatio…

BY PAUL LIAM
Yesterday, Wednesday the 14th of August, 2019 at the AB Hotel hall, Ado Ekiti, the Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. John Kayode Fayemi was installed as the Grand Patron of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Ekiti State chapter
The installation was part of activities of the chapter’s Annual State convention. According to the chapter, Dr. Fayemi was named the Grand Patron because he is a writer and supporter of literary development which made him deserving of the honour of serving as the Association's Grand Patron in Ekiti state. The Governor was represented at the auspicious occasion by his wife, Erelu Bisi Fayemi who is also a remarkable writer and civil rights advocate. She received the plaque on behalf of her husband and assured the association of her husband's continuous support to the development of literature and art in general in the state. The installation ceremony was heralded by a powerful keynote address presented by a distinguished poet, writer and a f…

As I was making a mental note of the places to visit this Sallah holiday, it suddenly occurred to me, with a pang of guilt, that I had not visited the National Museum despite its proximity to my residence. So I planned to visit today, which I did.
Having bought my N300 ticket at the reception, on whose walls were warnings to visitors that said no photographs are allowed within the gallery, I was ushered in in time to meet a guide taking the first group of visitors through the various sections of the stuffy, poorly lit gallery. You guessed right: there was no power.
The guide, a middle aged, dark skinned man with bloodshot eyes that suggested a lack of adequate sleep for several days, hurriedly explained what each object meant and where it originated from. He explained with the speed of one who had done that for years to the point of cramming the details. But that was too fast for my liking. I felt it was a way of saying, “Bros, no be only N300 you pay? No waste my time, biko!” I needed …

A collaboration between the British Council’s _in Motion grant and the Prince Claus Fund Mobility Grant.
The British Council, and Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development are issuing a Call for Proposals to support Mobility in and from Africa, specifically prioritising young artists and cultural practitioners from a range of African countries. This joint collaboration is intended to assist emerging practitioners from Africa in their professional growth and networking possibilities.
The Mobility Fund is aimed at artists and cultural professionals from the following African countries, who are looking to strengthen their cultural practice: Botswana; Ethiopia; Ghana; Kenya; Malawi; Mauritius; Mozambique; Namibia; Nigeria; Rwanda; Senegal; Sierra Leone; South Africa; South Sudan; Sudan; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe.
Eligible travel routes that would be supported include travel within the countries listed above as well as between the above listed African countries and countries lis…

Deadline: September 7, 2019
The African Writers Development Trust, in partnership with the Writers Guild Kenya, is calling for writers of African descent living in Africa, to apply for the African Writers Residency to hold in November 2019, as part of the PenPen Africa Project. The PenPen Africa project is funded by Culture at Work Africa and co-funded by the European Union.
According to Anthony Onugba, the Executive Director of the African Writers Development Trust, applicants from Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Congo DR, and Nigeria, are invited to apply and are required to submit a nonfiction story of not more than 1500 words on the theme, The African Identity. The fully-funded residency programme will take place in Abuja, Nigeria, in November 2019 for 21 days.

Mr Onugba explained that the objectives of the African writers residency programme is to expose African writers to new cultures and encourages local content in African literature, provide transnational exposure and accl…

OH BELOVED
Oh Beloved! Your love owns a vast abyss In my heart, It grows sturdy like a mountain of metal, Planting its roots in my veins like a tree.
Oh Beloved! Your magical enchantments On my being, Weaves a cocoon of love where I hide, To ponder on the sinew of your charms that bind me to you
Oh Beloved! Amidst the radiance of moon In my dreams, I see the glints of your ardent trinkets, Your luminous face beams a cascade of light.
Oh Beloved! How can I portray your beauty In my poems (?) When your elegance is rare And so delicate to draw on the canvas of my heart
Oh Beloved! What is this wisdom woven around you? In my garden, You walk in graceful steps like a peacock, And I see not the blossoming of the flowers but only you?
*****
Ahmad Isah Sabo is a budding poet from Yobe state. His works appeared in Active Muse, Arthut and BPPC Chapbook. His poem ‘Oh Beloved’ was shortlisted for Christopher Okigbo Interuniversity Poetry Competition. He is a winner of Poetic Wednesdays’ ‘The Battle of Poets’ poetry co…

DEADLINE: 14th of September, 2019.
Today, the advancement of technology and the digital world is reinventing the African Culture. Terms such as Pan-Africanism, Africanism are becoming more complex to describe. African Traditions are no longer been passed down, traditional roles of men and women in society and family are changing, beliefs are more being tested by logic and sentiments of heritage are being put on the shelf.
This year, for the 3rd annual Photocarrefour Exhibition, we are interested in how these changes are shaping a new identity moving forward and what traditions will be emerging in this new African identity.
Photographers are invited to visually show some of these changes using their camera. To get started, here are a few photographers who have done works that reflect this thinking. • Cristina de Middel Afronaut • Andrew Esiebo Na God • Osbourne Macharia
Send your works (a minimum of 3) to photocarrefour.abj@gmail.com or send to this link: recentering Africa.