The Arts-Muse Fair

In Borno, North-eastern Nigeria, the Boko Haram terrorism has thrown up many soldiers fighting tirelessly to thwart BH's dehumanizing actions of killings, bombings and abductions. Outside the conventional Nigerian Armed Forces and the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) taking on the BH terrorists, there is another army that shoots in Borno as well. Mohammed Chiroma is a soldier in this army that shoots to counter-narrate the, often, scary news that regularly come out of Borno state. He does this by shooting photos that seek to dispel the stereotypes and misinformation with which news and stories of Borno state are painted. Using their cameras, photographers like Fati Abubakar, Rahima Gambo and many others in Borno state are actively re-telling their stories in rich human colours against the backdrop of the violence wrought on the state by BH. In this first of series of The Arts-Muse Fair’s  " Soldiers of Borno "    interviews,   we bring to you our conversation wi

The last of our series of interviews with winners of the Poetic Wednesdays (PW) second anniversary poetry competition features Adamu Iliyasu, 26 years old poet and Accountant. Interview by Salim Yunusa     How can you say your profession has shaped your poetry? I am someone that since my secondary school days, liked anything that has to do with calculations. I've then loved mathematics as a subject and paid little attention to English Language and I think   that's how I found myself in Accounting   as a profession. So, I dont think my profession has performed any role in my poetry journey. But the passion motivated and drove me well. Poetic Wednesday recently celebrated its second Anniversary. Can you tell us what impact being a member of the Poetry movement has made in your literary journey? First let me start by saying congratulations to all Poetic Wednesdays Crew on this second year anniversary and I pray that PW will continue to grow to the highest lev

In the third of series of interviews with winners of the PW second anniversary poetry contest, Salim Yunusa interviews Ahmad Abdulsamad, poet and Environmental activist. Poetic Wednesdays recently celebrated its second year of founding. Can you tell us what impact being a member of this online poetry movement has made in your literary journey? Wow! PW has really been an enabling platform for me to learn and develop as a poet, all thanks to its very colourful network of poetic minds. I am definitely not the poet I used to be before the PW experience. Some very dear poets I met on PW have unlocked a lot of my poetic ice walls and closed roads. So, it's really safe to say PoeticWednesdays has been a major influence in my evolution as a poet. I can't be thankful enough for that. What can you say about online Literary Movements and the impacts they make? They are really doing great. Until recently, poetry has largely been regarded as a grotesque, banal and unin

Maryam Idris Bappa is the winner of the female category prize of the Poetic Wednesday s second anniversary poetry award sponsored by the Arts-Muse Fair blog. Born and bred Zaria, Northern Nigeria, she has had all her education in Zaria where she is currently a Masters student in Architecture at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU). In this conversation with Salim Yunusa, she explains the intersection between poetry and Architecture. As an Architect, how has your profession shaped your poetry? Right from school, we Architects have been taught to make use of materials available in our locality in designing and constructing buildings. Not only does it save money, time, and energy, but it also creates this perfect scenario on ‘the definition of harmony and comfort’. (Look up Frank Llyod Wright’s Design of Falling) That said, I have also learned that poetry like architecture, is a very flexible art capable of changing with time. As an Architect, I define poetry to be a form of bu

Hattat Yushaa Abdullahi obtained his Ijaza (License) as a professional Arabic calligrapher in 2013 after a rigorous 5-yr training at the International Research Centre for Islamic History, Arts and Culture (IRCICA) Istanbul, Turkey,   making him the first black African to get this license. He lives in Kaduna, Nigeria where he runs the 'Hattat Hassan Celebi' Calligraphy Centre, Nigeria’s only formal Arabic Calligraphy training centre. Late last year, two of his works were sold at an exhibition in Cambridge, UK, for 3,500 pounds, which he donated to the first Europe Eco-Mosque project in Cambridge. Last month April, his works were also exhibited and an international exhibition in Sharjah, UAE. More about the works he donated to charity The Cambridge exhibition was organised by the Cambridge Islamic Art committee with vision to seek donations from world's prominent Islamic Artists by sacrificing their valued artworks to the first Europe Eco Mosque project in Cam

This interview with Ayeyemi Taofeek Kehinde opens our series of interviews with the four winners of the Poetic Wednesdays 2nd Anniversary Poetry Contest co-sponsored by the Arts-Muse Fair blog.  F ondly called Aswagaawy, Ayeyemi Taofeek Kehinde is the author of "Oro n Bo: Dripping Words" (a poetry collection). Winning poetry competitions seem to come easy to him. His list of winnings include the First Runner-up of the BPPC September 2017 and February 2018,   TAJIF Poetry Contest 2017, First Runner-up of Okigbo Poetry Prize (University of Ibadan, 2016), 4 times winner PIN Monthly Poetry Challenge among other prizes, awards and honorary mentions. He is published in Authorpedia, The Quills, The Pengician, Tuck Magazine, Inspired Magazine, Peregrine Reads   and other online platforms. Here, Aswagaawy chats with Salim Yunusa on his poetry and more. How has your profession shaped your poetry? Being a Bar aspirant at the moment, my profession is a course you'd

Muyiwa Akinwolere studied Art at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. He worked as an Art teacher in Minna, Niger state for 5 yrs before leaving the classroom to go into full time studio work. He owns the Adiitu Studio in Badagry, Lagos state. His (antique inks and metals) artworks entitled Those That Were Crushed are currently on exhibition at the Whitespace Gallery Lagos till May 5, 2018. In this interview, he recounts his Art journey from Minna, where he started practice about two decades ago, to Lagos where he now works and lives with his family. Minna is the canvas   In Minna, I collaborated with Baba Sokomba and Francis Sokomba at Gabajudah gallery. I was using my free time at that time to make art and display at Gabajudah gallery. Eventually when I left teaching, I worked with Gabajudah as a resident artist before I started my own studio in Minna. My studio that time was known as Nubia arthouse. It was located inside the defunct Federal Mortgage Bank along F-la