The Arts-Muse Fair

BY SALIM YUNUSA “… Life in the city is unbelievable...” Darey croons in my ear, and as I look around, I deeply resonate with the song I recently unearthed, “Pray For Me” by Darey. It was my first time being in the city, and I feel amazed and scared at the same time. I feel like a little bird who’s leaving the nest for the first time. My silent musings and wishes have been answered, for I have been telling myself that it’s about time that I go out of my comfort zone and see the world and all that it has to offer. Unlike Darey’s tragic, heartbreaking story in his song, I am here to serve my country. I was posted to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) for my one-year mandatory national service. All my life, I have never left home to any place for any reason. I was born, bred and schooled in Zaria. Abuja is the farthest I have lived in the North, and the closest I have been to the South was the one time I went for Ake Festival in Abeokuta for a few days. It feels so strange,

Dates for Film Africa,  The Royal African Society’s  annual London festival celebrating the best African and African diaspora cinema, have been announced! From  Friday 2 - Sunday 11 November 2018  at six venues across London, will be another eclectic film programme accompanied by a vibrant series of events, including director Q&As, talks and discussions; professional workshops and master classes; school screenings and family activities; parties; and our highly popular Film Africa LIVE! music nights.  How to submit Now in its eight year, Film Africa is a key event in London's thriving cultural calendar. The festival accepts films of all lengths and genres, including features, documentaries, shorts and experimental titles. You can submit via online submissions platform FilmFreeway. Your film may be eligible for our  festival awards  - T

Book Title: Rhymes From Africa Author: Ibraheem Dooba Publisher: AMAB Books, Minna Pages: 39 Year: 2017 Reviewer: Paul Liam T he role of literature in the entrenchment of colonial ideals in the minds of Africans remains a subject of critical discourse among intellectuals and scholars in understudying the impact of colonialism on the psyche of colonised people of the world. It has been established that European colonializers used their literatures in perpetuating cultural imperialism that unfortunately continues till today. Africans, nay Nigerians are more inclined to the foreign than the local, a precarious adventure which has led the scholar-critic Professor Sule Emmanuel Egya (E. E Sule) to tag the emergent generation of Nigerian writers as the "exogenous generation." Through encounters with western literatures, Africans gained insights into the cultural, religious and value systems of the whites. European epistemology subsequently became the prime

Ben Enwonwu’s  painting of Ile-Ife princess,  Adetutu Ademiluyi, known as Tutu, was on Wednesday, in a London auction, sold for £1, 205,000, four times more than expected. In naira terms, it was sold for N508, 358, 301, an African record.  The Nigerian masterpiece, initially declared missing was found in a “modest north London flat” recently. The painting, ranked by arts collectors with Mona Lisa, was done by Nigeria’s renowned artist late Ben Enwonwu in 1974. Bonhams, the auction company announced the record price for the paint, which measures  97 x 66.5cm  and was signed by Enwonwu and dated 1974. The identity of the buyer of the Lot 47 has not been disclosed yet.  There were other Enwonwu’s paints sold at the same auction, but none fetched anything near Tutu. Ben Enwonwu Enwonwu’s Fulani Girl fetched £13,125. Children of Onitsha got £11,250.  A Driveway Ibadan  fetched £12,150, while Dancers got £11,250.  Itachafo Muo , another Enwonwu’s paint was sold for £18,7

Participants and guests from all over Nigeria will tomorrow, Tuesday 27 th February, 2018, converge on the auditorium of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Maitama, Abuja for the inaugural Capital Territory Book Convention being organised by Delta Book club, a subsidiary of Delta Publications (Nigeria) Limited. Chief Dillibe Onyeama, President, The Delta Book Club The convention, which starts from 11am, will comprise of the first Abubakar Gimba Lecture Series, unveiling and presentation of THE WRITER magazine as well presentation and Prize –giving of the winning novel of the first Abubakar Gimba Literary Award. Prof. Vicky Sylvester of the University of Abuja will present the Abubakar Gimba Lecture initiated to celebrate the writings and ideals of the late Nigerian novelist Mal. Abubakar Gimba while Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, the Executive Secretary of the NUC will chair the convention. Akintunde Oyajobi, author of the novel Nostalgia will receive his priz

The opening ceremony of a one-week intensive workshop on Islamic calligraphy and visual arts held earlier today in Minna Niger state.   Guests at the opening ceremony The workshop, themed Towards Tertiary Tuition of Islamic Arts & Calligraphy: Prospects for the Nigerian economy , draws participants from within and without Nigeria including calligraphy and Persian rug weaving experts from Iran. An exhibition of Islamic and conventional visual art works with the theme, Confluence of two visual art s would also hold alongside the workshop.     Dr. Adam Sheikh Lemu Organiser of the event, Dr. Adam Sheikh Lemu explained in his opening remarks that the workshop seeks to initiate the critical step needed towards mainstreaming Islamic calligraphy and other forms of Islamic Arts into the curriculum of Fine and Applied arts in tertiary education of Nigeria.   Persian carpet weaving trainer He commended the Iranian embassy in Nigeria for supporting the workshop

Nigeria’s Film fans, actors, producers and musicians flocked to the screening of Marvel superhero movie “Black Panther” which premiered on Friday night at IMAX Cinemas in Lekki Lagos. The Walt Disney Co movie, which features a predominantly black cast, is set in the fictional African nation of Wakanda. It tells the story of the new king, T‘Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), who is challenged by rival factions. Nigeria is also a cultural powerhouse that boasts the continent’s biggest film industry, known as Nollywood. Lagos is the country’s filmmaking hub. At the screening of Black Panther at IMAX Cinemas, done in collaboration with UBA Plc, Nollywood stars mingled with TV personalities and musicians. The showing was one of a number of screenings in the city this weekend. Most people were dressed in traditional Nigerian robes and gowns, with some opting to wear specially made attire in keeping with the film’s futuristic take on African garments. “Black Panther is