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Society of Nigerian Artists
Newsletter
Since 1963
NOVEMBER 16-23, 2016
Arthouse Scores High Despite Economic Recession In This Issue Greetings from the President News, Events & Announcements
Arthouse Scores High Despite Economic Recession Anambra State Chapter’s International Art Conference Insanity: An Exhibition of Hyperrealist Art Binta Garba Honoured with ’’Outstanding Principal Award’’ The Opening Ceremony of African Arts and Crafts Expo (AFAC)
Icon
Kolade Oshinowo
Artist of the Week Sor Sen
Feature
Victoria Udondian and Nengi Omuku Anounced as Arthouse Foundation Residents The International Institute for Creative Development
Mission
To uphold excellence and engender the highest professional standards in the practice of the visual arts in Nigeria while encouraging its appreciation through publications, research, education and exhibitions.
El Anatsui, Ahe, 2016, wood panels, 122 x 213.5cm
On November 14, 2016, El Anatsui’s Ahe, headlined the 17th Modern and Contemporary sale by leading auction house, Arthouse Contemporary as the top-selling work. The sales, which held at The Wheatbaker, Lagos featured a total of 98 lots by celebrated and emerging artists across Africa. The 2016 wood panels 122 x 213.5cm with previous estimates N 17,000,000N20,000,000 sold at N18,400,000 scoring high despite the prevailing economic recession in the country. This emphasizes founder Kavita Chellaram’s statement during the ART X Talks held earlier this month on art as an alternative investment. Chellaram explained that over the years, the value of art by masters like Ben Enwonwu, Aina Onabolu and Bruce Onobrakpeya, as well as leading contemporary artist, El Anatsui, tend to remain the same or achieve new record sales.Other top featured lots were; Enwonwu, Crowd Scene, 1951, pencil and watercolour on paper, 43 x 63.5cm, estimated between N13,000,000-15,000,000 and sold for N13,950,000; and Enwonwu’s Drummer, 1978, fibre glass, 66 x 18.5 x 23 cm, sold for N13,800,000 with a presale estimates of N 12,000,000-N18,000,000.
Published by the: Society of Nigerian Artists in association with Revilo Company Limited 24, Ikoyi Crescent Ikoyi, Lagos Tel: +234 818 455 3331, +234 802 314 4881 To advertise, please contact: Chidimma Nwankwo Publicity Secretary (National) chidimma@snanational.org xquisitegallery@yahoo.com xquisitegallery@gmail.com +234 703 545 1016
Ben Enwonwu,Crowd Scene, 1951, pencil and watercolour on paper, 43 X 63.5cm
GREETINGS FROM THE PRESIDENT
NEWS, EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
Anambra State Chapter’s Art Conference NATIONAL EXECUTIVE
The Anambra State Chapter of the SNA kicked off her 2nd Biennial Art Conference and Exhibition at the Kenneth Dike e-Library, Awka on Wednesday 9th of November, 2016.
President Oliver Enwonwu Vice President South East Diseye Tantua Vice President, North Atiku Abubakar Vice President, North Central Dr Adam Sheikh Lemu Honourable General-Secretary Archibong Bassey
Greetings from the President
Treasurer Yemi Oladipo Assistant General-Secretary Binta Garba Financial Secretary Bola Adalumo Publicity Secretary Chidimma Nwankwo Ex-Officios Sir Chuka Nnabuife Dr Harrie Bazunu Comrade David Aigbe
Since 1963
Take a stand now! Join the Society of Nigerian Artists Have access to international recidencies and oppurtunities. Benefit from numerous networking and training opportunities. Membership is also open to painters, graphic designers, ceramists, photographers, sculptors, computer illustrators and students. Forms are available at: Suite 5, Art and Craft Village, Central Business District, Abuja. www.snanational.org Enquires: Archibong Bassey Honourable General-Secretary (National) T: 08035100257 archibong@snanational.org basseyplus@yahoo.com
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Also, featured this week is recently concluded Anambra State Chapter’s international art conference themed the Heritage and Cultural Identity in Nigeria, while Sor Sen is making us proud, with works like Peaceful Dreams as our ‘‘Artist of the Week’’. In this issue, we profile celebrated artist, Kolade Oshinowo who is our ‘‘Icon” of the week. For those who wish to be featured in this segment, kindly send photos of yourself, as well as of your work, a short profile and artist’s statement for consideration. Victoria Udondian, former Publicity Secretary of the national executive and Nengi Omuku, a member of the Rivers State Chapter are among the five artists announced recently as Arthouse Foundation residency recipients. Udondian lives and works between Lagos and New York. Her works have been exhibited internationally at the; Charles Gallery, New York(2015);London Art Fair (2014); Whitworth Gallery in Manchester (2012); Bagfactory Studios in Johannesburg, South Africa; and the Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA), Lagos, Nigeria (2010). Nengi Omuku completed her BA and MA at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College, London. She has held solo and group exhibitions in the UK and Nigeria, and now lives and works in Nigeria. For her work, she has won scholarships and awards, including the British Council CHOGM art award, presented by HRH Queen Elizabeth II.
Society of Nigerian Artists
Are you an artist? Are you where you belong? Do you have recognition from your professional body?
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Splashed on our front cover is a brief recap of Arthouse Contemporary’s November sales. With top-selling works achieving 8 - digit numbers, the auctions don’t seem like they are slowing down in these tough economic times. This feat highlights the rising value of Nigerian and indeed, African art as a veritable store for wealth.
Society of Nigerian Artists, Lagos Newsletter
We also felicitate with our Assistant General-Secretary (National), Hajia Binta Garba who was honoured as the Outstanding Principal of the Year by the the Institute of Human and Natural Resources.Also, covered in exquisite photography are the official visit of our President(North Central) Dr Adam Sheikh Lemu to the Abuja State Chapter as well as the National Council of Arts and Culture, Abuja.There is also a profile on the Abuja-based International Institute for Creative Development, led by, Nduwhite Ahahonu.
Speakers at the opening session of the conference were, profs. Osa D. Egonwa (keynote), Efe Ononeme and Cliff Nwanna, (Lead Paper Presented) Sir Chuka Nnabuife (Managing Director, Editor-in-Chief, Anambra Newspapers and Printing Corporation) who was chairman of the occasion. The event was hosted by the Hon. General-Secretary of the SNA ,Mr Archibong Bassey who represented the President, Mr. Oliver Enwonwu. Also in attendance was the artist and philanthropist, Chief Okwy Ogbuefi, FSNA (CEO, Trig Point Hotels) who used the event to announce the commencement of his three, yearly cash-prize awards for best emerging artists in all tertiary schools in Anambra State.
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Chairman of SNA Anambra State, Sir Tony Otikpa also highlighted the achievements of the chapter within the last one year, as well as those of the Anambra State governor Dr. Willie Obiano in encouraging the visual arts.He also explained why this year's biennial is theme: Heritage and Cultural Identity in Nigeria and anounced a forthcoming conference in April, 2017.
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1. R: Archibong Bassey 3.L- R: Prof Cliff Nwanna, Sir Tony Otikpa, Prof Efemena Ononeme and Sir Chuka Nnabuife 4. L: Archibong Bassey 6. L; Sir Tony Otikpa
Stay tuned for even more in this week’s bumper edition. Please feel free to also utilise this newsletter platform for announcements of special occassions like exhibitions, talks, seminars, conferences and personal events like performances, birthdays, weddings and child dedications. Kindly forward all information to Chidimma Nwankwo, Publicity Secretary (National) at xquisitegallery@gmail.com.
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We also urge advertisers to take advantage of the newsletter’s broad reach, in re- positioning their businesses. The e-newsletter is presently distributed to members, collectors, high networth individuals, the diplomatic community, as well as international curators and museums. We look forward to your feedback as we strive to serve you all better. Enjoy! Oliver Enwonwu
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NEWS, EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
NEWS, EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
Binta Garba Honoured with ‘‘Outstanding Principal of the Year’’ Award The Assistant Secretary-General (National), Hajia Binta Garba has recently been conferred with the ‘‘Outstanding Principal of the Year’’award by the Institute of Human and Natural Resources. Binta Garba was born in Kano on September 30, 1964. She attended Dakata Primary School from 1971-1977 and Government Girls Secondary School, Kwara between 1977 and 1982. In 1983, she gained admission into the School of Technology and graduated with an Ordinary National Diploma (OND) in 1985. After a brief stint from January to November, 1986 at the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) as an art and design casual worker, she proceeded to the Kano State Polytechnic where she earned her Higher National Diploma (HND). In January 1990, she gained employment with the Kano State Ministry of Education. Garba also holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Education (2015) from the Bayero University and is presently processing special admission into the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria for further education.
Kelani Abass: If I Could Save Time (Nov.10, 2016-Jan. 2, 2017
African Arts and Craft Expo 2016 The opening ceremony of the 9th Edition African Arts and Crafts Expo (AFAC) themed: The Best of African Arts and Craft will hold as follows: Date: Thursday November 17, 2016 Venue: Arts and Craft Village, Beside Sheraton Hotel, Abuja Time: 1:00
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Society of Nigerian Artists, Lagos Newsletter
Society of Nigerian Artists, Lagos Newsletter
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NEWS, EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
15TH ANIVERSARY: FEMALE ARTISTS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (FEEAN) INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE/EXHIBITION ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Theme: Like an Artist, Like a Driver, Understanding Enterpreneurship through Art Date: November 22nd - 24th, 2016 Venue: Ebitimi Banigo Hall, University of Port Harcourt, Choba, Port Harcourt, Nigeria Host Professor N.E.S. Lale, FAVN, RESN Vice Chancellor, University of Port Harcourt Lead Paper Presenter Professor Grace Ogwu Chairman Professor B.O.N. Nwanze Keynote Speaker Professor Nimi Briggs
CALL FOR PAPERS
Sub themes: a) Cottage Industries (Within the Arts) – A Source for Mass Employment b) Youth Entrepreneurship for Natural Sustainable Development c) Women and Art: In a New Age d) The Artist in National Development. e) Entrepreneurship in Nigeria: Economic Structures and the Global Market f) Historical Perspectives to Entrepreneurship Development in Nigeria/Across the Globe: Challenges and Prospects g) Indigenous Industries and Standardization h) Reviews, Plays, Poems, Tributes, Art Performances and Videos Due Date and Submission Paper abstracts: 10th -15th November, 2016: Length 200 words: APA, MLA citing styles Deadline for papers: 15th November, 2016 15 pages (maximum), double space, font type: Times New Roman, font size: 12 Send as attached email document in MS word to: Dr (Mrs.) Ajiginni Margaret: ajiginnimargaret@gmail.com Wogu Elizabeth: woguliz@yahoo.com Diseye Ukpaka: udiseye@yahoo.com Registration Fee N8,000 per participant Vetting: N3,000 Student rate: N2,000 Further Enquries: 08055473157, 08035435211, 08033091338, 08037170531 Details of hostel accomodation will be emailed to interested participants only through the Secretariat.
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Society of Nigerian Artists, Lagos Newsletter
Society of Nigerian Artists, Lagos Newsletter
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ICON
ARTIST OF THE WEEK
Sor Sen
Kolade Oshinowo (b. 1948)
Sor Sen was born in 1985. He holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in Fine Arts, as well as a Masters degree in Fine Arts (Painting) from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Sen’s talents have earned him prizes from the National Gallery of Art, embassies of Egypt and Spain in Nigeria, and the African Arts Resource Centre. He has held a solo exhibition and also participated in several group shows.
Kolade Adekunle Oshinowo was born in Ibadan in 1948 and is from Ikorodu, Lagos State. He graduated with a 2nd Class Honours (upper division) degree in Fine Art with a specialization in Painting from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1972. Oshinowo is one of the leading figures of the famous Yaba School of Art, known in narratives of modern Nigerian art for its strong figurative style. After a brief period teaching art at King's College, Lagos from 1972-1974, he served in various administrative and teaching capacities at the Yaba College of Technology. In 1986, he was appointed Head of the Department of Fine Art, and in 1990, Director, School of Art, Design and Printing. Oshinowo was also Deputy Rector of the same institution from 1992 to 1996. From 1975-1980, he served as National Secretary of the Society of Nigerian Artists. In 2005, he was elected President, a position he held till 2008. Kolade Oshinowo is one Nigeria's best-known and versatile artists. His broad oeuvre covers themes such as market scenes, traditional Nigerian dances, musicians, landscapes and the beauty and plight of the African woman. He is also an accomplished portraitist. His canvases are united by their moods and rich and varied textures, built up thickly with brush, palette knife and sometimes fingers. Some of his major work includes portraits of the late Oba of Benin (Omo N'Oba Erediauwa II), Chief S.L. Edu, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe and Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa-Balewa. Oshinowo has participated in several international exhibitions from 1972 till date. He has held over 22 solo and participated in over 90 group exhibitions in Nigeria and abroad. He has won numerous awards and prizes including; the National Productivity Order of Merit Award (2004); Award of Excellence by the Yaba College of Technology for distinguished service as Deputy Rector (1996); and the 50th Anniversary Five Star Award for excellence and meritorious service to the Yaba College of Technology (1998).
Red Gele, 2011, oil on canvas, 95 x 77.5cm
Peaceful Dreams, 2014, oil on canvas, 100x80cm
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Society of Nigerian Artists, Lagos Newsletter
Society of Nigerian Artists, Lagos Newsletter
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FEATURE
NEWS
FEATURE
Victoria Idongesit Udondian and Nengi Omuku Announced as Arthouse Foundation Residency Recipients
Onobrakpeya & The Harmattan Workshop The exhibition Onobrakpeya and the Harmattan Workshop continues at the Lagos Court of Arbitration, having opened on September 16, 2016,it will run till December 16, 2016. Curated by Sandra Mbanefo Obiago, It showcases 33 of Onobrakpeya’s rare artworks highlighting a rich artistic career, along with over 200 paintings, sculptures, ceramics, installations and mixed media works created by 124 leading and emerging Nigerian and international artists who have attended his Harmattan workshops.
Victoria Udongesit Udondian
Nengi Omuku
Prof. Bruce Onobrakpeya MFR was born in 1932 and is one of Africa’s most important experimental artists.He is celebrated for his unique metal foils, prints, serigraphs, plastocasts, sculptures, paintings and mixed media installations. He has received many local and international awards including an Honourable Mention at the 44th Venice Biennale in Italy (1990) and a Living Human Treasure Award by UNESCO in 2006.He was honoured by the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art during their 50th Anniversary in Washington DC in 2014. Onobrakpeya is one of the founding members of the famous Zaria Art Society, Nigeria’s foremost contemporary art movement, which he pioneered together with Uche Okeke, Yusuf Grillo, Demas Nwoko and other students at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in the 1950’s.
Damola, This is not my face,2015, oil on canvas 79 X 94cm
The Harmattan Workshop is Onobrakpeya, and was started in 1998 with the launch of an informal training initiative for artists in his hometown, Agbarah-Otor in Delta State. Onobrakpeya and his team have organized two major workshops every year since inception, at which over 1,300 leading and emerging Nigerian and international artists have been trained painting, sculpture, metal and stone works, jewelry, textile and mixed media. Victoria Udondian, Onile-Gogoro, 2014–2015, room installation fabrics, burlap, bicycle tubes, wire, ropes, dimensions variable
Victoria Udondian, a former Publicity Secretary of the national executive and Nengi Omuku, a member of Rivers State Chapter of the SNA are among five artists recently as named by Arthouse Foundation as residency recipients 2017. Udondia was born in 1982,and lives and works between Lagos and New York. Before studying art, she trained as a tailor and fashion designer. Her work is driven by her interest in textiles and the potential for clothing to shape identity, informed by the histories and tacit meanings embedded in everyday materials. Drawing from her experiences growing up in Nigeria, she engages with West African textiles and repurposed Western material to investigate how fundamental changes in fabric can affect one’s perception of his or her identity, and ultimately a nation’s psyche. Udondian is currently enrolled as an MFA candidate at Columbia University in New York City.Her works have been exhibited internationally at the Charles Gallery, New York (2015); London Art Fair (2014); Whitworth Gallery in Manchester (2012); Bagfactory Studios in Johannesburg, South Africa and the Centre for Contemporary (CCA), Lagos, Nigeria, (2010). Nengi Omuku completed her BA and MA at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College,London. She has held solo and group exhibitions in the UK and Nigeria, and now lives and works in Nigeria. She has also won much recognition for her work, including a scholarship and the British Council CHOGM 10
Society of Nigerian Artists, Lagos Newsletter
From now until December 16, 2016 Special TGIF (Thank God Its Friday) tours on four floors of the Lagos Court of Arbitration, will be staged by the organizers for collectors and enthusiasts alike.
Nengi Omuku, In Wander, oil on canvas, 100 X 140 cm
art award, presented by HRH Queen Elizabeth II. Her work functions as a metaphor alluding to wider themes of difference, understanding and a mutual belonging. Through colour, she explores the supposition that the human figure can be transformed based on the premise that things could not only look, but also be otherwise. The release from the physical form has led her into a new territory, a moment-by-moment expression of beings that have been transformed from their present reality, reanimated through colour and marks.It is her desire to convey portraits: presences floating through active spaces, presences that have the aspiration of becoming events in their own right. She also frequently explores the encounter what happens when different forms meet. Another element of her work is the scape, in particular, the escape the bodies inhabit. With a newly renovated building in the heart of Ikoyi, the Arthouse Foundation offers live/work residencies for two artists simultaneously in three-month sessions.The foundation aims to encourage the creative development of contemporary art in Nigeria by providing a platform for artists to expand their practice and experiment with new forms and ideas.A studio, art materials and logistical support are provided for the creation of a new artistic project during their residency. The Arthouse Foundation hosts public programmes including an artist’s talk, workshop and open studios, culminating in an end of the year exhibition to showcase the resident’s new artistic projects.
Bruce Onobrakpeya Gala day under the River,191.5 X 142cm
Society of Nigerian Artists, Lagos Newsletter
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FEATURES - COVER STORY VOLUME 1 ISSUE 4
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THE CENTENARY ISSUE
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Society of Nigerian Artists, Lagos Newsletter