On the Cusp of 20, LIMCAF Raises the Stakes

With more than N60 million in prizes, a new six-member jury and Jerry Buhari at the curatorial helm, LIMCAF’s 19th edition is entering its final stretch with 100 artists headed for the October grand finale in Enugu. Okechukwu Uwaezuoke reports 

Life in My City Art Festival, more often known by its acronym LIMCAF, is, as the flagship event of the Life in My City Art Foundation, keeping faith with its annual rites at this time of year, announcing the members of its National Jury Panel as well as the curator for the Grand Finale Exhibition of its much-anticipated 19th edition, scheduled for the final week of October and themed “Open Letter”.

Indeed, the recent announcement brings together artists, scholars, curators, art historians and cultural practitioners with experience in studio practice, contemporary art, art education, curating, critical scholarship and cultural development. It is also a sign that the youth-focused festival is once again moving into its busiest stretch, following the call for entries earlier this year.

The 2026 National Jury Panel comprises Chike Obeagu (chairman), Adiwu Talatu Onkala, Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi, Bella Anne C. Ndubuisi, Dotun Popoola and Frank Omoh Agbiyoa Ugiomoh, while Jerry Buhari takes on the curatorial duties for the Grand Finale Exhibition. Their collective task is to sift through the works that have made it through this year’s selection process for the Grand Finale Exhibition at the Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu’s International Conference Centre.

At the head of the panel is Chike Obeagu, a contemporary artist, scholar and curator, and associate professor at the Federal University of Lafia, who has curated LIMCAF three times. Adiwu Talatu Onkala, an artist and associate professor of painting at the University of Maiduguri, brings to the panel her engagement with gender, identity and the social realities of contemporary Nigeria, particularly the experiences of women in the Northeast.

Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi, an artist and art historian, is the Steven and Lisa Tananbaum Curator at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, having previously held curatorial positions at the Cleveland Museum of Art and Dartmouth’s Hood Museum.

Bella Anne C. Ndubuisi, a cultural affairs specialist, brings her experience in culture, community development and international development, as well as her longstanding involvement with LIMCAF in Taraba. Dotun Popoola, meanwhile, brings a very different sensibility: the contemporary sculptor is known for turning discarded scrap metal into works of art.

Professor Frank Omoh Agbiyoa Ugiomoh brings more than four decades of experience as an artist, art historian, critic and educator, with African art history and its historiography at the heart of his scholarship.

For the Grand Finale Exhibition, Professor Jerry Buhari brings an equally long engagement with art, teaching and curating. A professor of fine art at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, since 1982, he has curated major exhibitions in Nigeria and abroad.

On offer, meanwhile, are more than N60 million in prizes across various categories, giving the 100 artists who have emerged from the different regions of the country something to drool over. At the top of the pile is the overall winner’s prize, which, since last year’s edition, has undergone a substantial transformation and been rechristened the Elder Kalu Young Artist of the Year Prize. It is now worth the naira equivalent of $2,000.

The enhanced prize, sponsored by the family of the late Elder Kalu Uke Kalu, LIMCAF’s former chairman and a visual arts aficionado, is intended as a lasting tribute to his legacy while giving a new generation of artists something to aspire to.

The festival also has category prizes ranging from ₦500,000 to ₦1 million for outstanding entries in photography, painting, sculpture, drawing, ceramics and digital art. The Chinelo Chime Prize for Best in Photography carries the highest value at ₦1 million, while the prizes for painting, sculpture, drawing and ceramics are worth ₦500,000 each.

Then there are the Armstrong Agoreyo Prize, awarded for the best artwork made from waste paper, and the Kanyeyachukwu Tagbo Prize, which recognises an outstanding work by an artist living with a disability.

LIMCAF also has bespoke prizes through which individuals, families and organisations can honour people, institutions or achievements that matter to them. Among the current endowments are the Justice Anthony Aniagolu Prize for Originality and the Dr Pius Okigbo Prize for Technical Proficiency.

The regional prizes, endowed by individuals, are another feature of the festival. They reward the best entries from particular centres, among them the Mfon Usoro Prize for Best Entry from Uyo Centre and the VinMartins Ilo Prize for Best Entry from Enugu.

But the festival’s support for young artists does not end with the prize money. Besides a two-week all-expenses-paid trip to Dakar, Senegal, for the Dakar Art Biennale, otherwise known as Dak’Art, LIMCAF provides emerging artists with opportunities to develop their practice and gain a better understanding of the art world, both at home and abroad, through its residencies and boot camps.

The festival also pays attention to the question of gender, giving emerging male and female artists from across the country an opportunity to participate. There are, in addition, special prize categories reserved for female artists. Its reach extends to the younger generation too, through workshops for primary and secondary school children, with particular attention to those living with disabilities. In recent years, Abuja and Enugu have hosted some of these workshops.

Still, the festival has not lacked goodwill over the years. Beyond its invaluable partnership with the Alliance Française network in Nigeria, the Institut Français and the French Embassy, LIMCAF has received support from a range of individuals and corporate bodies, including the Paris-based Clam Lab, advertising firm Rocana Nigeria Limited, the Pan African Circle of Artists, Honeywell Group, FBN Holdings, the Enugu State Council for Art and Culture, the Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos, and Thought Pyramid Art Centre, Abuja. Its prizes have also attracted endowments and special donations from the Justice Anthony Aniagolu family, Vin Martin Ilo, Thought Pyramid Art Centre, Mfon Usoro, the Pius Okigbo family, Art Is Everywhere, the Centre for Contemporary Art, Professor El Anatsui and Engr. Gesi Asamaowei, among others.

From its modest beginnings in 2007, participation has grown steadily, with artists from different parts of the country entering the competition each year. The list of past overall and category prize winners is equally revealing: a number of them have gone on to make their mark on the Nigerian visual arts scene, with the festival forming part of their early careers.

What Robert Orji, founder of Rocana Nigeria Limited, started on a modest scale in 2007 has since grown into a national platform for young artists. Next year, LIMCAF reaches its 20th edition.