Ugo Aliogo and Esther Ehoche
As part of efforts to expand economic and cultural bilateral relations between Nigeria and France, the Embassy of Nigeria will host the French business community to an exhibition, which will showcase Nigeria’s finest art, cuisine, fashion, music, film as well as traditional games on the platform Nigeria Creative Arts Exchange.
Disclosing this to journalist at a media briefing recently in Lagos, to announce the activities lined for the exhibition, the Nigeria Ambassador to France, Modupe Irele, said Nigeria’s art, music, film, and fashion in recent times, have received international acclaim, stating that this has shown that there are industries that can and in many cases already are successfully operating internationally at the requisite standards.
She also stated that the event is not only an opportunity to exhibit the country’s culture and showcase her talent, but is also a platform to harness the positive publicity created by the above mentioned industries to stimulate broader interest in Nigeria and strengthen the foundation for investment and transact business with Nigeria.
Irele whose speech was delivered by the Chairman of Art of Life Foundation, Chief Taiwo Taiwo, expressed confidence that the platform would be appreciated by their French counterparts whose country boasts some of the top cultural institutions in the world and contribute an important part of her economy.
She further stated that the platform would be used to create a forum where participants can make enquiries, network and build useful links, in a relaxed setting, adding they would invite participants to experience the elements of Nigerian culture that will be on display, while representatives from the different industries- fashion, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, real estate, finance, tourism, others, will use the forum to initiate conversations on businesses.
The event would feature some of the creative industry giants such as Bisi Silva (world acclaimed visual arts curator); Ituen Bassey (Fashion); Orange Culture (Fashion); Andrea Iyamah (Fashion); Lanre Da Silva (Fashion); Chef Tiyan and Chef Fregz (Cuisine); Kemi Lala Akindoju (Nollywood) and Adekunle Gold (Singer-Songwriter).
