FAIRGROUND: Ade Bakare RTW Collection Summer 2018

By Azuka Ogujiuba

The collection which is a ready to wear collection, mixed African textiles such as vintage aso oke, ankara and silk adire with other fabrics such as gazar, organza, linen, lace and denim 

The beautiful cape coats with eyelets that fasten with silk scarfs, A line dresses in ankara with lace, aso oke jackets with organza sleeves and silk neoprene Fulani inspired kaftans completed the look. Jewerlly was by Mozafarian of Harvey Nichols, hats by John Boyd of knightsbridge, make up by Natasha from MAC at Selfridges.  

Lots of guests were in attendance ,and most where in the dress code Black .  

Omotola, AY, Basket Mouth, Others   Speak at #YouthVotesCount Campus Outreach

Top Nigerian celebrities were at the University of Lagos recently for a campus voter education outreach.

The Youth Vote Count Campus Outreach Programme is  a youth- specific voter education campaign aimed at mobilising young people, especially first-time voters to exercise their franchise by registering to vote in the 2019 elections. The campaign is jointly implemented by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the European Union, YIAGA AFRICA,  and the European Centre for Electoral Support. The Outreach programme will be hosted in six tertiary institutions across the Federation; the first held at the University of Abuja on the 3rd of May.

The second in the series, with the  theme, ‘Enhancing Youth Participation in the Electoral Process’ held at the J.F. Ade Ajayi Auditorium, University of Lagos on Wednesday, 27th June, 2018 from 8am to 12noon. Celebrity panellists at the event included  Omotola Jalade, Ayo Makun AY, Basket Mouth and Helen Paul, with Seun Okinbaloye  as the Moderator. The Chairman of INEC, the EU Ambassador to Nigeria, as well as the Vice Chancellor of the University also spoke at the event.

It is expected that the programme will increase the enthusiasm of young people to engage in the electoral process by participating in the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) and Permanent Voter Card (PVC) distribution.

How Bolatito Ibitola Won 2018 ‘Art X Prize 

West Africa’s renowned art fair, Art X Lagos and Access Bank have announced Bolatito Aderemi-Ibitola as the winner of the 2018 edition of Art X Prize with Access, instituted to recognise and support emerging visual artists in Nigeria.

Bolatito was chosen from a pool of several dozen applicants by a jury of 5 renowned artists comprising pioneering artist, Professor Bruce Onobrakpeya; Turner Prize nominee Yinka Shonibare MBE; highly regarded visual artist Wura-Natasha Ogunji, Honorary Fellow of the University of the Arts, London Sokari Douglas-Camp; and gallerist and curator Oliver Enwonwu. 

Access Bank’s collaboration with ART X Lagos stems from a mandate to support and contribute to the development of the art sector in Nigeria by investing in Nigerian talent. The sponsorship of the ART X Prize with Access is a partnership that will celebrate, empower and provide vital professional development for a new generation of emerging Nigerian talent. 

Founder and Director of ART X Lagos, Tokini Peterside, remarked: “The extraordinarily high quality of work we received speaks volumes of the potential of the art sector in Nigeria. We are delighted to have the privilege to support the prizewinner, Bolatito Aderemi-Ibitola, at this pivotal stage in her career.  With certainty that this will propel her forward towards a successful future within the African and global art industry, we look forward to unveiling Bolatito’s ambitious project at ART X Lagos 2018 in November. The project will introduce Bolatito to our international audience of critics, collectors and curators from renowned institutions around the world. We extend our heartfelt thanks to Access Bank for their support for this initiative and to our stellar jury for their tireless commitment and generousity to this effort.”

The CEO and Group Managing Director of Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe commented: “At Access Bank, beyond our vast collection of established artists, we believe that we are also responsible for empowering emerging artists. This is why we continue to support the ART X Prize – to celebrate the ingenuity of Nigeria’s emerging art talent. 

I can see the recipient of the ART X Prize with Access being the next great artist of our time, endowing us with the potential and the privilege to shape the most relevant art that will come out of the African continent.”

Bolatito Aderemi-Ibitola emerged as the winner of the Prize, after live presentations to the jury members, alongside a shortlist that also included two other artists – Ayo Akinwande and Williams Chechet as finalists. Bolatito is a trans-disciplinary artist working primarily in time based art, interactivity and performance. She lives and works in Lagos, Nigeria, and earned her Masters in Performance Studies from Tisch School of the Performing Arts, New York University and holds a Bachelors in Communication Arts with a focus in Television/Film Production and a minor in Political Science from Allegheny College.

On the selection process, Professor Bruce Onobrakpeya comments: “The finalists have demonstrated far-sighted maturity in their presentations, in varied media, with demonstrable projects and feasible proposals. ART X Lagos must be congratulated for its professionalism in organising an international jury to deliberate on the ART X Prize with Access.”

Jury-member Yinka Shonibare MBE also commented: “Aderemi-Ibitola, Chechet and Akinwande have all expressed contemporary cultural concerns in Nigeria through their work. All of the finalists are very strong, so you can imagine what an impossible decision it has been for us! I am very proud to have been part of this exciting process.”

Bolatito Aderemi-Ibitola will receive invaluable opportunities for networking and mentoring to realise, promote, and contextualise her art project. She will also receive a ₦1million grant towards her project which will be exhibited in a solo presentation at ART X Lagos 2018 from 2nd to 4th November.

AMAA 2018: Kigali to Host Continental Show 

In line with its pan-African and Africa integration agenda, the government of Rwanda, through the Rwanda Convention Bureau and Rwanda Tourism Bureau, has accepted to host the 2018 edition of the African Movie Academy Awards in Kigali in September.

According to a statement issued in Lagos by the organisers, the event will hold at the Radisson Blu Hotel & Convention Centre on Saturday 22nd, 2018.

The 2018 nominees for the awards will be unveiled on July 21st at a media and industry event. German filmmaker and Berlin Film Festival curator, Dorothy Wenner has also been announced as the President of the AMAA Jury for 2018.

The awards, which has been in existence since 2005 held the nominations gala event in Kigali in 2017 as part of the activities to expand the frontiers of unity and integration in Africa. 

AMAA, according to the founder, Ms. Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, remains the biggest and most credible jury-based reward system for filmmakers and professionals in the motion picture industry from Africa and Africans in Diaspora.

“It remains a fact that AMAA is the longest running Pan-African awards in the whole of Africa. Similar awards in film, music and virtual arts have come and gone. Since 2005 we have worked to keep and protect the integrity of the awards. This is why we can partner Rwanda, a country where excellence and professionalism drive business and governance. The interesting thing about AMAA this year is that visitors especially Africans will not struggle to have visa as all visas will be processed on arrival. We want to thank President Paul Kagame and other African leaders that are making people’s movement within our continent very easy while we call on other African countries to have Visa on arrival policy if we can’t remove visa completely. Our people will prosper and there will be shared prosperity when we can travel and do business and even for holidays easily within Africa,” she said.

Lagos State Government hosted the 2017 edition of the awards at the Eko Hotel Convention Centre, Victoria Island while Bayelsa State, the oil rich state from the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria hosted the awards for straight 10 years. 

Global and pan-African brands such as the United Bank for Africa, Airtel, Ecobank, Sterling Bank, Skye Bank, First Bank, FCMB, Globacom, MRS Oil among others had sponsored the awards in the past.

AMAA recently hosted a social media training workshop in Kigali for young people as a Corporate Social Responsibility project sponsored by Osigwe Anyiam – Osigwe Foundation, Ecobank and Rwanda Convention Bureau which had with tech resource persons drawn from Nigeria and Rwanda.