This week on CNN International’s ‘Inside Africa’ programme, host Soni Methu offers viewers the chance to meet some prize-winning Nigerian photographers and artists at the Lagos Photo Festival.
In Makoko, the water-borne slum in Lagos dubbed “the Venice of Africa”, Methu discovers that although life in the community may be quite basic, it nevertheless inspires some great art from outsiders and its own.
One such artist is Sulayman Afose, who was born and bred in this floating town. His work is beginning to attract international attention with the capture of everyday images that inspire his art. Afose tells ‘Inside Africa’ he plans to inspire a younger generation to take up a lens by passing on the skills he has learnt in workshops, organised by the African Artists Foundation.
Also on the programme, Methu talks to another talented Nigerian photographer, Jenevieve Aken. The work of this model-turned-photographer has been on display in exhibitions across Nigeria, South Africa and Europe.
Her latest series is called ‘The Masked Woman’, and it portrays images of independent, professional women in Nigeria. She also features as the subject in some of the portraits. Aken gives ‘Inside Africa’ host Methu a crash course in photography, advising her: "It's all about feel and emotion when it comes to portraits. So, I try to put feeling and I try to put emotions in every photograph I take.”
Methu makes her way over to the Civic Centre on Victoria Island, where the biggest annual event in Nigerian Contemporary Art reaches its climax. Methi witnesses the 12 finalists in the National Art Competition prepping and rehearsing for their shot at fame and fortune.
Modupeola Fadugba, a visual artist and former student affairs director at the African University of Science and Technology in Abuja, has designed a game that seeks to address the troubling unemployment situation in Nigeria, and is a winner on the night. Erasmus Onyishi is also successful, taking the title of “Overall Winner” for transforming plastic waste into art while helping to clean up the environment.
A previous winner, Steve Sangooye, also drops in to soak in the atmosphere and comment on the evolution of the event. He tells Methu and ‘Inside Africa’: “Nigerian art… is the art the world is waiting to see.”
Don’t miss this special ‘Inside Africa’ programme on modern photography and the contemporary art scene in Nigeria, airing 19 December at 1830
The show will also air at the following times:
Saturday: 0530, 1230, 1930
Sunday: 0230
Tuesday: 1030
Thursday: 0530
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