Preface for the 2023 Art Arising Art Festival book.

 

PREFACE

The 2023 Art Arising Art Festival almost did not hold, because back in 2022 while we prepared for the2023 art arising art festival , the weekly news of insecurity, insurgence and banditry continued with gory tales emerging out of both the north east and south east. The then president Mohamadu Buhari ‘s body language left  a lot to the imagination.

As this was going on we sent out  the call for participation in the 2023 art arising art festival. To our surprise a few artists led by Dr Princess Iyase-Odozi and Ogochukwu Ejiofor registered and joined us. Then there was a long silence.

2023 was an election year. Nigerian elections have been known to be rife with violence. It was a relief to just survive another Nigerian election no matter who won.

 At first we experienced an anxiety fueled by uncertainty because the fuel subsidy removal announcement  by the newly sworn in president triggered a hike in fuel prices resulting in panic buying and hoarding. More anxiety more uncertainty. Intending paricipants panicked, some  withdrew their intention to exhibit. But we kept on believing that this festival will hold. We kept our fingers crossed.

 It was the naira crisis that had everyone sitting on edge. There was the introduction of the new naira currency notes intended to launch a cashless society and to curb vote buying before and during the elections. By some abracadabra that no one seem to want to clarify, the old notes  fought back. The new notes were in high demand but insufficient supply, while the old currency notes were in abundant supply. The result being the naira was exchanging itself at different rates.

The central bank governor would issue a directive and the commercial banks will fail to comply. For a while Nigerians felt adrift . It was chaotic. Then the central bank governor was suspended. More chaos.  At this point we almost canceled the festival.

Observing this low turnout of participants, the late Dr Olu Ajayi decided to encourage 3 artists from SNA Benin city to participate in the  festival. He single-handedly covered their registration and transportation. We lost a rare gem when he passed. We also lost another rare gem in Mr tam Fiofori. We have the film screening discussion section because of Mr Tam Fiofori. He usually organized it as part of his contribution to the Art Alliance 51 project. The section allowed young emerging film makers to show case their experiments and to engage the public. This exercise usually helps to spotlight areas of growth for young film makers. May their gentle souls rest in peace with God!

One month to the opening date, the flood gates seemed to open and all the participants of Art Arising Art Festival 2023 joined in and it was a scramble to the finish line. The festival was mounted successfully with a pleasant surprise opening by The First Lady of Lagos Her excellency Mrs Claudiana Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu opening the event. We also enjoyed a special presentation by hon. Titi Akerele of the Ekiti state house of assembly. The daily discussions were well attended and engaged. All went well, to God be the glory.