Henry Akubuiro
It was a kaleidoscope of colours at Eko Atlantic City, Lagos, recently, when Lasmara, founded by Hana Omilani, wooed hundreds of contemporary African artists to exhibit at the maiden edition of its Impart Artists Fair.
Themed “Technology Meets Art”, the fair attracted artists from different parts of Africa, including, Nigeria, Sudan, Kenya, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Eritrea, and beyond. Some of the participating artists included Haneefah Adam, Arinze Ato, Kobina Nyarko, Mark Noina, Rafat Omar, Suzan Ibrahim and Salwa Mohammed.
Other participating artists were Abdelmgeid Afifi, Mutaz Mohamed, Omar Kamal, Sara Azim and Hussein Mirghani. Other participating were Roanna Tella, Fitsum Berhe, Samuel Olayombo, Joeph Bidemi, Edward Samuel, Chukwubuka Abangwu, to mention a few.
Explaining the choice of the theme, Omilani noted, “I believe that the tech sector has a huge creative potentials that are not exposed, especially in our African market. There are some creatives in this sector who are working that nobody has heard of, but they are artists in their own right.
“Technology for us at Lasmara is very vital. If we are left behind as an industry in the tech sector, that means our traditional artists will be left behind even more. So I want us to be connected to that –to showcase our artists in the tech sector but also to use it as a tool to promote them.”
Conducting journalists on tour of the Impart Artists Fair, Omilani drew their attention to the immediate impact of virtual reality. Lasmara partnered with Nigerian tech companies rather than those abroad, for the emphasis was promoting Nigerian art. One of them is the Abuja based, Moving Surface, a virtual effects company specialised in interactive solutions, 3d mapping and virtual effects for social events and advertising.
The Daughters of Chibok, a creation of VR 360 Stories, was also screened live through virtual reality. Graffiti wall spray was tried by interested participants. Besides, film animation screenings were enjoyed by visiting children and fascinated adults. The Founder of Lasmara believed in the democratisation of art, for “we can’t be talking about arts industry and creative sector if we don’t make it accessible to people.”
The Impart Artists Fair began with a students’ competition and a collectors’ preview on Friday, October 24, 2019, followed by a Public Day viewing for all. Beamed for the viewing pleasure of the audience was also a film animation entitled “Art Meets Tech”.
In initiating the Impart Artists Fair, Omilani saw the need to create a real structure to protect artists and also allow them to meet with art collectors face to face.
She said, “It is important to have galleries, but what can we do to be practical about this problem. So I thought ,since we were concerned about promoting African artists, we have to have a platform. So I felt a responsibility to actually create a platform.
“The Impart Artists Fair is the first platform we are creating to promote African art and raise the value of art. What this means is artists get to apply, and they get selected by a selection committee. We are very keen on emerging artists, because we want to promote those who haven’t had the opportunity; and it is not a longtime engagement of contract then we select them, which is as result of this fair you are witnessing today.”
Lasmara received over 500 applications from African artists within the first four weeks they got wind of the fair in 2018. The plan was to hold the fair last year, but she was overwhelmed by the responses, which made her shift it to this year. The enthusiasm by artists also taught her something: that African artists want to control their works and meet the buyers themselves.
The range of artworks on parade included works rendered in acrylic on canvas, oil on canvas, acrylic on paper, acrylic on collage, acrylic on fabric, pen on paper, mild metal, food, bonded stone, mixed media, fibre metal wire. Others were rendered in charcoal on paper, coffee on paper, wood, water colour, marble cast, pastel of paper, mosaic tiles on board, among others. The Impart Artist Fair promises to be a multicity affair.