Eyin'juOdu

--- Get set.... Lagos Book & Art Festival, LABAF 2014... the "biggest culture picnic on the continent" beckons... November 14-16 Freedom Park, Lagos... Africa's Illustrious Literary Son, WOLE SOYINKA is Special Guest of Honour... Join up to honour him

Open Door Series: UNILAG To Host 4-Day International Conference as W... : On the 13th of July, Professor Wole Soyinka will turn 80 and the University of Lagos is hosting a 4-day conference in his honour... Th... Titled the  ‘Soyinka Impulse’  and with the theme  ‘Art, Humanity, Transitions and Permanence: Calibrating Soyinka @ 80’  the conference will hold from July 10th to July 14th 2014." Prof. Biodun Jeyifo of Harvard University will present the keynote lecture entitled:  “WS and the Nigerian/African Left: Clarifications and Reflections on that ‘Jacobin’ Moment'" During the four-day conference, there will be  five plenary sessions, each preceded by a keynote address by distinguished scholars: Professor Niyi Osundare (Nigeria); Professor Isidore Diala (Nigeria); Professor Motsa Zodwa (South Africa); Professor Anjali Gera Roy (India) and Dr James Gibbs (Britain). Also, an adaptation of Soyinka’s  Trials of Brother Jero , titled 'Haba Pasto...

St. Orberose: Wole Soyinka: A Dance of the Forests : My final review for the Africa Reading Challenge: You are a learned man and I would appreciate an opportunity to discuss the his... "It’s impressive that Soyinka wrote this play when he was twenty-six-years old: it’s a mature text, both in content and form; Soyinka already shows a developed sense of life full of humanity, of wisdom, of mocking compassion for the follies of people, and peppered with dark humour. May I be this wise when I’m an old man!"

St. Orberose: Wole Soyinka: A Dance of the Forests : My final review for the Africa Reading Challenge: You are a learned man and I would appreciate an opportunity to discuss the his... --- "It’s impressive that Soyinka wrote this play when he was twenty-six-years old: it’s a mature text, both in content and form; Soyinka already shows a developed sense of life full of humanity, of wisdom, of mocking compassion for the follies of people, and peppered with dark humour. May I be this wise when I’m an old man!"

The approach to the play's direction, therefore, shall be constructed around the iconic space of ‘Igbale'.  A Dance of the Forests  is, actually, an ‘Igbale piece’, and as such would be presented within a natural grove environment. The reason, of course, owes to its nature as an act based on the return of the ancestors. This evokes a clear picture of the preparation and emergence of 'egungun', in Yoruba ritual of ancestral veneration, in and from 'Igbo Igbale'. It also invokes the idea of the African traditional festivals unfolding in their most natural settings. This ultimately suitable space of sacred activity, which will accord an inquisitive theatre director like myself, and a technically-stubborn theatre designer like Teju Kareem, the privilege to give it the deserved site specific treatment - a physically challenging and an environmentally symbolic interpretation that should remain memorable for long is what Professor Wole Soyinka has magnanimously gran...

Open Door Series: Zmirage, four states celebrate Soyinka @ 80 : "the celebration symbolises a continuation of the life of an inspirational man who has fought and is still fighting for the dignity of...  "Some of the programmes holding this year include the WS80/ICE Exhibition tour around Nigeria. Abeokuta, Osogbo, Port Harcourt, Lagos, Jos and Igbale Aiye, Republic of Benin are some of the designated places. The tour will happen in Port Harcourt from June 27 to 29, Freedom Park in Lagos from July 1 through 7, Terra Kulture, Lagos on July 9, Ibadan from July 15 to August 15, Jos on July 19 and Igbale Aiye from August 17 to September 17. "A number of Soyinka’s plays will also be presented. ‘Alapata Apata’ directed by Tunde Awosanmi will be staged on July 9 at Akin Olugbade Centre in Abeokuta, ‘Death and the King’s Horseman’ on July 10 at the University of Lagos, ‘Lanke Omu’ on July 12 at June 12 Cultural Centre, ‘Oba Koso’ on July 12 and  ‘Madmen and Specialists’ on July ...

In Fond Memory of Steve Rhodes, Articles | THISDAY LIVE --- This commemorative event, designed especially to celebrate his eminent contributions to the Nigerian (and African) music and artistic heritage, features an exhibition of the rich and resourceful collection of photographic recordings of his over six decades of illustrious career. The exhibition, which will last for two weeks (till June 12),  will be formally opened by the Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka on Thursday, May 29 at the Museum Gallery of the Freedom Park, Old Colonial Prison, 1 Hospital Road (by Broad Street), Lagos.

The WS80/ICE Exhibition of Portraits of Wole Soyinka, which two weeks ago, flagged off the Countdown to the 80th birthday anniversary celebraton of the Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka,  continues at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto Abeokuta. The project also features a weekly workshop/mentoring for select students drawn from around Ogun State. Check www.opendoorseries.com for details of the programme of the celebration

Olu Amoda gives hard issues a soft landing : Nigerian artist Olu Amoda's welding works using ound objects jointly won the top prize at the recently opened Dark'Art Biennale. In the work that won him first place titled, "Sunflower," he plays with contrasts by giving the work a soft name, but utilising hard objects – steel nails and spoons. This is typical of the artist who delights in creating an idea and beauty out of what is considered as discarded but reusable.

The Dakar Biennale turns a fresh page : The 2014 Dakar Art Biennale veers off its beaten part to showcase the works of artists who have never taken part in the biannual art fiesta. Nigeria’s Olu Amoda won the Great Prize Léopold Sédar Senghor for producing the best work among selected artists. He was joint winner with Algeria’s Driss Ouadahi. The curators for this year’s edition include Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi, who is originally from Nigeria and is an artist, curator, and art historian of African Art at the Hood Museum Dartmouth College in the United States. He took charge of selecting artists from African countries south of the Sahara. ---

From Garden City to World Book Capital, Articles | THISDAY LIVE --- “I see great possibilities for the city of Port Harcourt, the nation Nigeria and indeed the African continent. With a fifth of the World’s population living on this continent, and an estimated 70 per cent of them being youth, the programmes of the Port Harcourt World Book Capital year, which mainly target this age group, have the potential to transform the education landscape of the continent, beginning here in the city of Port Harcourt,”   EniOlorutidak'oseFarawek'oseF'enutembelek'oseBinuk'oseNa'kaiwosisiWiwol'aawo

Lagos Black Heritage Festival: From Imitation: Tune to Indigenous, Innovative Music, Articles | THISDAY LIVE This year, the Lagos Black Heritage Festival takes a break from the norm –The Black Mediterranean Blue. While the festival policy of a thematic selection for each edition is not abandoned, it moves from the geographic outlook to the disciplinary –the discipline for this year being music. The reason is that so much is happening in the musical field, but there is a domination of European pop forms which nearly stifle the exploration of indigenous musical resources both in direct performance for audiences, and in their application to other disciplines –most notably in theatre and cinema/video.  ---EniOlorutidak'oseFarawek'oseF'enutembelek'oseBinuk'oseNa'kaiwosisiWiwol'aawo

Cultural Rebirth At Lagos Black Heritage Festival, Articles | THISDAY LIVE --- The crowd grew daily as the news about the Lagos Black Heritage Festival spread fast like a virus. From the little school age girl on holiday to a professional who came to steal a look during office hours, everyone had a camera phone to take pictures and record the momentous cultural event. In retrospect, one can argue that the festival has become more organised in terms of programming and delivery of live performances. EniOlorutidak'oseFarawek'oseF'enutembelek'oseBinuk'oseNa'kaiwosisiWiwol'aawo

LBHF 2014 This year, the Lagos Black Heritage Festival takes a break from its current series –- The Black in the Mediterranean Blue.   While the Festival policy of a thematic selection for each edition is not abandoned, it moves from the geographic outlook to the disciplinary   -- the discipline for this year being: Music . The LBHF 2014 events hold from April 14th through 21 st at the Freedom Park (Old Colonial Prison), I Hospital Road, off Broad Street, Lagos. Much is happening in the musical field, but there is a domination of Eura-merican pop forms, which near completely stifles the exploration of indigenous musical resources both in direct performance for audiences, and in their application to other disciplines –- most notably in theatre and cinema/video.   Regarding the latter, when one considers what passes for incidental or ‘mood’ music in much of the output of the ever-expanding African film industry, it becomes a classic case of a visual assault ...

---EniOlorutidak'oseFarawek'oseF'enutembelek'oseBinuk'oseNa'kaiwosisiWiwol'aawo

Memory, history and identity | New Telegraph --- Memory, history and identity March 29, 2014 12:09 am  |  By:  Didi Cheeka  |  No Comments Screenings and Conversations at iREP Doc Fest 2014 Cinema, the unseen voice in Eva Knopf´s Majub´s Reise (Majub´s Journey) narrates, is an art that strives to make stars shine. Extras, the voice continues, are the dark night-sky background. Majub´s journey sets for itself the task of lighting up the dark oft he nightsky, to make a star of a bit player. This cinema essay tells the story of a Majub bin Adam Mohamed Hussein, aka Mohamed Husen, who lived and worked as an extra in the movie industry in Nazi Germany during the 1930s. Majub was born in Dar es Salaam, a former German colony. He became a soldier for the Germans during World War I – when he was only nine years old. Eva´s film – interweaving meticulously researched facts and inferential evidence, traces Majub´s footprints, from his childhood in the colony to his lif...

---EniOlorutidak'oseFarawek'oseF'enutembelek'oseBinuk'oseNa'kaiwosisiWiwol'aawo

---EniOlorutidak'oseFarawek'oseF'enutembelek'oseBinuk'oseNa'kaiwosisiWiwol'aawo

---EniOlorutidak'oseFarawek'oseF'enutembelek'oseBinuk'oseNa'kaiwosisiWiwol'aawo

---EniOlorutidak'oseFarawek'oseF'enutembelek'oseBinuk'oseNa'kaiwosisiWiwol'aawo

---EniOlorutidak'oseFarawek'oseF'enutembelek'oseBinuk'oseNa'kaiwosisiWiwol'aawo

---EniOlorutidak'oseFarawek'oseF'enutembelek'oseBinuk'oseNa'kaiwosisiWiwol'aawo