By Prisca Sam-Duru
FOR the seventh consecutive time, the first international arts festival of photography in Nigeria, LagosPhoto, has succeeded in its determination to reclaim public spaces, by showcasing world class photography at every available space in Lagos. ADVERTISING inRead invented by Teads • One of the images on display at the ongoing LagosPhoto festival in Lagos Themed “Rituals and Performances”, this edition of the festival opened to the public on October 22, 2016 at the Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos while satellite exhibition venues in arts and cultural spaces throughout the city extended to Omenka Gallery, Africans Artists’ Foundation, Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos, Goethe Institute, A White Space Gallery, Red Door Gallery. It features exhibition, workshops, screening, artists’ presentation and large scale outdoor installations in Lagos. Viewers at the grand opening were obviously delighted at the introduction of performances to the festival. The performances by Jelili Atiku attracted many of them to his stand as he thrilled them with various displays of some ritualistic moves involving the use of calabash and other local objects. Winners of the Etisalat Photography competition also emerged during the grand opening. As announced by the CEO Etisalat Nigeria, Matthew Wilsher, for this years Etisalat Photography Competition, Maxwell Aigborga took the third position for his entry titled Lagos Traffic, 2nd position went to Oluwatobiloba Amusan (Celebration of Love) while Abidemi Iromini took the top position for his entry, Lonely Walk. They got an iphone, Samsung phone and canon camera respectively. Contemporary photography LagosPhoto presents photography as it is embodied in the exploration of historical and contemporary issues, the promotion of social programmes, and the reclaiming of public spaces. It features 42 photographers spanning seventeen countries and aims to provide a platform for the development and education of contemporary photography in Africa by establishing mentorships cross-cultural collaborations with local and international artists. The Curator, International Projects, LagosPhoto Foundation, Maria Pia Bernardoni, said they decided to explore the act of repletion to enact the idea and it becomes like a ritual. ”We looked at the repetition that shapes gender, image identity, social agency, power and social constructs in contemporary society. The repetitive acts imbued with belief become coercive and normative, it shapes our general idea of what is true and African image, gender, beauty, religion, social class and so forth.” Rituals and Performance explores the role of acts of repetition that shape gender, image, identity, social agency, power and social constructs in contemporary society. The repetitive acts imbued with belief become coercive and normative. It shapes our general idea of what is true in determining an African image, gender, religion, beauty, social class and so forth. Contemporary visual representations directly affect the cultural meanings associated with image construction and interpretation. Throughout the duration of the festival which draws to a close on November 21, works by the thirty photographers from seventeen countries covering areas of exhibitions, workshops, artist presentations, discussions, screening, and large scale outdoor installations in congested public spaces in Lagos, form subjects for debates and conversations.
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