Onwe Kingsley to exhibit at 'WITHIN ME' Art Exhibition

        From September 14th to 21st, the first art exhibition of Dave Art World would commence at National Council for Art and Culture, Enugu. The exhibition which is sponsored by Fisome Global ltd will run for 8 consecutive days, beginning with an opening event on 14th. 
Artworks in Painting, Sculpture, Ceramics, Photography, Textile and so on are to be exhibited.
Meanwhile talented artist Onwe Kingsley Ndubuisi, who is a painter, graphist and art educationist will be participating in the exhibition.

Onwe kingsley Ndubuisi

The opening event will kick off by 4pm through to 9pm at the venue.

Coal City Art Exhibition 2018: The African Child

The Curtain was finally drawn over the largest Art exhibition in South East, The Coal city Art exhibition 2018, which held from June 16 and ended on June 17th, packaged by GHills Entertainment.

June 16th is Day of the African Child and it was first established by the Organization of the African Unity in 1991. The day aims at raising awareness for the situation of children in Africa, and on the need for continuing improvement in education. It encourages people’s spirit of abundance to share something special with a child in Africa.

The coal city art exhibition in its third edition, acording to the curator and project custodian, Oarhe Ohis, is aimed at creating awareness to the poor living condition of many African child and the need for continuing improvement in Education.

Identifying the problems of the African child, Oarhe hinted that lack of Education, child labour and hunger are some of the major problems affecting the progress of the African child, adding that every African must begin to identify with children around them and encourage them to live a normal life.

 Speaking on why the exhibition was concerned about the problem of chidren in Africa and how he intends to use entertainment and art to tackle the menace, Oarhe disclosed that the exhibition featured artworks from young, underground, unknown, selected artists and professionals across Nigeria to tell relatable stories that will evoke passion and sympathy.  

Oarhe Ohis

Three major problems THE AFRICAN CHILD faces include lack of Access to Education, Child Labor, and Child Hunger.

 Coal City Art Exhibition 3rd edition, Themed: THE AFRICAN CHILD was used to raise awareness for the African Child both Male and Female, lack of access to education, child labor, hunger, and the girl child.

Project custodian, GHills Entertainment said the exhibition would use artworks from young, underground, unknown, selected artists and professionals from within and outside Enugu state (Nigeria at large) to identify and profer solutions to the challenges of The African Child

The 2-day exhibition featured paintings, drawings, hyper-realisms, mixed medias, textiles, sculptures and body paintings.

Below are some of the captivating artworks from 20 exhibiting artists, and other behind the camera captures:-

 Less Hope
© Zimmy Chuks

 Dysphoria
© Nnadi Chukwuemeka

Nnadi Chukwuemeka's drawing captured an African child in an unfriendly and harsh environment. The psychological state of children in this situation is that of unwellness, unhappiness, feeling of emotional and mental discomfort., the child sufffers from restlessness, malaise, depression or anxiety. What with that depressive and unhappy look on the child's face?

Better Days
© Bee Khalifan

(L-R) Kings Ndubuisi with exhibiting artist Marvelous Okafor

 Lost Heritage
© Chibueze Stephen

 Flower Girl
© Chinedum Nwankwo

A look at Chinedum Nwankwo's 'Flower Girl' elicites that African feelings and experience one encounters while coming across things African. With rich, beautiful design patterns, and accentuating body painting, this truly expresses the typical traditional dressing of an African girl.

Ayo (Joy)
© Paschal Anorue

The African child is strong, energetic, lively, happy and moreover hopeful., despite the hardships and up and downs of everyday living, in a harsh environment.

A Taste
© Marvelous Okafor

One will not help but marvel at this charcoal on paper rendition by Okafor Marvelous. No wonder his name is Marvelous. Who will even believe that this is a mere drawing?! As hard as it is to believe, it is really a drawing, a hyper realistic one for that matter. 'A taste' is all about the pitiable situation of a child experiencing the pang of hunger. The hungry look in their face, the cry for food., and their weak health state all being put down on a 2D form. It elicites pity, as majority of hungry African kids are also malnourished. A beautiful and important work this really is, just picture the sorrowful state of hungry people., that they are able to hold up their plates asking for food is a miracle of its own. Hunger indeed kills. Feed the hungry.

(L-R) Exhibiting artist Paschal Anorue and Kings Ndubuisi

At Paschal Anorue's corner

Untold Stories
© Chinedum Nwankwo

What are the untold stories behind the fate of the street kids? Chinedum Nwankwo again tells it all in this drawing. From homelessness, hunger, lack of education, and other inumerable dangers.

Lost Culture
© Njeze Onyemaechi

" Our people has lost most of their cultural values, forgetting that from culture, you have science, and this drives you to technology. Africans has abandoned so much for petroleum. We're naturally endowed with lots of minerals. Before now, Nigeria generates plenty of revenues from Agriculture e.g Palm Oil, Groundnut, Cocoa etc, but we have abandoned them for Petroleum. About 35 years ago, Malaysians collected palm seedlings from Nigeria, and now 80% of red and vegetable oil we consume today, we import from Malaysia. Please let us go back to Agriculture "
_ Njeze Onyemaechi

African Child
© Bee Khalifan Art

The 'African Child' by Bee Khalifan really showed the state of an African child in an African environment. Many African children are subjected to child labour. They're given errands or chores too big for their age. They suffer enslaving maltreatments as most are made to work from dawn to dusk without rest, thus affecting their growth and health.

Purification
© James Ogamba

The portrayal of the cultural practices inherent in the Igbo race when a child is born, or when their is some kind of ritual ceremony over an infant child, is the message behind 'Purification' by James Ogamba. The Igbos no doubt value child dedication and protection, and James Ogamba's oil brush strokes expressed it. The surface picture shows a child being bathed, but what message is the painting telling? _ Child Cleansing.

Damsel in Distress
© James Ogamba

Behind a Graffitti exhibit

In the midst of unripe
© Onyibor Uchenna

Ologede (Plantain boy)
© Paschal Anorue

When a child is subjected to some kind of abuse, we call that Child Abuse, right? Coming face to face with Paschal Anorue's canvas expression in oil, Ologede (plantain boy) instantly gives one that understanding of a young child subjected to hawking on the street. These children are deprived of education or going to school most of the time. At some other times, they're deprived of food or made to starve as a form of punishment. What about the dangers posed by this form of child abuse? Name them., rape, falling victim of kidnapping and so on. What a dangerous situation! Yet thousand of African children are roaming the streets everyday. Paschal Anorue indeed deserve accolades and commendation for a great piece, that so much portray the everyday picture of an African child hawking on the streets.

Young artist Samuel is also at the exhibition

When Mydrim Gallery roll out drum for the 'Masters'

Founder of Mydrim Gallery, Mrs Sinmidele Adesanya during a press preview of The Masters exhibition in Lagos.

From June 3 - 4, 2018, Mydrim Gallery, Ikoyi, Lagos, will roll out the drums with 'The Masters' art exhibition at Desiderata, Bannana Island, Ikoyi, Lagos.     The exhibition features works of Jimoh Akolo,
El Anatsui, Abayomi Barber, Jimoh Buraimoh, David Dale, Nike Davies-Okundaye, Bisi Fakeye, Yusuf Grillo, Gani Odutokun, 
Bruce Onobrakpeya, Kolade Oshinowo and Muraina Oyelami.

Artist, David Dale (seated) with Founder of Mydrim Gallery, Mrs Sinmidele Adesanya and Mr Bambo Adesanya SAN, during the private viewing of The Masters art exhibition in Lagos...on Thursday.

 Ahead of the public opening, 'The Masters' art exhibition took off with a private viewing on Thursday at Templars, a law firm in Lagos.

Captivated in admiration

      During a preview few hours ago, in Lagos, the founder of Mydrim Gallery, Mrs Sinmidele Adesanya described the exhibiting artists as representing the "source" of modern and contemporary Nigerian art.

Excerpts;
"Nigerian proverb says 'A river that does not know its source will soon run dry'.
This exhibition is a display of the works of twelve of Nigeria's Masters, such that art lovers, artists and art students know the "source"- some of those artists who steered the course and remained committed and focused to developing the visual arts in Nigeria in the face of monumental challenges. They made the sacrifices for the present generation of artists.

"Young artists today need to know the history of those who paved the way for them.The masters in this exhibition have not only created an extensive body of work but they have also changed the ideology of what it is to be an artist, and African at that. They have brought world renown to Nigerian art; some of them like Onobrakpeya and Grillo brought heavy reform to Nigerian art in the form of the Zaria Art Society and rebelled against Western schools of thought during their school days. All of the Masters in this exhibition have dedicated their lives to serving the art and have extensively studied, researched and honed their talent. Becoming a Master takes a lifetime of practice and perfecting as well as having influence in the form of mentoring and teaching. These artists have the clout that is not born in a day. Mydrim would like to draw more attention than to the names of these artists, because their skill and creativity presupposes itself and speaks for itself. Not only that but they also create emblems of Nigerian society at large and add depths to the culture.Most of these artists are matured in age so Mydrim wishes to celebrate them in their lifetime.

"Mydrim is the perfect gallery to commemorate these greats since Mydrim has been a part of all of their journeys in some shape or form. We owe it to them to give them the accolades they deserve.Artists".

"Mydrim Gallery was established by Mrs Sinmidele Adesanya in December 1992. She had a passion for fine arts and recognised the incredible talent of the Nigerian artist. Unfortunately, at that time the art profession was generally not regarded as one of the noble professions and society did not accord much importance to the artists or their works.

"The objective of the gallery was to rectify this anomaly and create a platform for educating Nigerians about the importance and the value of art. The Gallery also sought to discover and promote new artists and also to showcase the works of emerging and established artists.It has been an extremely challenging journey, but twenty five years later, Mydrim has contributed significantly to the development of the visual arts in Nigeria. The promulgation of art as a great store of value has been established and artists are now held in high esteem.

"The works of Nigerian artists are now sought after all over the world. Mydrim Gallery remains at the forefront of providing art lovers in Lagos and across the country an avenue to discover and acquire important and collectable works of art by African artists. In 2015, Mydrim Gallery represented Africa at the modern art section of International Art Dubai Fair in recognition of its involvement with art in Nigeria. Mydrim Gallery offers a range of services including acquisitions, collection management, curatorial services and advisory.

"For more than 25 years, Mydrim has remained a major player in the Nigerian art industry with the keen oversight of Sinmidele Adesanya, who is highly regarded for making art relevant and accessible to a contemporary audience".

     The 'Masters' Exhibition open on sunday by 10 a.m to 7 p.m. See you at the show.

                                              Source: African Arts with Taj

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The Beauty in the Moonlight

© Kings Ndubuisi   

There is a similarity between the moon and the sun_ they both reflect bright light rays. They are solar bodies whose illuminations can enkindle joy, admiration and awe from the viewer.

     Who can describe the beauty of the sun at dawn? or the magnificent ball of the sun while it sets at dusk? The sun, like the moon, is a natural beauty ornament of the earth. Most times, the sunset at dusk will portray an orange-like, bright yellow ball of the sun, hanging at the distance, and illuminating the whole environment with beauty.

      As night approaches, and during night proper, the moon will take over the baton from his sister the sun. If the moon didn't shine in roundish form, it will appear in crescent shape.

      In Africa, it is moonlight! When the moonlight appears, it is time for 'tales by moonlight', and the ever popular moonlight plays. Adults and Children admire the moonlight in its celestiality. While it illuminates everywhere in brightness, living souls both old and young gazes in awe. While the moon dances in the far sky, little children too are dancing along in the open, running around amidst screams of happiness. The elderlies themselves, sat in the shades enjoying the dramas from the little ones, or telling them moonlight stories. Such is the beauty of the moonlight.

     That is the story i was telling when i put this creation on paper piece in 2012. There was the only option of using watercolour as i have not yet mastered using oil. Sketches upon sketches till i arrive at a more desirable design. Then i have to pick the watercolour hues to apply. Bearing in mind the theme of the story, i settled for attractive and bright colours_ Red, yellow and black with gray.

     At the end of the exercise, a watercolour painting of the moonlight stood staring at my face. The shinning moon in its glory was surrounded by elegant clouds, that looks like they were revering the moon in its beauty. I have to later frame the piece., and as i am talking to you currently, the work is still in my possession, hanging majestically on the wall of my room. If you'll like to purchase it, then it is available on www.fineartamerica.com/profiles/kings-ndubuisi and Artpal.com/KingsNdubuisi.

     Finally, i'll not fail to encourage you if you so desires to experience the beauty of the moonlight. Come down to Africa, notably Nigeria, Ghana or Cameroon. Although, moonlight happens everywhere, Africa is special. They are the best destination to experience the awe of the moonlight.

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Thanks a million 😊

Sam Ovraiti Illuminating Blackness

portraiture in pastels was once Sam Ovraiti's stock in trade. Dozie Igweze revisits those exhilarating years From 1987-1991, when the artist worked extensively with this medium.


The decision to use black paper was a simple one. It just seemed right. He knew exactly what he wanted out of this project. A discovery of blackness. No. Actually, an illumination of blackness. The simple lines of the pastel chalk would carve out the beautiful African features of the girls on the black paper. Just lines of coloured chalk subtly defining the forms, discovering their blackness. Simple pastel lines and black paper. He would eventually create hundreds., maybe a thousand or so pastel portraits over a four-year period.
    By 1987, Sam Ovraiti was an art lecturer at the Federal Polytechnic, Auchi. He'd graduated from Auchi in 1983, and in 1985 returned there as a lecturer. He was gregarious, friendly, mischievous_ the sort of person who found something nice to say to everyone regardless of their station. Amongst the students and the young art lecturers, he had a reputation as a motivator. "Don't keep planning, paint!" he would tell them.
   He was willing to buy a few artworks from any artists who needed money to buy art materials. He was already selling his artworks in Lagos and Abuja so he had enough money to be the local patron. As long as the artist was willing to work, Ovraiti would be willing to help.
     "Don't be afraid to use these colours", he'd urge them.
    And he followed his own advice. He worked all the time: in his house, in his department, and all over Auchi town doing live painting sessions with other artists. A good number of people around Auchi got to know the cheerful artist who was always working. He didn't work with intensity. There was something mellow, even casual about his process. He talked as he worked. Joked with whoever was around, laughed a lot, stopped for conversations. It didn't really seem like he was working. But he was, in an easy sort of way.

Faber Castell, Royal Talens and Mayaki

     Sometime in 1987, an acquaintance of Ovraiti's from his Auchi school days, John Mayaki, informed him that an art shop in lagos had cartons of Faber Castell and Royal Talens pastels they needed to sell. The art shop may have been shutting down or may just have had a large consignment of pastels they couldn't move. Mayaki had told the art shop about an artist he knew in Auchi who worked incessantly and who might need the pastels. Would Ovraiti be interested in buying all of the pastels? Mayaki inquired.
    Ovraiti wasn't. He wanted some, but didn't think he would need cartons of pastel. But he offered to buy some of the pastels and help them get a market for the rest in Auchi. There were lots of students and art teachers in Auchi who would be interested. Everyone was happy with this plan. There was one small problem though. In 1987, many of the artists in Auchi and the rest of Nigeria were not using pastels. The more familiar media were oil and water colours. The schools taught the students that the major artworks were done in oil., other artworks were done in water colour, ink or graphite. Pastel simply didn't figure as a medium. A few artists like Ovraiti used pastel but it certainly wasn't a familiar medium for many artists.
    Ovraiti knew that if he wanted the art community interested in pastel as a medium he had to show them how good it was. He had to prove to them that it was as magical as he thought it was. He had to use the medium constantly so they could see the process and the results. Portraiture would be a good way to go. There was something magical about recreating a person_ both for the artist and the model. Everyone wanted to be painted. It would also be a good way to teach his students portraiture. So, he decided. He would paint at least one pastel portrait every day. It wouldn't be easy., not with everything else, including lecturing to deal with. But this was Ovraiti. He worked all the time. So that was it. One pastel a day. He'd do it for the next four years.

The Portraits

    

      The first set of models were friends, the girlfriends of friends and his students. They were happy to sit for him. It was fun. They could joke around and have a good time. He quickly expanded beyond this circle. The students from the other departments started to come in to sit for him as well. In no time there was a waiting list. Everyone wanted to sit and have their portrait done. It could have been vanity for some, the portraits were flattering., it could also have been a sense of adventure, it was certainly intriguing to be an artist's model., for many, it would have been the idea that they were a part of something fashionable and distinctive_ an exclusive pastel club.

    Sometimes he paid the models if he felt they needed the money. But always he gave them one drawing. He would do several pastel drawings of each model and at the end of the process the model got to choose and keep her favourite portrait. He found different qualities in the girls. Sometimes, it was their beauty., at other times, their air of melancholy. By the late 1980s, the Nigerian economy was adrift. People were learning to adjust to this new economic situation. He could see it in some of the girls_ that sense that they were grappling with a new uncomfortable reality. Eventually, he found that he was always on the lookout for suitable models wherever he was. If he ran into a girl he was interested in drawing, he'd ask. Usually they'd say yes. Occasionally they'd decline. Maybe too shy. Maybe cautious. It didn't matter though. A lot of girls were keen on sitting.

     The girls with facial markings intrigued him. These were not the obvious, bold tribal marks of old but, rather, the subtle facial markings that he saw in girls from the south and the east of Nigeria. Tiny cuts on the cheeks or the temple. It seemed a holdover from another time. The parents had been marked and still felt a need to put these marks on their children. Yet, like a strange brush stroke, the marks intrigued him_ the way they decorated the face added a different element to the lines of the face. The way the girls reacted to their markings varied. Some were comfortable with it, just another fact of life. Some were self-conscious, keen to hide them as if the marks were some sort of blemish. Blemish for some, beauty mark for some, mere fact of life for some, culture and heritage for some. Tiny marks that, for him, said so much.

      He tried to keep the portraits as true to the girls as possible. He wanted to stay true to their likeness. He also wanted to make it simple. The only decorative element was usually around the ears. The earrings for him played a central role in the centring of the face. He dwelt on the earrings, distorting them sometimes, elaborating on them, and in some cases creating new patterns that spread from these earrings to other areas of the portrait.

     The girls came. They sat. They smiled, frowned,laughed, talked, sulked. He drew. Again and again on his black paper, outlining their African features. Letting the paper and the chalks illuminate their blackness_ their youth, their dreams, their hopes, their loves, their heartbreaks. He tried to find their humanity, but also their distinct African-ness. The original pastel boxes ran out in no time. He migrated from Faber Castell pastels to Rembrandt soft pastels. He kept drawing. Everyday. He also started to exhibit the pastels all over the country_ Lagos, Abuja, Kano. Years later, one of his models, Osato Adams, had graduated and moved to the United States. She'd gone with some friends to visit an American family who had been to Nigeria. She could tell something was up as soon as she walked into their home. Everyone was starring at her.

      "We have an artwork upstairs and the girl looks exactly like you", they told her. "We got it in Kano, but you've never been to Kano".

       She went upstairs to see the artwork. "That's me", she said. "That is me". It was years ago. But she still remembered sitting and laughing and joking.

       Four years after he started the pastel portraits, Ovraiti stopped painting them. It was just time to stop. They were other paths to explore. He started experimenting with more abstract water colours. But the girls stayed on the black paper_ with their marks, their youth, their laughter, their blackness.

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