Culture

NAFEST 2023 Deliberates Naira Boost Through Culture Repositioning

Published

3 years ago

December 7, 2023

The Nigerian government must reposition the country’s rich cultural resources if it wishes to massively grow the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The Director General National Council for Arts and Culture, Mr. Olusegun Runsewe stated this at the first day of the maiden edition of the National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFEST)’s stakeholders conference holding in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.

The Director General while presenting a paper titled ” Culture As a Tool for Revamping the Economy : An Agenda Setting “ emphasised the importance of reassessing the cultural sector and implementing new strategies to align it with the federal government’s agenda.

Runsewe says: The culture sector has immense potential to boost the economy if properly harnessed.
The Nigerian government should prioritise skill acquisition training as part of efforts to equip the population with the necessary skills and capacities to become productive members of society. States in Nigeria must work towards developing cultural markets within their respective regions”. He said.

To accelerate cultural activities and enhance visibility, relevance and viability of the culture sector in Nigeria,
Runsewe calls on all stakeholders in the arts and culture sector to begin to apply more creative energies to optimising the huge potentials that abound.

“It is my hope that if our cultural resources are carefully harnessed and productively channelled, it will open up our cultural economy and engender rapid socio-economic growth.
“It would also lead to the emergence of a strong and stable currency that will command the required purchasing power at the international market,” He said.

To further support the development of the sector, Runsewe mentioned plans to leverage the intervention of the Bank of Industry (BOI). He noted that NCAC had entered into an agreement with the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria to provide technical skills training to 3,700 youths in various fields.

The fields include hospitality, arts and crafts, elevator machine production and installation, mono-rail construction, branding, electric car repairs and more.

The day one of NAFEST 2023 witnessed inauguration of a committee to review NAFEST’s past 35 editions. Those that made the list were, Mr Dotun Osunsanya, a culture consultant, Mr Victor Omoniyi, Director with NCAC; Mr Ado Yahuza, Executive Secretary, National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO) and some delegates from Yobe and Rivers states, to look into the review in the course of the four-day conference.

More so, delegates from 28 states of the federation and other stakeholders were segmented into 8 syndicate group to discuss extensively on how to further develop the culture and tourism sector. One of the 8 groups named the Skills Acquisition of NAFEST comprises delegates from, Katsina, Kano, Cross River, Lagos and Osun states.

Another group named E-Marketing, consists of delegates from Lagos, Edo, Ebonyi and Jigawa states as well as National President of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies and National Association Nigeria Theatre Practitioners. Some other delegates were also selected to review aspects like: cultural exchange, synergy between tourism and culture, e-marketing and one state one product.

The Director General said a document will be produced from the groups discussions and sent to the Nigerian government to aid in revamping the sector.

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Culture

WAKE UP! Art Exhibition Returns for a Second Act

Published

3 weeks ago

August 27, 2026

Mariam Balogun

The contemporary art and photography exhibition “Wake Up!” is back again for a second edition.

Curated by Awele Onwordi, Wake Up! 2 exhibition pays homage to the Nigerian youth and burgeoning street culture which many of its contributing artists reference in their works.

Also read: Five rising stars battle for 2026 Headies Next Rated

Titled “Young, Wild, Free”, the exhibition celebrates the creativity, resilience, freedom and cultural influence found in Nigerian youth.

Taking aim at societal issues and economic concerns, the exhibit reflects the youth and their refusal to compromise or bow despite all the challenges stacked against them while charting youth culture through art, music, fashion, skateboarding, photography and community.

The exhibition will be held, once again, at the Angel and Muse Gallery at 25 Sumbo Jibowu street off Ribadu Road off Awolowo Road in Ikoyi.

It will open on Saturday 5 September 2026 and will run until 11 September 2026
This second edition which focuses on celebrating, nurturing and exploring artistic practices rooted in youth and street culture will feature works from DENCITY and SUPERGLIDER HOUSE.

Exhibiting artists include Ajilore Kehinde – their work is deeply influenced by Nigerian street culture and works of other artists like Slawn, Peters Ejiro, etc, Chuka Onwordi – graphic designer who embodies themes of death, melancholy and beauty in his works, ZIDYEP – Abuja based creative whose works move between digital and physical spaces through art, graphic design and air brushing , Franklyn Okoye – graphic designer and artist whose works explore themes of identity and hyper-reality, Awele Onwordi – founder & curator of WAKE UP and multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans character art, creative logo design, album covers and more , Oluchi Kogolo – digital illustrator whose work explores street culture, personality and storytelling through a raw and playful visual style and Kozetuo Apeji – multidisciplinary artists who work explores experimental approaches to problem solving through both digital and traditional art forms.

Commenting on the exhibition in her curatorial statement, Awele noted that “despite economic instability, limited opportunities and socio-political challenges, Nigerian youth continue to shape culture through music, fashion, art, skateboarding, raves, photography and community.”

Also read: Five rising stars battle for 2026 Headies Next Rated

Continuing and harping on the raison d’etre of the exhibition she said, “Young, Wild and Free exists to celebrate Nigerian youth while also creating a platform that supports and amplifies them.”