October 09, (THEWILL) – Life In My City Art Festival (LIMCAF) has appointed Amarachi Okafor as its first professionally trained Nigerian female curator for this year’s festival.
She joins the mix of art scholars and professionals who help in various capacities to support the objectives of LIMCAF.
The first female curator was Ms Sieglinde Oehler, a German national then working in Enugu State with the German Leprosy and Tuberculosis Relief Initiative (LTR).
According to a statement by the festival organisers, Okafor will curate the grand finale exhibition, which will be held between October 21 and 28 at the Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu. Of the total entries of 567, 111 works have been selected from the first and second stages of the exhibitions in 13 regional centres across the country.
Okafor’s unique art practice is both international and very much rooted in the local. She works from Orie Studio, an art production and research space she founded in Abuja.
She has a BA (Painting), 2002; MFA (Sculpture), 2006 (both from the University of Nigeria Nsukka); and MA in Curatorial Practice, 2012 from Falmouth University, Cornwall, UK, earning the Art Department’s internship scholarship upon graduation.
Okafor was a recipient of the UNESCO Aschberg Artists’ Award in 2007 – leading to a residency at Lademoen Kustnerverksteder (LKV) in Trondheim, Norway, as well as the Commonwealth Foundation Commonwealth Connections recipient in 2009. She has also been granted residencies to NKD – Norway and Popopstudios, Nassau, Bahamas.
An acclaimed Nigerian painter, muralist and multimedia artist, Ayo Aina, is chair of the LIMCAF 2023 national jury panel. He Graduated as the best student in fine arts from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, with the Nigerian Art Council Award in 1990 and MFA in 1996. For over three decades, he has practised full-time and participated in several exhibitions in Nigeria, UK, Italy and Dubai, and also in the Dakar Biennale.
Other members of the panel include Sukanthy Visagapperumal-Egharevba, Otunba Oladotun Olatunbosun Alabi, Etiido Effiong William Inyang, Jacob Enemona Onoja, Professor Nkemdilim Angela Udeani and Ato Arinze.
The seven jurors are expected to select winners of the prizes ranging from N1 million overall winner’s prize through category prizes of N500,000 to the N50,000 consolation prizes.
Janefrances Ebere Chibuzor is a Tourism Writer at THEWILL
