Yinka Olatunbosun
Final weekend in Lagos, finalists emerged from the yearlong Freedom Vibes Academy the place artists are skilled on learn how to use their abilities for advocacy and social change. On the hybrid occasion, held just about and on-site in Magodo, the finalists had been revealed and prizes had been awarded accordingly.
The decision for participation was introduced first in December 2022 by the organisers, Unchained Vibes Africa. It was focused at rising socially acutely aware artists from Nigeria. No fewer than 100 functions had been obtained, majority being male artists. The functions had been additionally dominated by candidates from Southern Nigeria thus prompting the organisers to increase the applying deadline.
Ultimately, 30 candidates had been shortlisted and interviewed just about. After a rigorous course of, 16 candidates drawn from numerous inventive expressions had been chosen to take part within the Academy. They signify the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria.
In January 2023, the 16 artists took half in a three-day in-person coaching workshop in Lagos the place they met and interacted with famend and achieved veteran artists, human rights attorneys, civil society organisation leaders, consultants in cultural insurance policies who had been facilitators. The facilitators shared their information and experiences on methods and finest practices in leveraging the facility of artwork for optimistic social change.
Over the course of 1 12 months, the contributors remotely benefited from digital mentoring periods with different achieved veterans within the native and worldwide inventive and cultural sectors, together with the UN Particular Rapporteur within the discipline of cultural rights.
To graduate from the Academy, every participant should fulfill the minimal necessities of Attendance, the Academy Process, Lively Engagements on the Academy themes and submission of a viable undertaking proposal. The analysis was primarily based on the next scoring parameters: Attendance (10%), Lively Engagements (20%), Efficiency of Process (35%), Venture proposal (35%).
After a cautious and rigorous assessment of contributors’ total efficiency, 11 artists efficiently accomplished the Academy. Out of those 11 contributors, 4 contributors have distinguished themselves for his or her excellent performances. The 4 artists will likely be contracted to work with UVA on their proposed tasks as a part of our Freedom Vibes Advocacy and awarded contracts as follows. Abdulbasit Abubakar made the fourth place with the prize cash of N200,000 to supply a poetry video on social justice and good governance in Kano. Subsequent, the third place was taken by Aminu Mukhtar who will make a documentary brief movie along with his N300,000 prize cash to deal with intercourse schooling and ladies’ rights. The second graduating participant is Shekwoyemi Kure who is anticipated to create a collection of satirical mockumentary musical tasks along with his N400,000 win.
Lastly, the general winner Tijani Usman is anticipated to create a collection of 2D animated music visualisers to hunt justice in Plateau state.
Ayodele Ganiu, the Founder and Govt Director of Unchained Vibes Africa, defined the rationale for the academy. “In Nigeria, we’ve got a number of points and artists have been discovered to be change brokers,” he started. “Sadly, the pattern within the final two years is that that energy that artists are leveraging on, is declining due to the strain to commercialise their works or do obscene issues and even the concern of censorship. When artists use their works for activism to problem unhealthy governance, they’re threatened and censored. Some have been arrested and all that.
“Loads of artists are very dedicated to doing this. Some are fearless no matter all of the challenges however they don’t have the advocacy abilities to take action. So we carry up the academy to empower artists with these abilities.”
The panel of judges who reviewed the functions embody Samuel Osaze, Jahman Anikulapo, Nobert Younger, Tunji Sotimirin from the College of Lagos. Nigerian pioneering rapper, Eedris Abdulkareem was one of many useful resource individuals who shared their experiences with the contributors and in addition the UN Particular Rapporteur within the space of Cultural Rights in addition to SERAP Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni who shared info on the liberty of expression because it pertains to artists’ rights.
