Four Nigerian artists to feature in 2020 Ars Electronica Festival

Bernard Kalu, Ikenna Ogbenta, Efe Azino, and Tobi Tejumola, four Nigerian artists, will feature in this year’s edition of Ars Electronica Festival, an event on the latest in art, technology, and science.

The festival, which was first organized in 1979 and celebrated its 40th-anniversary edition in 2019, has since become one of the largest and most important digital art events across the globe.

Kennii Ekundayo, a Lagos-based curator, will join 119 international partners for its 2020 edition where Galeri Odumije, her brand, will present an art exhibition titled ‘Pandemic-Pandemonium’.

‘Pandemic-Pandemonium’ focuses on the collective response of Africans to the prevalent issues that threaten humans — racial discrimination, violence against women, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event, which will hold online from September 9 to 13, features works from the four Nigerian artists, all of whom are represented by Galeri Odumije, in varying media including poetry, photography, and video art.

“Pandemic-Pandemonium! aims to delineate some of the events that have besieged us even through these confusing times,” Ekundayo, explained while speaking with EyesofaLagosboy on the theme of the art exhibition.

“These would include our adaptability to the pandemic crisis, the war waged against the abuse of women, and the black stance on racial prejudice.

“Lagos represents the hub of activities stemmed in art, science, and technology in Nigeria and on the African continent. Over the years, we have witnessed these three disciplines coexisting.

“Today, I’m thrilled to combine the three into one cell, one basic unit on the platform of the Ars Electronica Festival, bearing witness to how science and technology now stand art in good stead!”

Whilst one part of the exhibition will address human resilience amid the pandemic, the other will dwell on the valorization of the melanin-rich skin amidst the fatal hostility that accompanies it.