ZAMANI AKARAKA WRITERS AND ARTISTS MOVEMENT (a.k.a. Neo Mbari Mbayo Writers and Artists Movement) Zamani Akaraka Writers and Artists Movement promises to be a meeting point for both the established and upcoming Artists (Painters, Fine Artists, Sculptors, Bead Makers) and Writers to showcase, read, mentor, enhance, hone and publicize their works. Zamani Akaraka – the name is a combination of words from Hausa and Igbo languages respectively. Zamani comes from Hausa Language which means “the coming of time or age” while Akaraka literarily in Igbo language means Talent or Destiny. To sum it up, the Movement’s name literarily means “the coming of new time and talents”. The Movement is going to achieve this through: 1. Monthly Exhibition of Works of Arts and Writers Forum. 2. Customized websites for individual Artists, Writers and Arts organizations who are members of the movement. 3. Organizing workshops, symposia, conferences, seminars and fora for the members of the Movement. 4. Publication of an Arts Magazine which will feature works of Writers and Artists as well as arts organizations and groups in the country. 5. Celebrations of Renowned artists and writers alongside their works. 6. Recognition, reward and award to distinguished and well experienced artists and writers. 7. Facilitating Artists and Writers residencies for upcoming artists and writers 8. Organizing competition and contest. 9. Organizing arts clubs in primary and secondary schools. 10. Market and sell works of members to wanted buyers. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE MOVEMENT INCLUDE: • Getting the works of members known to the people of the public. • Outsourcing for competitions and contests for the participation of members. • Create a platform where upcoming artists, writers and the established ones can brainstorm and share experience. • Support members in getting their works known and sell faster. • To create a computerized membership database of artists and writers as well as arts centers and organizations. • To broaden the vision and reshape the face of arts in the country. • To create a link where artists, writers, dramatist, musician can link and communicate with each other. • To develop, groom, enhance and hone the artistic and writing skills of the upcoming ones. • To fill the missing link or the gap between the Town and the Gown. • To promote arts and writing in the country. • To recognize, award and reward those who are making waves in Nigeria. BENEFITS • Free customized blog for individual member of the movement. • Free Membership into the Movement. • Free publicity and exhibition of Works. • An avenue to network and communicate with other artists and writers. • Platform to Access the works of others. • Free to enter for the movement’s competitions and contests • Free access to place your works and your organization’s profile on the blog. LEARNING FROM THE OLD MBARI MBAYO Mbari Mbayo Club established for African Writers, artists, and musicians at Ibadan and Oshogbo in Nigeria. The first Mbari Club was founded in Ibadan in 1961 by a group of young writers with the help of Ulli Beier, a teachers at the University of Ibadan. Mbari, an Igbo (Ibo) word for “creation” refers to the traditional painted mud houses of the area, which must be renewed periodically. The Ibadan Club operated an art gallery and theatre and published works by Nigerian artists and Black Orpheus, a Journal of Africaan and African American literature. Duro Ladipo, a Yoruba was inspired to start a similar club in Oshogbo, then a city of 250,000 people about 50 miles (80km) northeast of Ibadan. With the help of Beier, he converted his father’s house into an art gallery and a theatre, where he produced his plays. The Oshogbo club became more than a meeting place for intellectuals. Because it was on the main road, the club attracted women on the way to the market, hunters, chiefs, kings, schoolchildren, farmers, politicians, and the unemployed and it became a vital part of Oshogbo life. The name of the club was inadvertently altered when the Igbo word mbari was mistaken for the Yoruba phrase mbari mbayo, meaning “when we see it we shall be happy” To reach the local, mostly Yoruba audience, Ladipo drew upon Yoruba mythology, drumming, dance, and poetry and soon developed a kind of Yoruba opera. Beier organized art workshops in Ibadan in 1961 and 1962 and at Oshogbo in 1962 to attract unemployed primary-school drop outs. The school was run to give the artists a committed, critical audience on the theory that their art would degenerate if subjected only to undiscerning tourists. The young artists drew on their traditions and their contemporary environment and rapidly created a fresh, sophisticated art. The problem of how to protect these artists from the easy tourist market was solved by social acceptance of the Mbari Mabyo, which provided a lively, local, outspoken audience , soon local groups commissioned palace murals, stage sets, church doors, and an Esso gasoline station. With this firm local support, the artists were able to sell to European collectors and send exhibits abroad without compromising their art. A number of well-known artists emerged from the Mbari Mbayo Club in Oshogbo. Twins Seven Seven was a dancer, drummer, and graphic artist; his themes were imaginative variation on Yoruba mythology and legend and were always full of humour. Jimoh Buraimoh was known for his mosaic compositions made with local beads, postherds or stones. Samuel ojo worked in appliqué with cutout and embroidered fantasy-like figures. Ashiru Olatunde’s aluminum panels are found on Nigerian banks, churches, bars and in private collections in Europe and America. His quiet folk art, which comments on Nigerian Life, was as popular with farmers and market women as it was with intellectuals. Yemi Bisiri made lost-wax brass figures for the Ogboni cult, but in a contemporary style. Jinadu Oladapo created brass figures and bracelets and pendants that were worn by the Oshogbo artists as a kind of insignia. Senabu Oloyede and Kikelomo both worked in cloth dyeing (traditionally, reserved for women) and used the traditional indigo dye, producing works contemporary style. The success of of the Mbari Mbayo club lies as much in its social impact on Oshogbo, for the club helped reaffirm the traditional interdependence between African arts and African Society.the old Mbari Mbayo Club began in Nigeria in 1961. Centered in the towns of Ibadan and Oshogbo, the club operates galleries and theaters and publishes African literature. The Mbari Mbayo Club provides its artists opportunities for recognition, creating local and international markets for their works. Wole Adedoyin National Coordinator
Posted on: Fri, 07 Jun 2013 10:13:25 +0000