By PRISCA SAM-DURU

FOLLOWING the huge success recorded at the 2012 Black Heritage Festival (LBHF), the festival team led by its consultant Prof Wole Soyinka and the finalists of the Child Art Competition, paid a “Thank You” visit to Diamond Bank in appreciation for its support.

Features at the event which held last week at the Bank’s Corporate Headquarters, Lagos, included display of the art works of the children, formal issuance of certificates to the artists and presentation of gifts to management of Diamond Bank.

It will be recalled that the 5th edition of the Lagos Black Heritage Festival(LBHF) with theme, ”The Black in the Mediterranean  Blue” held last April, focused on the linkages and historical contributions of blacks to the Mediterranean region as reflected in the dance, plays, street theatre, music and other cultural programmes .

Also, the festival which featured in the past, adult art competitions, during this year’s, focused on young creativity through the Diamond Bank sponsored Child Art Competition with a sub theme,” The Vision of the Child”.

The painting event which took place at Freedom Park  Lagos had participants made up of children between nine and twelve years competing in a visual narrative of their grasp of the culture they live in, their observations of developments in their immediate environment and their dreams and fantasies about Lagos .

The results were framed and mounted for exhibition on the 2nd of April, 2012 which was on the final day of the Festival Colloquium. While all competitors were issued certificates and LBHF customized laptops, the best six received in addition, cash awards.Speaking during the

“Thank You” visit to Diamond Bank , the group managing director and chief executive officer of the bank, Alex Otti stated that Diamond Bank took a stand to support LBHF because of the involvement of Prof. Soyinka and also because Diamond Bank being a bank of the future has no choice but to keep supporting children who are the future.

The festival consultant Wole Soyinka in his own words, appreciated Diamond Bank for deeming it necessary to lend  its support to the festival. He  explained that the history and relevance of the black race is what the festival sets out to address thematically, disclosing that just as this year’s theme focused on the Black in the Mediterranean Blue, 2013 festival will have theme on black presence in Portuguese cultures. Rather than make public next year’s theme, he wrote it on a piece of paper and presented it in an envelope to Otti to be kept safe in the banks vault pending when it is appropriate for public knowledge, to avoid giving undue advantage to the artists present.

The presentation of gifts was made to management of Diamond Bank by LBHF’s director of protocol  Femi Segun. Present at the event were the designer/director of Freedom Park Theo Lawson, Mrs Soyinka and directors of the bank Victor Ezenwoko and Uzoma Dozie.