By Osa Mbonu-Amadi

Six art professionals have been handed the task of deciding which works will emerge from the final stage of the 19th edition of Life in My City Art Festival (LIMCAF), while Professor Jerry Buhari has been appointed curator of the Grand Finale Exhibition.
Chike Obeagu chairs the 2026 National Jury Panel, whose other members are Adiwu Talatu Onkala, Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi, Bella Anne C. Ndubuisi, Dotun Popoola and Frank Omoh Agbiyoa Ugiomoh.
Their verdicts will determine the fate of 100 artists who have survived LIMCAF’s regional selection process and will converge on Enugu for the Grand Finale in the final week of October. The exhibition, themed “Open Letter”, will take place at the International Conference Centre of the Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu.
Obeagu, a contemporary artist, scholar and curator, is an associate professor at the Federal University of Lafia. He has curated LIMCAF three times.
Onkala, an artist and associate professor of painting at the University of Maiduguri, has engaged with gender, identity and the social realities of contemporary Nigeria, particularly the experiences of women in the Northeast.
Nzewi, an artist and art historian, is the Steven and Lisa Tananbaum Curator at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. He previously held curatorial positions at the Cleveland Museum of Art and Dartmouth’s Hood Museum.
Ndubuisi, a cultural affairs specialist, has worked in culture, community development and international development, and has also been involved with LIMCAF in Taraba.
Popoola is a contemporary sculptor known for making works from discarded scrap metal.
Ugiomoh, an artist, art historian, critic and educator, brings more than four decades of experience to the panel. African art history and historiography are central to his scholarship.
Buhari, the exhibition’s curator, has been a professor of fine art at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, since 1982. His career has included studio practice, teaching and curating exhibitions in Nigeria and abroad.
For the 100 finalists, the decisions carry more than prestige. More than N60 million is available in prizes across the various categories.
At the top is the Elder Kalu Young Artist of the Year Prize, formerly the festival’s overall winner’s prize. Rechristened last year, it is now worth the naira equivalent of $2,000 and is sponsored by the family of the late Elder Kalu Uke Kalu, a former LIMCAF chairman and visual arts aficionado.
The category prizes cover photography, painting, sculpture, drawing, ceramics and digital art, ranging from N500,000 to N1 million. The Chinelo Chime Prize for Best in Photography carries N1 million, while the prizes for painting, sculpture, drawing and ceramics are worth N500,000 each.
There are also awards with more specific briefs. The Armstrong Agoreyo Prize is for the best artwork made from waste paper, while the Kanyeyachukwu Tagbo Prize recognises an outstanding work by an artist living with a disability.
Individuals, families and organisations have established other prizes, including the Justice Anthony Aniagolu Prize for Originality and the Dr Pius Okigbo Prize for Technical Proficiency. Regional prizes include the Mfon Usoro Prize for Best Entry from Uyo Centre and the VinMartins Ilo Prize for Best Entry from Enugu.
LIMCAF’s rewards extend beyond prize money. One of them is a two-week, all-expenses-paid trip to Dakar, Senegal, for the Dakar Art Biennale, or Dak’Art. There are also residencies and boot camps.
The festival has special prize categories for female artists and runs workshops for primary and secondary school children, with particular attention to those living with disabilities. Abuja and Enugu have hosted some of these workshops in recent years.
Behind the prizes and programmes is a network of supporters that has grown over the years. They include the Alliance Française network in Nigeria, the Institut Français and the French Embassy; Clam Lab, Paris; Rocana Nigeria Limited; the Pan African Circle of Artists; Honeywell Group; FBN Holdings; the Enugu State Council for Art and Culture; the Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos; and Thought Pyramid Art Centre, Abuja.
The prizes have also attracted endowments and special donations from the Justice Anthony Aniagolu family, Vin Martin Ilo, Thought Pyramid Art Centre, Mfon Usoro, the Pius Okigbo family, Art Is Everywhere, the Centre for Contemporary Art, Professor El Anatsui and Engr. Gesi Asamaowei, among others.
Robert Orji, founder of Rocana Nigeria Limited, started LIMCAF in 2007 as a competition for young artists. Since then, it has expanded its selection process across different parts of the country, while several of its past overall and category prize winners have gone on to establish themselves on the Nigerian visual arts scene.
The jury now has its work cut out for it. In October, the 100 finalists will meet in Enugu, with the 19th edition’s winners to be decided before the festival moves into its 20th year.