The interest of the church in visual art has a long history. During the 15th and 16th Century AD the Church became major patron of visual art. This move, which was necessitated by the revival of Rome, began when Pope Martin V returned the Papacy to Rome from Avignon in1420.

The on going photographic exhibition tagged; 1960: Nigeria at Independence being shown at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan is uniquely, a commendable template with which chroniclers of Nigerian history can re-image or re-memorise the events that shape the “geographical expression” , called Nigeria fifty years ego.

The two day stakeholders culture conference that held at Bolingo Hotels &Towers, Abuja under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation last week was seen by many ministerial watchers as a landmark development and probably, a harbinger to an end of the prolonged call for a National Culture Policy for the country.

After a two day critical conference on the draft of 2008 National Cultural Policy in Abuja last week, stakeholders drawn from the Culture and Tourism industry, academia, Federal Inland Revenue Services, media and independent and group culture interventionists unanimously called on the Federal Government to review the provisions of Section 4 of the contentious 2008 draft.

Even writers, in their quite quarters are also deep in thought about how best to celebrate 50years of Nigeria’s journey to adulthood. Having at all times pioneered, the project, today popularly knowns as “ rebranding” through the various creative genres of prose, poetry and drama, the restless spirit, Muse will still not allow some writers rest, but will rather continue to prop them to the other side silence: the un-rebranded side of the nation’s tangible and intangible social, material and historical culture.

Death among the Mbaise-Igbo of Nigeria like in other culture areas of Nigeria is a phenomenon that has deep symbolic implication between the living and the dead. Among Mbaise-Igbo, the occasion of death like the occasion of birth is celebrated with deep emotional attachment.

Ms Rachael Ama Assa Engmann recently completed her fellowship program at OYASAF, where she conducted research and enjoyed professional work experience on West African heritage, art and material culture.

Writers, literary enthusiasts and budding poets in Abuja turned out in good number to enjoy an opportunity of getting the guidance to hone their skills on Friday 18th June 2008 in what can be best described as an evening of literary splendor.

Honour they say should be given to whom it is due.” In line with this popular saying, the children of one of the greatest photographers of our time and the man who was made famous for documenting the transformations and variations found in traditional hairstyles worn by women in Nigeria J.D Okhai Ojeikere in commemoration of his 80th birthday last week presented a powerful birthday gift to him for all his contributions towards their upbringing and for his contributions towards the growth of photography in the country.

The June 26, 2010 edition of the Abuja Writers’ Forum’s (AWF) Guest Writer Session will feature the winner of the 2010 Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book ( Africa ), Tricia Adaobi Nwaubani.

Taking cue from the Foreword, which Dr Ikenna Kamalu provides for Ozah Michael Ozah’s book, Proudly Ukwuani: History and Culture, which attempts to locate, what would have amounted to a more brilliant and significant contribution to an aspect of Nigeria’s post colonial narrative; and in particular, to the history of what late Professor Onwuejiogwu described as “ history of Igbo cultural areas” but failed to do so by deviating to scheme his own theory of history of origin and culture for the Ukwuani sub-group of the Igbo tribe.This review will attempt to investigate how Ozah as a post colonial narrator has faithfully or unfaithfully re- writes, what his book, purports as misrepresentations of some aspects of Ukwuani history .

The monthly creative writing workshop organised by the Abuja Writers’ Forum(AWF) continues on June 26, 2010 with Toyin Adewale-Gabriel as the facilitator. Her work has won awards from cultural institutions and she is a Fellow of the Akademie Schloss Solitude and has been Writer-in-Residence at the Villa Waldberta, Munich, and The Baltic Centre for Writers and Translators, in Visby, Sweden.

The Osun State Government, through its Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding ( a category 2 Unesco Centre), in conjunction with Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization (CBAAC), PANAFSTRAG and the Federal Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation is organising an International Conference on Slavery, Slave Trade and Their Consequences.

Art promoter and president of Art Gallery Association of Nigeria (AGAN), Chief Frank Okonta has said that better days lies ahead for emerging artists in the country if given the required exposure that would adequately position them to reap from entire new market and opportunities that abounds in world of creativity.

The UNN Robesonites, the Alumni association of UNN graduates of dramatic arts, is planning a Home Coming in October this year at the department of theatre and film studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.