Africa During the colonial period, a ‘priceless portion’ of the cultural heritage of many oppressed peoples was ‘robbed’, ‘plunder[ed]‘, ‘despoiled’ . Simultaneously, foreign, “civilising missions” destroyed non-Christian ritual objects.

The much coveted $100,000 prize money of the 2012 Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas NLNG will eventually get to the best author today as a winner out of the last three standing is announced at a world press conference in Lagos. The Prize which is in its 8th year running was instituted with a view to motivating Nigerian writers in four literary genres vis a vis, poetry, prose, drama and Children’s literature. The prize is rotated around the genres each year and this year focuses on prose fiction.

Sculptor Chidi Okoye was a lecturer at Federal Polytechnic, Oko before he left Nigeria for Canada on the invitation of Canadian Art Society in 1994. Today, his fame in sculptural art has spread to America, Canada and Europe and his works speak volumes about his creativity and excellence. In this online interview, the Institute of Management and Technology Enugu trained artist talks about his art.

It is a deeply felt knowledge that the death of a truly great man is akin to the burning down of a library. Most notable Africans of the past died without putting down their multiform activities into bound books. Succeeding generations could not therefore tap into their experiences that would have helped a lot in the march of civilization.

The venue was the OYASAF conference centre and the event was an interactive forum on the current state of the visual arts in Nigeria. The forum which came up against the background of recent removal of art works mounted at strategic positions at the Murtala Mohamade International Airport, Ikeja , Lagos as a result of renovation works as well as the removal and destruction of art works and monument in some universities and other public spaces without the consent of the artist was put together by three stakeholders in the art industry.