Category: Cultural
Lagos- Nigeria- In a fusion of Emirati and Nigerian cultural expressions and artefacts, the UAE Embassy in Abuja showcased an intercontinental exchange of indigenous expressions and identities in the bid to foster better understanding of the similarities in both countries. The Culture and Arts Exhibition is part of the UAE’s Year of Tolerance initiatives in Nigeria aimed at creating platforms for peaceful coexistence amongst people of all race and nationalities. Music, food, film, arts and dance formed the melting point of interaction at the Mike Avenge Centre -Alliance Francaise; venue of the arts exhibition in Lagos state. Emirati and Nigerian artists displayed a variety of art pieces, food and symbols, films that better situate the similarities and beautiful divergence of both cultural origins. The Emirati Arts also featured Arabic calligraphies symbolizing the religious heritage of the Emirati people. The Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo flagged off the exhibition alongside the French Ambassador to Nigeria and the ECOWAS, Jerome Pasquier, and other arts and culture enthusiasts from Nigeria and the UAE. The Vice-President described the event as “an impeccable mix of Emirati and Nigerian artists who use their words to tell a variety of stories about identities, about language, about otherness and contemporary contexts just to name a few of the themes.” The Exhibition featured foremost Emirati surrealist artist Maisoon Al Saleh, whose evocative pieces captured a mix of historic and contemporary transition of arts and craft in the UAE. This also resonated in similar exhibitions from the Nigerian artists such as Amah Ejiogu who works primarily with acrylic paint and found objects.
