Lagos Fringe Festival aspires to bridge the technical and free-flowing aspects of creativity, fostering co-creations and partnerships for a sustainable future in Nigeria’s rapidly growing creative economy
Photos: Shots from the opening ceremony on Tuesday November 22 at the British Council, Ikoyi: Courtesy: Bolaji Alonge
TODAY, Saturday, November 25, and tomorrow, Sunday 26th offer even more fascinating artistic expressions at the ongoing Lagos Fringe, the week-long festival that began last Tuesday.
The 6th edition of the annual theatrical and artistic extravaganza has in past four days featured, aside theatrical and allied fields’ showcases, capacity-building sessions such as workshops, masterclasses, and other mentoring events.
Courtesy PAWSTUDIOS, Lagos Fringe 2023 is exploring the theme “What Future For Creatives?: The African Experience,’ and is happening at various venues, including Freedom Park, Lagos Island, Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Goethe-Institut, VI, Alliance Francaise, Ikoyi, and the British Council, Ikoyi.
This weekend, however, most of the theatre showcases will happen at Freedom Park, Lagos Island, and British Council in Ikoyi.
Spotlight presentations include – in the morning to afternoon belt: the seminar: The Creative Economy: Skills Development for Africans in Creative Fields holding 11 am at the British Council; Fringe for Kids featuring kiddies’ arts and crafts workshops at The Garden of Freedom Park; an exhibition Crows Come at Dawn at the Kongi’s Harvest Gallery lobby of Freedom Park. The evening hours will feature mostly theatrical performances including, Mbuzeni; Awa Own, Into Me I See, Alaga, Who Tiff Monalisa, Sour Grapes, Dirty Little Secrets, and others.
The closing day, Sunday, November 26 offers similar rich packages all of which can be gleaned from the festival’s social media and communication pages.
A pre-festival statement from the programme unit of the Fringe states: “The chosen theme reflects a conscious effort to support creatives in Nigeria and across the continent. Organizers emphasize their commitment to being at the forefront of the creative economy, fostering an environment where people can rely on their creative ideas for economic sustenance.”
“The festival’s target audience is broad, encompassing high-net-worth individuals, young urban professionals, artists, corporate bodies, art institutions, art lovers, enthusiasts, students, and children,”added the statement.
The festival’s core objective is to repurpose spaces for the development of artistic expressions, aligning with Nigeria’s ambition to lead the creative economy in Sub-Saharan Africa, stated Kenneth Uphopho, director of the 6-year-old festival.
Uphopho, an astute theatre practitioner and festival director, said further, “The festival’s diverse lineup spans literary extravaganzas, arts and crafts workshops, empowering women in creativity, harmony in music, cinematic exploration, and a Fringe City Extravaganza. Each day is carefully curated to touch on various aspects of artistic expression, offering something for everyone.
“Lagos Fringe Festival aspires to bridge the technical and free-flowing aspects of creativity, fostering co-creations and partnerships for a sustainable future in Nigeria’s rapidly growing creative economy.”
“One notable initiative is the Lagos Fringe Young Critics and Reviewers Programme, designed to encourage budding critics and reviewers. The event will showcase over 20 live theatre, dance, and spoken word performances, along with 40 film screenings and the Lagos Fringe variety weekend. networking sessions like the ‘Women in the Arts Lunch,’ masterclasses, and workshops contribute to the holistic experience.
“Lagos Fringe is invested to be at the forefront of the creative economy in Sub-Saharan Africa. We want to continue to engage in the process of building an economy where the people rely on their creative ideas and how to make money out of it. Research and data are technical, just as performance and design are free-flowing.
“At the Lagos Fringe, we want to bridge these worlds to encourage creatives on co-creations and partnerships for a more sustainable future, particularly with the emergence of the creative industries, which is now shaping up to be a lucrative venture – both for the creatives and for their craft.”
The festival is collaborating with esteemed organisations, including Dance Guild of Nigeria, NANTAP, Guild of Theatre Directors, World Fringe Network, Brighton Fringe UK, The Kreative Lab, Freedom Park, Pawstudios Africa, and the Pan African Creative Exchange (PACE) of South Africa, among others.
