New Telegraph

Lagos Fringe: Developing local artists for digital space

The 2020 edition of the annual theatre feast, the Lagos Fringe festival has a special focus for developing local artists especially for the digital space. This is in the light of the recent Covid-19 pandemic, the organisers stated in a statement, adding that some of the festival programs are dedicated to engaging with experi-enced professionals who are committed to partnering with the Lagos Fringe this year.

Arguably one of the largest outdoor festivals in West Africa, the 2020 edition, which is on the theme “Recreating the Future” is scheduled to hold from Tuesday 17 to Sunday 22 November, and also offers array of training opportunities.

Now in its 3rd year, the Lagos Fringe Festival offers a hybrid programme of both online/virtual and live interactions, inclyding breath-taking performances, experimental work, exhibitions among other theatrical activities, with social distancing measures in place. “We kick of the week with playwrights Jude Idada and Africa Ukoh who will teach creative writing in response to the ‘new normal’ as artists.

“By Thursday which is the day dedicated as the Women’s Day at the fringe, Nadine Patel a creative Consultant and an advisory board member of the Lagos Fringe will be joined by Nike Jonah; Executive Director of the Pan African Creative Exchange based in South Africa, and Yolanda Mercy; UK based artist.

They will be sharing their wealth of expertise with the audience on ways you can develop your work for the international scene,” says Festival Director, Lagos Fringe, Kenneth Uphopho. Explaining further, Festival Producer, Lagos Fringe, Brenda Fashugba, said that following the recent pandemic, Gwendolyn Tieze; a lecturer and fundraising expert will be sharing knowledge alongside Lami Phillips, Nigerian Music export, on ‘Resilience and Recreating the Future’.

Tietze is an accredited coach working with artists and creatives on their personal and professional development. She also runs training on coaching and communication skills, and is an arts fundraiser.

Originating from Vienna, Austria, Tietze is based in London, UK. She is a Member of the Association for Coaching and a trainee counsellor. She has been involved in the Pan- African Creative Exchange (PACE), a showcase platform for the interdisciplinary arts in Africa, since its pilot in 2017. Previously Tietze was Lecturer in Artist Development at the Royal Academy of Music and held Development Director roles at Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, creative writing charity Arvon, and contemporary classical record label NMC Recordings.

Erwin Maas, a New York based theatre maker, educator and international arts advocate from the Netherlands, and Wana Udobang; a multicultural creative writer and curator, will be sharing their wealth of experiences on Artistic Creations for the digital space. Maas has worked extensively in Australia, Europe, South Africa, South Korea and USA.

In New York, he directs numerous productions Off Broadway, Off Off Broadway as well as Site Specific. Maas is the Co- Founding Director of the Pan- African Creative Exchange (PACE), Artistic Associate & Director of the Fellowship Program for the International Performing Arts for Youth (IPAY), and the Programming Director for the Off Broadway Origin Theatre Company. Udobang graduated with a firstclass degree in journalism from the University for the Creative Arts.

After graduation, she worked for the BBC World Service as a freelance features producer. She also worked as a researcher at Wise Buddah Productions, Above the Title Productions, and Somethin’ Else.

On return to Lagos, she worked at 92.3 Inspiration FM in Lagos, Nigeria, for six years as a radio presenter and producer. Her fiction and poetry have been published in Brittle Paper and other places online and in print.

She is an alumnus of the Farafina Creative Writers Workshop held annually by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. As a performance poet, she has performed around Nigeria. Her first spoken-word album, released in 2013, was titled Dirty Laundry.

In 2017, she released a second album, titled In Memory of Forgetting. The album has been described as “incredibly brave”, a “feminist dog whistle” that revolves “almost entirely around the resilience women, their triumphs and struggles, their trauma and epiphanies. Udobang describes it as “a collection of memories navigating experiences that range from places of brokenness and questioning to self-renewal.” In 2020, Wana was selected to participate in the 54th International Writing Program Fall Residency at the University of Iowa, courtesy of the United States Department of State. To date, 35 Nigerian literary figures have participated in the IWP Fall Residency.

Notable among them are Elechi Amadi (1973), Cyprian Ekwensi (1974), Ola Rotimi (1980), Femi Osofisan (1986), Niyi Osundare (1988), Festus Iyayi (1990), Lola Shoneyin (1999), Obari Gomba (2016), Tade Ipadeola (2019). Nadine Patel has worked in the UK and international arts sectors for over 25 years supporting artists and arts organisations to develop and strengthen their opportunities and growth.

As a freelance creative consultant she draws upon her wide-ranging knowledge of contemporary arts practices and networks to provide specialist advice as well as participating directly in project design, implementation, management and evaluation.

She was part of the team that developed the Lagos Theatre Festival, is currently a Lagos Fringe & Abuja Fringe Board member and has worked extensively across Africa, Europe and Latin America.

Read Previous

Of Tumours and Butterflies, happiness like water

Read Next

For live theatre, Our Duke Has Gone Mad Again in December

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *