New Media Nigeria

In a country with the third largest film industry,new steps are being taken into developing Video Art.

New media is no longer that new in the West but it remains a media that has yet to be fully explored here in West Africa, specifically Nigeria. In a country were the film industry is the third largest in the global market, after Hollywood and Bollywood, it was inevitable that the desire to develop Video Art would be high.

Working in Contemporary Art here in Nigeria is really exciting as I feel like there is such a big shift taking place. Our Traditional artistic practice and background have paved the way for for the current artistic elite but their is a thirst for the exploration and implementation of the modern. It feels like the beginning of an era and I'm here to record it, via my blog and various other media.

I recently co-ordinated a Video Art workshop here in Lagos, my second since moving last August. The workshop was facilitated by...International Video Artist Miguel Petchkovsky (Angola), taking Lagos as its primary theme. Alongside Miguel, participants were led by Goddy Leye (Cameroon) and Eustaquio Neves (Brazil), both prominent Video Artists.

The workshop aims were to provide artists with a good grasp of the concepts of Video Art within contemporary artistic practice and to create projects based on experimentation of the video image on the classic forms of art like painting, sculpture, music and theatre, while introducing new elements like performance, installation, photography and sound.


Outage - Outrage by Lillian Pilaku from CCA Lagos on Vimeo.

Outrage By Lilian Pilaku

This work explores the nature and scope of power supplies and the consequences of failure imposed by neglect in the basic needs of large urban centers and the peripheral communities around the city of Lagos, as well as the consequent impact on individuals. This audio-visual exercise suggests the critical failure of Institutional power to ensure long term sustainability of improvements and questions (metaphorically) all society and the well being of future generations.


Carbon Blues - Uche Joel Chima from CCA Lagos on Vimeo.

Carbon Blues By Uchay Chima Joel

Uchay was the first prize winner with a residency in Amsterdam being facilitated by Miguel.

Lagos is a city that is well known as being over populated. The masses streaming from diverse background and multiple ethnicities contribute largely to the socio-economic make-up of the city. Like other mega-cities around the world, Lagos is also challenged with environmental degradation and pollution.

Carbon Blue focusing on air pollution depicts what goes un-noticed by some in the atmosphere, in and around Lagos.


Dreams (Smeard) Smeared by Jude Anogwih from CCA Lagos on Vimeo.

Dreams [Smaerd] Smeared By Jude Anogwih

2nd prize winner of a residency in Brazil to be facilitated by Eustaquio Neves

The work investigates the anticipations expectations, hopes, aspirations, ambitions of an individual and his/her dreams in the society. The elements interactively aid in determining the realization of these dreams, or the sometimes disappointments. Dreams are imaginary. They are threads that link the real and the imagined (illusive). They are imaginary lines of possibilities influenced by thinking or from bygone activities.