LIMCAF beckons a new generation with Open Letter
There is literally no known event on Nigeria’s visual arts calendar that has matched the consistency of the Life in My City Art Festival (LIMCAF), which is on its 19th edition this year. Apart from the COVID-19 pandemic-induced intrusion of 2020, the festival has returned every year, steadily building a reputation as the country’s most reliable platform for discovering and nurturing emerging artists.
The flagship programme of the Nigeria-registered non-profit Life in My City Art Foundation traditionally begins with a series of regional exhibitions. This year’s edition, themed Open Letter, spans 18 selected cities across the country, showcasing a combined total of 830 entries. From these, the top 100 works will be selected for the grand finale exhibition in Enugu, scheduled for October 24 to 31. The finest among them will be honoured at the festival’s awards ceremony on October 31 at the Institute of Management and Technology Enugu’s International Conference Centre.
Lagos joined the circuit on July 25, when the regional exhibition opened at Thought Pyramid Art Centre in Ikoyi. Dominated by paintings, alongside a modest selection of sculpture and photography, the exhibition will produce eight finalists for Enugu.
This year’s theme invites artists to reflect on the choices that shape individual lives and communities. It also coincides with one of the richest prize offerings in the festival’s history, with awards exceeding ₦50 million. The Elder K. U. Kalu Grand Prize for Young Artist of the Year, worth the naira equivalent of $2,000, remains the competition’s highest honour, while newer category awards include the Capt. Everest Odengene Nnaji Prize of ₦1 million for painting and the Tayo Adenaike Prize of ₦500,000 for watercolour.
The competition extends beyond exhibitions. Since July 1, selected artists have been participating in six-week residency and mentorship programmes designed to strengthen their studio practice, while outreach initiatives continue to introduce schoolchildren and young people living with disabilities to creative expression.
LIMCAF’s influence, however, cannot be measured solely in prize money or attendance figures. Over nearly two decades, it has become a launching pad for artists whose careers have since flourished within and beyond Nigeria. Former overall winners and category laureates—including Olumide Oresegun, Ngozi Omeje Ezema, Henry Osaretin Eghosa, Sor Sen, Mariagoretti Chinenye Eze and Izuchukwu Muoneme—have gone on to secure major commissions, international residencies, biennale appearances and further competition successes, often citing LIMCAF as the turning point that gave them confidence and visibility.
That record owes much to the festival’s resilience. Founded by advertising executive Robert Orji through the Life in My City Art Foundation, LIMCAF has weathered economic downturns and shifting sponsorship landscapes while maintaining its annual rhythm. It continues to draw support from longstanding institutional partners, including the French Embassy, the Institut Français and the Alliance Française network, alongside a broad coalition of corporate sponsors, private collectors and cultural organisations whose backing has enabled the festival to expand both its reach and its ambitions.
What began as a modest initiative has evolved into a national institution. For many young artists, LIMCAF remains less a competition than a first serious encounter with professional practice—a place where recognition can become opportunity. As another cohort prepares for Enugu, the festival’s latest “Open Letter” is addressed as much to the future of Nigerian art as it is to the artists themselves.