ACETNews
Life in My City Art Festival, LIMCAF, in keeping with its annual tradition at this time of the year, has announced its National Jury Panel and the curator for the Grand Finale Exhibition of its 19th edition.
Six art professionals have been named to the National Jury Panel, with Professor Jerry Buhari appointed to curate the exhibition. This year’s edition, themed “Open Letter”, ends with the Grand Finale Exhibition in the final week of October at the International Conference Centre of the Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu.
For a competition that began in 2007 as a modest initiative for young artists, LIMCAF has come a considerable distance. Next year, the Life in My City Art Foundation’s flagship event will mark its 20th edition.
Founded by Robert Orji, founder of Rocana Nigeria Limited, LIMCAF has since expanded its reach to different parts of the country. Its annual competition has also produced a growing list of prize winners, some of whom have gone on to establish themselves on the Nigerian visual arts scene.
The six-member 2026 National Jury Panel comprises Chike Obeagu (chairman), Adiwu Talatu Onkala, Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi, Bella Anne C. Ndubuisi, Dotun Popoola and Frank Omoh Agbiyoa Ugiomoh. Buhari will curate the Grand Finale Exhibition.
The panel brings together artists, scholars, curators, art historians and cultural practitioners with experience spanning studio practice, contemporary art, art education, curating and cultural development. Its immediate task is to consider the works that have survived the selection process at the festival’s regional centres.
Obeagu, who chairs the panel, is a contemporary artist, scholar and curator and an associate professor at the Federal University of Lafia, Nasarawa State. He has curated LIMCAF three times.
Onkala is an artist and associate professor of painting at the University of Maiduguri. Her work and research engage with gender, identity and the social realities of contemporary Nigeria, particularly the experiences of women in the Northeast.
Nzewi, an artist and art historian, is the Steven and Lisa Tananbaum Curator at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. He previously held curatorial positions at the Cleveland Museum of Art and Dartmouth’s Hood Museum.
Ndubuisi, a cultural affairs specialist, has worked in culture, community development and international development. She also has a longstanding connection with LIMCAF in Taraba.
Popoola is a contemporary sculptor whose works often make use of discarded scrap metal.
Ugiomoh, an artist, art historian, critic and educator, has more than four decades of experience in the field. African art history and historiography are central to his scholarship.
Buhari, who will curate the Grand Finale Exhibition, has been a professor of fine art at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, since 1982. His career has covered studio practice, teaching and curating exhibitions in Nigeria and abroad.
On offer this year is more than N60 million in prizes across various categories. The 100 artists who have emerged from the different regional centres have, therefore, something to drool over.
At the top of the pile is the Elder Kalu Young Artist of the Year Prize, which was rechristened last year from the festival’s overall winner’s prize. It is now worth the naira equivalent of $2,000.
The prize is sponsored by the family of the late Elder Kalu Uke Kalu, a former LIMCAF chairman and visual arts aficionado.
There are also category prizes for photography, painting, sculpture, drawing, ceramics and digital art, ranging from ₦500,000 to ₦1 million. The Chinelo Chime Prize for Best in Photography carries ₦1 million, while the prizes for painting, sculpture, drawing and ceramics are worth ₦500,000 each.
Other awards come with more specific briefs. The Armstrong Agoreyo Prize goes to the best artwork made from waste paper, while the Kanyeyachukwu Tagbo Prize recognises an outstanding work by an artist living with a disability.
Individuals, families and organisations have also endowed prizes around particular achievements or areas of artistic practice. These include the Justice Anthony Aniagolu Prize for Originality and the Dr Pius Okigbo Prize for Technical Proficiency.
Regional prizes reward the best entries from particular centres. Among them are the Mfon Usoro Prize for Best Entry from Uyo Centre and the VinMartins Ilo Prize for Best Entry from Enugu.
LIMCAF’s support for young artists goes beyond prize money. One of its rewards is a two-week, all-expenses-paid trip to Dakar, Senegal, for the Dakar Art Biennale, or Dak’Art. The festival also runs residencies and boot camps aimed at giving emerging artists opportunities to develop their practice.
Gender is another area addressed by the festival. Male and female artists from across the country are eligible to participate, while special prize categories are reserved for female artists. Its activities also reach primary and secondary school children through workshops, with particular attention to children living with disabilities. Abuja and Enugu have hosted some of these workshops in recent years.
Over the years, LIMCAF has drawn support from institutions, corporate bodies and individuals. Its partnerships include the Alliance Française network in Nigeria, the Institut Français and the French Embassy. Other supporters include the Paris-based Clam Lab, Rocana Nigeria Limited, the Pan African Circle of Artists, Honeywell Group, FBN Holdings, the Enugu State Council for Art and Culture, the Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos, and Thought Pyramid Art Centre, Abuja.
Its prizes have attracted endowments and special donations from the Justice Anthony Aniagolu family, Vin Martin Ilo, Thought Pyramid Art Centre, Mfon Usoro, the Pius Okigbo family, Art Is Everywhere, the Centre for Contemporary Art, Professor El Anatsui and Engr. Gesi Asamaowei, among others.
Orji started LIMCAF in 2007 as a modest competition for young artists. Since then, participation has grown, with artists from different parts of the country entering each year.
The list of past overall and category prize winners also provides a measure of what the competition has meant to some of its participants. A number of them have gone on to establish themselves on the Nigerian visual arts scene, with LIMCAF forming part of their early careers. This year’s finalists will converge on Enugu in October for the 19th Grand Finale. Next year, the festival turns 20.
