ICON Launches Int’l Ibom Art and Book Festival, Tackles Stereotypes of Minorities

Yinka Olatunbosun

A non-governmental organisation, Inspire Community Network, (ICON) is set to launch the maiden edition of Ibom International art and book festival. Aimed at changing the narratives of the South-south as well as the minorities in Nigeria, the festival is scheduled to hold from July 28 till July 31.

The celebrated Brazilian muralist, Wes Gama and an Akwa Ibom son and Washington DC top muralist, Aniekan Udofia, are set to design and commission the festival’s selected spaces. While Gama will design major partners’ spaces, Udofia is more interested in reinventing the outdoor spaces by designing the city of Uyo.

Reflecting on the event, the festival director and founder of ICON, Kate Ekanem-Hannum explained that the festival will draw lovers of arts, books, writers, filmmakers, actors, journalists, activists, entrepreneurs and students to the city of Uyo for the grand opening of the Ibom Int’l Book Festival at the Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort, Uyo.

“These mural projects are both Wes and Aniekan’s solo documentary projects and the potential of how far and wide this would go is indescribable,” said the festival director.

Ekanem-Hannum, revealed further that Ibom International Art and Book Festival will dismantle stereotypes that have caught minorities in a web of misrepresentation. It is for this reason that the festival is built on creating and sustaining platforms for global minorities.

“Again, the cultural identities, languages, histories, traditions, and creativity of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Rivers, Ondo, Delta, Cross River, and other Niger Delta cultural groups, and minorities in Nigeria, in addition to minority countries and groups worldwide, are oftentimes suppressed in mainstream literature, films, and international media representation.

Hence, the festival has been carefully designed as a weekend of events that will feature panel sessions, workshops, and masterclasses led by prominent literary figures; theatre and other cultural performances to reveal the rich culture of the Niger Delta people, art exhibitions from artists from Namibia, Brazil, the US as well as open mic sessions and poetry slams, alongside concerts featuring top Nigerian artists.

Meanwhile, ICON is known for its chain of diverse volunteers, promoting rural communities’ development, advocacy for girls’ education, women empowerment, youth development, and writing, art, and cultural development in all six geopolitical regions of Nigeria. 

Inspire Community Network is credited to be the organisers of major literary events in Nigeria that create opportunities for underrepresented writers and other creatives. Such events included: Lagos Author’s Talk, a project that takes place in Lagos city and has partnered with organizations like Goethe Institut, Art Twenty One, CCA Lagos, Revolving Art Incubator amongst others.