1952 Africa to Assist Visual Artists Monetise Work

Iyke Bede

A not-for-profit organisation, 1952 Africa, is creating channels to nurture and project visual artists to the global audience using a series of planned art exhibitions to monetize their content. 

This, it explains, will help address the state of penury suffered by a majority of indigenous artists who lack platforms to market their arty expressions. 

According to the founder of 1952 Africa, Ejike Egbuagu, the outfit aims to provide adequate learning facilities, finance, and networking opportunities to creatives to visually depict the history of Africa to restructure mindsets, kicking off an art renaissance in the Nigerian and African art space. 

“We address the marketability of the artists by empowering them with building up their confidence. Our vision is to put local artists on the same playing field as international ones,” Egbuagu affirmed.

He continued: “The process for our first residency was experimental. We were after young people and got hundreds of entries in the first 48 hours. To us, that was an indication that there is a creative space that needs support.”

Dubbed a ‘cultural incubator’, the organisation currently houses five resident creatives selected for its month-long residency program. 

At the end of the program, it hopes to expand its scope to accommodate other creatives in the field of sound engineering, poetry, and those within the Nollywood ecosystem.

1952 Africa was established in honour of art patron, the late Mrs Ezim Julia Egbuagu.