That Celebration of Collaboration and Ideas, Called Convergence

Okechukwu Uwaezuoke

Convergence 2022, the much-anticipated flagship event of the Abuja Open House, finally appeared set to roll at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja that late Thursday morning, October 27. That is one reason why the organisers deserved a pat on the back. To think that the US Embassy sent a difficult-to-ignore terror alert days, if not weeks, before the opening day, hinting at sporadic strikes in locations throughout the federal capital city! The British High Commission heeded the like the US Embassy, withdrew critical employees.

So, there was no clearer indicator of the event’s positive reception than the relatively significant attendance by members of the Abuja art community. For this writer, who was featured among the speakers, who included Beste Gursu (a Turkish female curator who flew in from Turkey), a leading artist Polly Alakija, an Abuja-based social entrepreneur Imal Silva, the Society of Nigerian Artists President Muhammad Sulaiman, the German Deputy Ambassador Martin Huth and the Abuja Open House helmsman Ndubuisi Nduwhite Ahanonu, the audience’s attentiveness and decorum were remarkable.

Indeed, there is no denying the fact that the activities of this one-of-a-kind art fiesta, which revolved around the theme “Discovering Abuja Art Spaces,” helped cast fresh light on the Abuja art scene. Included among the city’s art spaces, alongside conventional art galleries, are cafés, hotels, and cultural centres.

A quick rewind to the previous day. The cab ride from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport to the Nordic Hotel in Jahi was closely monitored via a WhatsApp group chat until arrival. It is commendable that the organiser’s protocol team sprang into action soon after this writer arrived, despite having few resources at its disposal. 

In any case, Convergence 2022 was all about the potential of big ideas. Therefore, thumbs up to Ahanonu and his team for curating this visual buffet and networking platform, which provided aficionados with delightful tidbits of the capital city’s art scene during its run from October 27 to October 30. This is besides the inclusion of the exhibitions of high-profile non-Abuja-based artists like Duke Asidere, Diseye Tantua, Timi Kakandar, and Dotun Popoola among its visual offerings.

A closer examination of the exhibitions, the first of which was Convergence: There from Here, which was curated by Aisha Aliyu-Bima, at the Institut Français along Libreville Crescent, Wuse 2, and featured two artists: Zaria-born and Lagos-based Idris Abdulwahab and Zaria-born and Kaduna-based Salim Abubakar, revealed an effervescence and vibrancy not previously associated with the Abuja art scene. Take, for example, Abdulwahab, whose 12-painting exhibition titled “The Veiled Ones” comprised digital pieces showing turbaned or veiled characters. He aimed for a synthesis of the old and the modern. Similarly, his co-exhibitor Abdulrazaq, who was heavily influenced by northern Nigerian iconography, went beyond the realms of the imagination, using both digital collages and physically tangible media. 

Still on the exhibitions, there were also the joint exhibition of the works of Diseye Tantua and Duke Asidere at the Nordic Hotel, the October 29 (Turkish National Day) opening of the works of the Abuja-based painter Sor Sen and the Ife-based metal sculptor Dotun Popoola, as well as the brunch and artist talk with Sam Ovraiti and Timi Kakandar at the Fraser Suites at the Central Business District. 

Of course, the additional activities such as the fashion and dining experiences at the Mambaah Café in Maitama Neighborhood Park, the discussions with Ndubuisi Nduwhite Ahanonu and Beste Gursu at the Moeshen Gallery in Life Camp, as well as another with Polly Alakija at the Shehu Musa Yar’ Adua Centre, the various discussion panels, and the gatherings at the Turkish Embassy further enriched the three-day art fiesta’s programmes line-up.

If Convergence earned the recognition of being a huge success, it was primarily due to the skillful coordination of the efforts of the city’s varied art spaces and, of course, the cooperation with airlines, the diplomatic community, and the hospitality industry. This is despite the virtual non-existence of purpose-built art spaces.