First Bank Sponsors Lagos Theatre Festival to Boost Creative Economy

… Festival ‘ll create jobs, says organiser

Raheem Akingbolu

Filmmaker and Executive Director, Terra Kulture, Bolanle Austen-Peters, has announced that the ongoing Lagos International Theatre Festival (LITF) will create jobs and celebrate arts and creativity. The event which has First Bank as a major sponsor, began in Lagos on Thursday November I4 will end on Saturday.

Austen-Peters, who addressed the media in Lagos on what to expect at the festival said organisers are determined to bring together performers from around the world for an exciting celebration of theatrical excellence, adding that no fewer than 25 stage plays including international showpieces will headline the theatre festival.

According to her the event will be simultaneously hosted at the four prominent venues in Lagos: University of Lagos, Terra Kulture, Muson Centre’s Agip Hall and Glover Hall.

She said, “Lagos International Theatre Festival, like many other things that we have birthed in the arts, is one of those things that we thought we should bring to reality, because over the years we have developed so many showpieces and so many production houses. We thought that it might be a very important step to first have all come together as a community to create a wider ecosystem for the art.”

She recalled the economic and social impacts of the FESTAC 77, noting that LITF is patterned in a similar version, “I am sure some of us remember the FESTAC 77 and the impact it has, not only the social impact, the cultural impact as well as the economic impact it has on Nigeria. What we are doing now is in that version. We are bringing goods from across the globe. Mrs. Tanny Richardson from America, from South Hannah Nager, from Gambia, Mr Isaac Kaluba; we have decided to come together especially as Africans to celebrate our arts.

“This is one of the unique occasions that as a group of people we are bringing people from around the world. From America Africa, we all come together in Lagos to celebrate the power of the arts. And nothing unifies us as much as the art does. What this does is it bridges gaps, it creates a common language, it creates fun among others.

Bolanle said the event will create a long weekend where parents, children, grandparents, couples, artists, thespians, everybody will come out together and watch the power of the arts being displayed by veterans and super talented people from Nigeria and across the globe. I’m super excited that First Bank saw this great opportunity and they keyed into it. And the potential is immense. The potential is not just about the culture thing, the economic aspect of this is very significant. There are going to be stores where people are selling and as well as the hotels accommodation for those that are coming. There are so many ancillary benefits that impact our economy from doing things like this.”

Executive Director, Retail Banking, First Bank, Oluseyi Oyefeso, who represents the bank at the press briefing said “First Bank is very proud to be the grand sponsor of this event organized by Terra Kulture in partnership with Lagos State government. I congratulate the organisers for achieving this remarkable feat. It is now common knowledge that First Bank has a soft spot for the creative industry, which is as old as human existence. This why our bank through its First@arts initiative has strategically carved a platform consolidating its support for the sponsorship of the activities across all the value chain of the creative industry, providing the much needed financing, promotion and sponsorship programmes to facilitate the progress of the creative industry.

Oyefeso added that “This has continued to enable our teeming customers to explore the world of opportunities that this industry has to offer. As a corporate institution deeply entrenched and woven into the fabric of the society First Bank recognizes the transformative power of the arts including theatre and its ability to inspire the entire citizenry ultimately fostering national cohesion. It also provides the platform for self-expression, cultural exchange and social commentaries. For more than one hundred and thirty years First Bank has been committed to empowering Nigerians by promoting national development through our involvement in various initiatives one of which is the creative art initiative.

Oyefeso noted that the partnership with the LITF aligns with First Bank’s commitment to foster creativity and innovation, promote cultural heritage and diversity and support talent development and youth empowerment, adding “I’m delighted to share the magnitude of participation of several talents in this festival who have come to showcase the best of their talent and performance art. I also congratulate the Lagos State government for consistently blazing the trail in sustaining a reputation for the arts through such activities as this, showcasing Lagos as a cultural hub and providing the opportunities to attain collaboration and exchange.”

Veteran thespian, Prince Jide Kosoko while expressing his excitement about the festival that he believes will reawake the stage theatre said “We appreciate this, as one of the few old actors in the country that this is what we have been praying for. We started from the live theatre, performance but at a point we lost it to just motion pictures. Now that Bolanle and some others are thinking about this line, it is something that gladdens our hearts, and it will even add to my living because we are having exactly what we started then very many years back. I cannot say anything less than congratulating Bolanle, the Director and everybody involved. This is an opportunity to meet our colleagues who are not Nigerians because we are coming together through this, it is a welcome idea.”