Ben Enwonwu Foundation (BEF)

“Art is not static, like culture. Art changes its form with the times. It is setting the clock back to expect that the art form of Africa today must resemble that of yesterday otherwise the former will not reflect the African image. African art has always, even long before western influence, continued to evolve through change and adaptation to new circumstances. And in like manner, the African view of art has followed the trend of cultural change up to the modern times”.
. . . Ben Enwonwu, 1950

News Archives

The Ben Enwonwu Foundation Young Artist of the Year 2010

The Ben Enwonwu Foundation Young Artist of the Year (BEFYART) award organized in collaboration with BrotherArt Productions and Phephe Planet Productions is an educational-based initiative which aims to lay a strong foundation for the development of modern and contemporary African art by encouraging children to share their experiences and ideas on issues affecting their environment. Themes are specially chosen around pertinent global issues to increase self awareness and boost confidence in children while persuading them to speak out on these issues. The competition is for children between the ages of 10 and 16 in public and private secondary schools in Lagos.

BEFYART 2010
Theme: Lagos, the Model City
Winners:
1st position ( N100,000 prize) - Sesan Animashaun of Birrel Avenue Senior High School
2nd position( N75,000 prize) - Bankole Olabode of Angus Memorial High School
3rd Position ( N50,000.00 prize) - Adetola Victor of the Army Cantonment Senior Secondary School

Book Presentation

On May 5, the public diplomacy officer of the United States Consulate-General, Mr Peter Piness made a presentation of books on behalf of the Warren M. Robbins Library of the Smithsonian Institution, United States to the Ben Enwonwu Foundation. This gesture by the Institution has been ongoing and
comes as major support for the Foundation's fastgrowing library which facilitates academic research. The books donated cover subjects including art history, contemporary African art, photography and Anthropology.

Omenka Gallery at Jo’burg Art Fair 2010

The Omenka Gallery participated in the 3rd Jo’burg ArtFair in South Africa alongside other galleries from South
Africa, Germany, France and England.The 3-day fair organized by Artlogic which ran from March 26-28 is easily the largest annual art event in South Africa and was supported by the First National Bank (FBN) and Grolsch among others. The fair featured 23 art galleries from the participating countries with the Ben Enwonwu Foundation's Omenka
Gallery and the Centre for Contemporary Art representing Nigeria. It also showcased special projects including the Grolsch commissioned artwork, St Leger & Viney Artist fabric and the modernist booth by Graham’s Fine Art Gallery.
The fair provided the platform for Omenka Gallery to share with a larger community, works by some contemporary Nigerian artists including Oliver Enwonwu, Emenike Ogwo and Alex Nwokolo, Lolade Cameron-Cole and Mudi Yahaya. Established to increase learning and understanding of Nigerian contemporary art with a view to developing it, the Omenka Gallery offers visibility to artists through themed exhibitions and publications. The gallery also boasts of the finest collection of Enwonwu's art spanning over six decades and holds a year-round educational programme which explores Enwonwu's art and practice, the cultural and social context of his work and links to contemporary themes. The Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos (CCA) is an independent visual art organization which provides a platform for the development, presentation and discussion of contemporary visual art and culture in Nigeria. Among the artists featured by CCA were Paul Sika and Kainebi Osahanye. The success of the fair underscores the growing interest in African contemporary art by collectors and dealers alike as these works have become the subject of international debate and discourse.

Ben Enwonwu Honoured with This Day Award

On February 21, Professor Ben Enwonwu was honoured posthumously at the 15th This Day Awards to mark Nigeria's 50th Anniversary. The awards were in celebration of the builders of modern Nigeria; champions of democracy and governance, business leaders, entrepreneurs and cultural icons. Enwonwu's award was in recognition of his contributions as a cultural icon.
With over 4 million readers daily, This Day is a leading news publication company in Nigeria and has won several national and international awards.