A-ARTs: Raising presentation bar at AMIAF's festival of 'Artconomy'

Visitors viewing a section of the AMIAF 2025 during the opening.

CREATING art without the commensurate presentation may devalue the appreciation of the creative contents, so asserted the 4th ArtMiabo International Art Festival (AMIAF).

With the depth of energy and consistency of the festival in its previous editions, the Founder/CEO of AMIAF, who is also an artist and gallerist, Miabo Enyadike keeps raising the bar of the art market, within large scale exhibition sphere. Themed 'Artconomy - Redefining the Global Art Experience, and held from April 29-May 1, at Admiralty Conference Center, Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island Lagos, AMIAF 2025 was splendour, grandeur and classic show in one space.

In the four years of the yearly festival, the fourth edition raised curatorial bar in art presentation of creative contents. The curator, Yusuf Durodola, who handled the artistic direction of the last two editions of AMIAF, gave a grand parting shot on the fourth edition, injecting fresh dawn of art appreciation and presentation. The 4th edition was Durodola's last work as a curator for AMIAF.

After getting all those nauseating AI-generated art that always flood the internet, sincere art lovers across the world who know the difference always escape into art events to get the real feel of natural texture of creativity. For art lovers in Lagos, such respite came during the AMIAF 2025, in a display of creative doses that also included crafts section, and a workshop.

As much as professionals across diverse fields in science, commerce and sports, among others, always attempt perfection, artists, naturally, have chosen 'imperfection' as a strength. Perhaps, the coming of AI has exposed the deliberate imperfections in artists' strength, which has endured for centuries, across cultures. The aura of basic, natural, and deliberate flaws of artists in creating masterpieces, makes the difference between AI and human creativity. Such textures that trash tech-generated art were abound on the floor and walls of AMIAF 2025.

The depth of creative direction of AMIAF manifested from the entrance of the Admiralty Centre venue as a front desk semblance was captured in a sculpture. With the old typewriter machine of pre-digital era – placed in front of the seated sculpture – the artist, Dr Adeola Balogun reminded visitors to the festival about the grace in the front desk lady, popularly known then as 'The Secretary'. The seated lady sculpture titled 'Multi Tasking From A-Z' asserted the strength of Balogun in creating timeless, museum value pieces that document periods.

While savouring the sheer skills of Balogun in the seated piece, a bust, mounted few walks away caught one's attention. What an amazing layers of sheets of steels, moulded in celebration of the turban culture! Who is this artist with such command over metal? Oh, Steve Ekpenisi; no surprise, so I concluded. In bronze and steel, Ekpenisi brought his mastery of metal in the 109cm x 61cm bust, dated 2021-2025, with skills that created semblance of lines, in metal strips.

As much as the sculptures at the 4th AMIAF took full advantage of the floor, particularly the large, imposing ones, the wall pieces at AMIAF embossed boldly out of the room dividers and main walls. With quite a number of imposing and massive floor pieces, the balance of allowing the paintings to breathe showed the directorial skills of the curator.

Still on the floor displays, master printmaker, Dr Bruce Onobrakpeya took visitors through six years of creating panels of mixed plastocast and marble. Simply titled 'Panel of Six', the folding pieces assembled, individually as 'Awana' (Rattle) Large, dated 1978; Uloho Biemure I (Large), Plastocast 1981; Egbene I (Large) Plastocast, 1986,; Edjokpa III (Large) Plastocast, 1985; Egbene II (Large) Marble finish, 1987; and Bovine Statue with a Piper (Large) Plastocast, 1986, added shades of gold to the space. And just when one thought that the sculptures have taken enough of the space, then emerged Abu Momogima's 'King of Water (Agbakara No’gie Eze)', a huge size alligator depiction from scrap metals, dated 2025.

Perhaps, the success of the last edition of AMIAF, 'Sculptors Odyssey, dedicated to sculptures only left quite a big shadow on the tracks of the 2025 edition. The floor display of works competed favourably with the paintings, and perhaps created a percaption of sculptures-dominated exhibition. Within the context of the common curatorial patterns of most group or large scale exhibitions such as fairs or festivals in this part of the world, sculptures always appeared scanty.

A section of AMIAF 2025 during the opening at Admiralty Conference Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.

For AMIAF 2025, the balance between the two basic medium enriched the fourth edition, setting a new dawn for robustness of art appreciation.

Rescuing one's attention from the seemingly sight dominance of the sculptures, were paintings such as 'Discography', acrylic on canvas, dated 2024, by Lemi Ghariokwu; 'The Muse I & II', oil on canvas, 2025, by Wallace Ejoh; Sanusi Olatunji's 'Desire', from fabric collage, 2023; 'Lagos 3rd Mainland Bridge', a sprawling capture of lit bridge scenery, by Akeem Adeleke; 'Market Officials', 2018, from Kolade Oshinowo; and 'Lovely Sisters', a 2024, oil on canvas by Duke Asidere, among others.

The 4th edition of AMIAF brought compactness, especially in space management, with enough ventilation for the artworks on display to breathe. The energy of space management extended to the craft section of the festival, just as the corporate supports exhaled creative display of their brands. The festival was supported by partners such as "Multichoice Nigeria, JCDecaux, Moët Hennessy Nigeria and CASK.

Also, the compactness generated a workshop session – within the art exhibition space – anchored by visiting artist and educator, California, U.S-based Guangzhen Zhou. More commendable was the directorial management of the volume of exhibited artists of over 100 in numerical strength, yet injecting a balance of presentation.

"From the classroom to the global market, artists contribute to the cultural capital that fuel the economy, influences trends, and builds communities," Durodola explained the curatorial contents of the festival's 2025 edition. "Artconomy invites participants and audiences to reflect on how artists of all categories adapt, innovate, and thrive within different economic realities."

The festival came to a close celebrating artists of the AMIAF Artconomy Awardees, Kolade Oshinowo, Nike Okundaye, Bolanle Austen-Peters and Durodola. Oshinowo, an artist whose career of prolificacy is well documented received his award shortly before Durodola got his. Okundaye, who was unavoidably absence got her award few days later at the Nike Art Centre, Lekki, Lagos.

-Tajudeen Sowole is a Lagos-based writer on the Arts.

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