Oreze Art exhibition, Onitsha

visitors to Oreze Exhibition opened by Prof. Bruce Onobrakpeya

THE OREZE ART EXHIBITION

AT THE

                                  ROYAL PALACE ONITSHA

7th October 2012

Your Excellency, Dr. Peter Obi, the Governor of Anambra state, Your Royal Highness, Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe Agbogidi, the Obi of Onitsha, members of the Onitsha Council of Chiefs, members of the Diplomatic Corps, distinguished guests, fellow artists, ladies and gentlemen. 

It is an honour and a great privilege to be the Special Guest at the opening of the Oreze Art Exhibition.  I am indeed grateful to His Royal Majesty whose initiative it is to make this exhibition one of the events of the celebration of the 2013 annual Ofala Festival and subsequently to be a permanent feature of the festival.

The Ereze exhibition features 53 artists from within and outside Nigeria: 3 from Ghana, 2 from the Republic of Benin, 1 from Togo, the rest are Nigerians living in Nigeria or in the diaspora.  Among the Nigerian artists we have 12 Onitsha Ado artists; the other 35 are from different parts of the country.  Some notable names in the exhibition include Jerry Buhari, Wiz Kudowor, Ben Osaghae, Olisa Nwadiogbu, Edosa Oguigo, Duke Asidere, Emma Mbanefo, Abraham Uyovbisere, Dominique Zinpe, Ndidi Dike, Sam Ovraiti and Abiodun, Olaku.  The exhibition is open for 3 days from today 7th, to 10th of October 2013.

I salute the participating artists whose ingenuity, hard work and dexterity created these beautiful, thought - provoking pieces on display which reflect our various world views and environment.  The “Oreze”, literally translated as, the king’s crowd, as earlier mentioned, I understand is to feature annually as part of the Ofala Festival.  This is a very good omen for the Visual Arts. We thank the Agbogidi for this initiative of considering artists as part of the king’s in-crowd. This is signaling a new dawn - a renaissance of royal patronage which in the past was the bedrock of our timeless art treasures envied all over the world.  These works now all over the world in leading museums and in the hands of private collectors constitute a rich repertoire of our cultural values that are the bedrock of modern art practice in Nigeria and abroad.

Obi Achebe is not just a patron. He is an avid art collector determined to make Onitsha once more an important centre of the arts.  I call on other Royal Fathers across the country, who are the custodians of our art and culture to take a cue and emulate this noble step by not only empowering artists in their domain by patronizing and showcasing their works, but also by erecting infrastructures for the optimum presentation of their pieces.  I also use this opportunity to appeal to all levels of government to similarly build infrastructures that will promote and develop our arts.  Solid investments should be made in the arts as is done in the Western world in order to reap the full benefits of an industry that is a renewable and alternative source of income.

 Ladies and gentlemen, I urge you to view the Oreze exhibition not only as a renewed call for Pan - Africanism in the contemporary, modern and post modern art, but also as an agent of world friendship, integration and peace. With these remarks, I declare the exhibition open to the Glory of God and service to mankind.

Dr. Bruce Onobrakpeya   MFR

Onobrakpeya visits historic City of Onitsha

His Majesty Igwe Achebe with Royal fathers and Prof. Bruce Onobrakpeya

His Majesty Igwe Alfred Achebe CFR, mni  with Prof. Bruce Onobrakpeya MFR at a special reception for guests during Igwe Achebe's 10th Ofala Celebration.

This month Prof. Bruce Onobrakpeya visited the historic city of Onitsha on the invitation of his Majesty Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Ugochukwu Achebe, CFR, mni to witness Igwe Achebe's tenth Ofala,  in Onitsha. The Ofala  festivity goes back to the beginnings of Onitsha in the 16th century. Every Obi of Onitsha celebrates a yearly Ofala, which in the days gone by, was his annual emergence, when most of his subjects had an opportunity to behold him.

The Ofala festival is remarkable in the sense that it also celebrates the beginning of the Onitsha New Year and New Yam season. The festival  brings  most of the indigenes of Onitsha from far and wide, as well as friends and well wishers to witness festivities connected to the Igwe's celebrations of his yearly Ofala.

The festival is often very colorful and  characterized by the paying of tributes, salutations and making of gift presentations to the Obi of Onitsha.  Senior ranking members of the community, who include chiefs and elders, can be seen wearing their head gears which are colourful and often made of ostrich feathers. The dance and ceremony is often accompanied by royal drums called Egwuota. There is also a spectacular parade and outing  of different age grades who pay homage to the Igwe Achebe who is also known as Agbogidi.

Chiefs and elders, can be seen wearing their head gears which are colourful and often made of ostrich feathers.

 Onitsha is  a beautiful and picturesque city  by the famous River Niger and is home to an active community of visual artists like Ato Arinze, George Edozien, George Nwazugbo and Oliver Enwonwu who have all contributed in  no small measure to the vibrancy that contemporary Nigeria art enjoys.

But by far the most popular artist to have come from this great City is the legendary and iconic Ben Enwonwu, who had mentored Bruce Onobrakpeya many years before, and represents the greatest visual artist of the 20^th Century from Nigeria.

While in Onitsha Prof. Bruce Onobrakpeya paid a courtesy call with a few members and artists of the Harmattan Workshop Series to the Obi of Onitsha.

His Majesty is a passionate and dedicated collector of African art, and is in part responsible and share the credit for a new wave of revival and renaissance  in the appreciation  of wood carvings  in Onitsha, a traditional artform in Onitsha which was almost lost and extinct due to waning appreciation. His beautiful home which is located in one the scenic valleys of Onitsha, is also home to  his tremendous collection of Nigerian masterpieces, which are a joy to behold. His collection include a modest but  surprising number of Nigerian masterpieces which have been painstakingly acquired from all over the country in the last 20 years.
One of this pieces is a meduim sized painting called Agbogidi by Onobrakpeya, and was done in honour of Obi Achebe who is also a long time patron of Onobrakpeya 's works.
Onobrakpeya's visit to Onitsha was remarkable and nostalgic, because it is the first time in 70 years, since he visited Onitsha with his then guardian the late Mr Onakufe who taught as a teacher in a primary school there. He also vividly remembers on his last visit to Onitsha, seeing a group of hunters on their way back from a hunting expedition, wearing their full hunting gear and  colourful regalia. This certainly made an impression on young Bruce's mind.
At the courtesy visit and reception which followed at the Obi of Onitsha's  home. Onobrakpeya thanked   Igwe Achebe for the  hospitality  extended to him and several artists during the visit, the continued support of the arts and the fatherly role  Igwe Achebe had played in nurturing Nigerian art. Onobrakpeya prayed that God should give the progressive Igwe the wisdom to continue to be a pace setter in Cultural and environmental concerns.