The National Art Competition is an annual art competition organised by African Artists’ Foundation (AAF) and proudly sponsored by Nigerian Breweries Plc.
Since its inception in 2008, the National Art Competition (NAC) has sought to unite artists and society through the interpretation of crucial themes proposed in each year’s call for entries.
The National Art Competition has succeeded in achieving these goals by empowering young artists and developing talent in Nigeria.
The competition includes a cash prize of two million naira for the first place winner and provides the artist with national and international exposure and exhibition opportunities and a cash prize of one million naira each for both second and third place winners.
According to the director of African Artists Foundation, Mr Azubike Nwagbogu who announced the call for the entries for the prizes, said the annual art competition is organised by African Artists’ Foundation (AAF) and sponsored by Nigerian Breweries Plc.
The Corporate Affairs Adviser, Nigeria Breweries Plc, Mr. Kufre U. Ekanem, noted that the National Art Competition aims to promote the conceptual development of contemporary art in Nigeria with the mission of raising awareness on relevant social issues through the use of creative artistic expression.
According to him, “In its eighth-year span, the National Art Competition showcases emerging talent in such diverse mediums as painting, sculpture, photography, mixed media, installation and video art, and it is open to aspiring Nigerian artists. The competition has cemented itself as a leading platform for the development of the next generation of contemporary artists in Nigeria.
The National Art Competition is one of the platforms our Growing with Communities focus area in our ‘Brewing a Better World’ sustainability agenda and also a key component of our commitment to ‘Winning with Nigeria’. This competition promotes and encourages the development of creativity, arts and artists in Nigeria. We recognize that art plays an important role in strengthening cultural values in any society and this sponsorship remains part of broad initiative to support art development in Nigeria as well as the development of talents in various fields of arts.
Selection for this year’s entry have been made already and the artist retreat starts today at the African Artists foundation, Ikoyi after which the artist exhibition will take place and the announcement of the winner.
The grand finale and judging ceremony will be held in November 2015 to select winners. The winners will be decided by a panel of judges led by the international acclaimed award winner, Professor El Anatsui.”