WONDERS OF AFRICA’S ARTS AND CULTURE

By Lilian Chudey Pride

WONDERS OF AFRICA’S ARTS AND CULTURE

• Kelly Omodamwen and one of his works

Being an African woman, born and bred in Africa gives me great sense of pride. Everything about this amazing mother land is undoubtedly original, strong, unique and indeed beautiful, to say the least.

One would wonder why Africa’s art is co-joined with her wonderful culture. In this little piece of mine, I will like to begin by telling you some of the things I have observed about the marriage of both disciplines.

Art is an expression of thoughts, emotions, ideas, feelings and experience as they relate to the environment of the artist, thereby manifesting his/her creativity.

“Art is an expression of thoughts, emotions, ideas, feelings and experience as they relate to the environment of the artist, thereby manifesting his/her creativity”

– Lilian Chudey Pride

Culture, on the other hand, according to Wikipedia: is a “set of shared attitudes, values, goals and practices that define a group of people, such as the people of a particular region. Culture includes the elements that characterize a particular peoples’ way of life.”

Synergy of Africa’s Art and Culture

It is not possible to talk of Africa’s art without her culture; this is because, both are intertwined. Her arts and culture are the ways of life of her people which are daily expressed as:

Entertainment

Food

Dress

Songs and Dances

Literature

Poetry

Games

Festivals, to mention but these few.

Acquiring and owning some of Africa’s art works will immediately introduce you to the history and story behind the piece you are holding or beholding; these stories though without voice are quite laudable and symbolic.

It is said that one cannot give what he does not have. This is so true as these art works made by a young Nigerian artist, Kelly Omodamwen expresses the people’s love for morality and value of life.

Kelly Omodamwen picks up some lifeless spark plugs and injects life into them, giving them a name, relevance, a new home and a huge sense of belonging. Not only has he done the above, he is making the environment eco-friendly and making himself useful in the environment where he lives.

Africa’s arts and culture are alive, and her young ones are inextricably drawn to her roots in their symbolic depiction of her true worth and beauty with the works of their hands, telling our own stories by ourselves.