Last Friday at the German residence, Abuja, guests witnessed the unveiling of the buddy bear competition winning piece and award-winning dancer, Qudus Onikeku in action.
Although the bear has been the heraldic animal of the city of Berlin for centuries, the Buddy Bears in Berlin initiative began in 2001 with the items growing to become likeable ambassadors for tolerance, cultural exchange and peaceful coexistence.
On how the initiative came about in Nigeria, German Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Michael Zenner said the buddy came unpainted to Abuja.
He said: “The Embassy sought a Nigerian artist who would paint our bear with a Nigerian-German theme, so we organized a competition. We received many submissions and examined the three best proposals.”
There was a tie between Clara Aden and Henry Osaretin for second place. They were awarded N40, 000 along with certificates.
Yusuf Ibrahim’s piece, ‘Two faces,’ won the competition. He was awarded a four-week stay in an art centre in Germany.
Ibrahim who spoke on the idea behind his work said he fused colours of the Nigerian and German flags as well as a combination of the faces of two great queens from both nations, Queen Idia and Queen Sisi.
All these, he merged along with traditional Nigerian motifs to form the art piece which he said was also inspired by the one of his famous childhood cartoon, ‘Super Ted.’
The second part of the evening was a choreographed dance performance, ‘We Almost Forgot,’ led by Qudus Onikeku and 16 other dancers who were part of a four-day dance workshop aimed at decentralising contemporary art forms in Nigeria.
The group entertained the audience with expressive and touching dance theatre, as they treated themes bothering on contemporary issues including violence, a threat besieging the world over.
Join Daily Trust WhatsApp Community For Quick Access To News and Happenings Around You.
