Winners have emerged in the 2024 Fobally Art World Art Competition for secondary school and university students with the grand finale taking place in Lagos.
Themed ‘Paint Your Aspire Lagos’ for the secondary level and ‘Paint Your Aspired Nation’ for the undergraduate level, the 2024 Fobally Art World Art Competition saw hundreds of students across Nigeria, vying for the top prize.
Creative Director, Fobally Art World and competition organiser, Folashade Abiola, revealed that the competition held over five days with the winners being announced on the sixth and final day. The secondary school students, 40 in all, competed for three days while the undergraduates, over 30 students, competed for two days. With a multitude of art forms showcased on the sixth and final day, the stunning works ranged from paintings to drawings to sculpted works.
Abiola said the purpose of the competition is to foster youth participation in community development, dialogue and nation building through different art mediums.
Gallery patron, Larry Segun-Lean, applauded the initiative, urging the government to partner with the gallery on the initiative. Praising the young artists, he said they have a bright future in the world of art but feared that Nigeria is losing not just its artists but art teachers as well. He said worthy initiatives like this would encourage young people that there is a future in arts.
In the national undergraduate category, first position went to Michael Titiloye Oluwatobiloba from National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) who went home with ₦500,000 cash prize. First runner up position went to Goodness Popoola of Lagos State University of Education (LASUED) and he went home with ₦300,000. John Tochukwu Omeke from the University of Nigeria Nsukka was the second runner up in this category and was also compensated with a cash prize of ₦200,000.
In the Secondary School category, Faka Natalie of Chrisland High School, Lekki took the winning position while Oghenerukevwe Yisa-Doko of Lagos Preparatory Secondary School emerged first runner up just as Asiyanbi Emmanuel from Ejidey Comprehensive High School emerged second runner up at the end of the competition.
