DAY TWO: 8th Spanish Cultural Week - Visual Arts Competition Awards Ceremony

The awarding of prizes to the winners of the VISUAL ARTS COMPETITION organised by the Embassy of Spain in Abuja in collaboration with the National Gallery of Art took place on Tuesday, 8th October 2013, at the Kaduna Mezzanine of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel. Tagged " Nigerian Tribute to Lorca", the Visual Arts Competition is one of the major activities in the 8th Spanish Cultural Week.

The first prize went to Abuja-based artist Michael Onoto Ikoyi; his painting called OBSTACLES depicts his personal interpretation of a poem, Rider's Song, by Federico Garcia Lorca. "To me," says Michael Onoto Ikoyi, "the poem is about obstacles that hinder one from achieving one's dreams or goals... In my painting of the Rider's Song I tried to relate the meaning of the poem to Nigeria and how factors such as insurgency, political instability, corruption, tribalism, lack of electricity, etc. can actually lead to the failure of attaining dreams and goals. In the painting, the human figure depicts a child with dreams that he could not achieve as a result of some of the factors listed above."

His Excellency Alvaro Castillo Aguillar, Ambassador of Spain to Nigeria and ECOWAS, congratulated all the participating artists, some of whom, he said, "have been faithful to our programme throughout its 8 editions." He also wished them "a brilliant development, with the hope that this small initiative will contribute to their professional career."

The top photo posted above taken during the awards ceremony shows the winner posing with his winning entry, while the lower photos show: the Spanish Embassy's Ms Eva Barta Martin (Cultural Adviser), Mr. Guillaume Monfort (Deputy Head of Mission), and Ambassador Aguillar; the winner Michael Onoto Ikoyi with one of the guests Samantha Emetseme Aipoh; Insidetrack Editor Araceli Aipoh with Ms Barta Martin and Mr Monfort; the 2nd prize winner Sor Sen with his piece Pulse of Affection; and a cross section of the guests.

As in the past editions of this contest, the major prize for the winner is a trip to Madrid, Spain. Sponsors and collaborators of the 8th Spanish Cultural Week include the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Ormazabal, Terratest, Enyser, IBC, Iberia, Impacto, Jardin, Tiptree-Fabrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre and Vinos Torres, the National Gallery of Art, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation as well as the Federico Garcia Lorca Foundation.