MTN UNVEILS TOP MUSICALS, VISUAL ART FESTIVAL

In its continued support for Nigerian arts and culture, MTN Foundation, on Thursday, announced its sponsorship of six critically acclaimed arts initiatives, including five musicals and a visual arts festival, due to be staged across the country in the 4th quarter of 2018.

The shows include ‘Fela and the Kalakuta Queens’,  produced by Bolanle Austen Peters; Legends, produced by Gbenga Yusuf and Ayo Ajayi; Our Son, the Minister, produced by Bikiya Graham-Douglas; Simply Poetry by Dike Chukwumerije; Oba Esugbayi, produced by Joseph Edgar and Life in My City Art Festival taking place in Enugu.

The sponsorships are as part of the Arts and Culture initiative of the MTN Foundation.

Executive Secretary of the Foundation, Nonny Ugboma said at the press conference and project unveiling that “These productions represent the very best of Nigerian theatre, and we are humbled by their willingness to partner with us. Our sponsorships are guided by three key objectives – to re-tell Nigerian/African stories to our people; to promote our values and finally to empower skilled professionals to showcase their talent before a wider audience.”

The producers expressed their appreciation to the ICT brand for the partnership.

According to Kevin, who is the producer of Life in my City arts festival, “Our event is unique in that it is pan-Nigerian and targets artists under the age of 35 and has been going on for twelve years. You can imagine our relief that MTN noticed our blood, toil and sweat in trying to empower young Nigerians to attain the height of their creative expression.”

Also speaking, Joseph Edgar, Producer of Oba Esugbeyi said that “When we were working on the show, it was clear to us that for MTN to lend its support, it must be of great quality and have a wide impact on the larger society.  MTN has been very supportive in this regard and we are looking forward to a successful show run.”

In the words of Ayo Ajayi, one of the producers of Legends the musical, which will be showing at MUSON Centre, “MTN is everywhere you go when it comes to Arts & Culture in Nigeria and I sincerely appreciate their support and sponsorship.”

Fela and the Kalakuta Queens, which was the first of the productions, took place on October 14 as part of the Felabration celebrations. Other supported productions are billed to take place at various dates in October, November and December 2018.

The Foundation had, early in the year, supported the public performance of world class theatre productions such as Saro and Wakaa the Musical, as well as the Eko Theatre Carnival.