IT was a day to remember recently at the Nike Art Gallery, Lekki Lagos; as it hosted AFRICA: See You, See Me, an exhibition of over 200 pictures, featuring an array of renowned photographers from the older generation to those of the contemporary period.

The touring exhibition — a section of which featured on the sidelines of the recently concluded Lagos Black Heritage Festival under the theme NAIJA ITALIA — provided a platform for African photographers and the peers from other parts of the world to put in perspective the images of an emerging continent.

The pictures optimistically captured the rich and diverse social, political and cultural  lives of Africans, with many at the event enthusing that black peoples were no longer objects of misrepresentative imaging as was the case during the colonial period.

Africans, it was the consensus, have now turned the curve, and have forced the world of photography to take them as subjects worthy of quality discourse and attention.

This object to subject transition is well reflected in the collections of photos  exhibited in the on-going show (ending April 21) from the continent’s colonial past, and from realities of the present. On display are the works of such legends as JD Ojeikere, Seidu Keita and Malik Sidibe

Towards the end of the brief opening ceremony,  the young female assistant curator from Haiti, Madala Hilaire, who had worked tirelessly to make the show successful could not stop the lone tear rolling down her cheek. She was overwhelmed. Her raspy voice was filled with emotions as she made her speech, thanking those who had come for their support.

        (Picture Gallery)

Not far away, JD Ojeikere, the grand old man who donned a black bowler hat made a speech. Described as one of the legends of photography in Africa, he accepted the accolade with appreciation and thanks. He was elated for the honour of being so recognised and expressed his wish that many more of such shows would be done to promote the art of photography in the country.

The touring exhibition, curated by the US-based Nigerian professor of African Studies, and expert in Post-Colonial researches, Professor Awam Amkpa with assistant by the Haitian culture researcher, Madala Hilarie, both of New York University (NYU), is sponsored by AFRICA.CONT of Lisbon, Portugal.  It is hosted in Nigeria by the Culture Advocates Caucus, CAC, with support of the Centre for Contemporary Arts, CCA, Yaba Lagos, which last Friday hosted a symposium on Visual Activism as part of the touring show; and Goethe Institut, Lagos.

It had been mounted in Portugal, Italy and China before coming to Nigeria on its first of tour of the continent. After Lagos, which ends at the National Museum, Onikan, Lagos (April 23-May 2), it will move on to Dakar Senegal, where it will feature as part of the Dak’Art Biennale.

On the walls of the gallery, pictures hung feeding the eyes of those who turned out for the show with cheery and hopeful shots about the current and coming greatness of Africa. Some of the photographers as well as other art enthusiasts shared their thoughts about the exhibition and photography with ARMSFREE AJANAKU ONOMO.