Sights and sensations at Etisalat, Lagos Photo grand opening

Held at the Ocean View in Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, the Grand Opening inaugurated the fourth edition of the LagosPhoto Festival, themed The Megacity and the Non-City. This year’s theme explored two sides of Lagos which showed how developments in Africa’s urban centres and technology changes have transformed the Lagosian’s sense of place in a globally connected world.

Sponsored by Etisalat Nigeria, entries portraying the theme were sent in by budding photographers. 26 photos were shortlisted for the competition, including entries by Adeniyi Ayodele (Untitled), Olakunmi Agbaje (Lekkoyi), Oluwatoni Omidiji (Floating Marina) and Omololu Omolayo (BRT State of Mind) and Ayodeji Adeogun (Ogba Fisher).

The Grand Opening, which was opened to the general public, also featured exhibitions by Nigeria’s best photographers, alongside works by international photographers from over 15 countries. Participating artists included Nigeria’s Kelechi Amadi-Obi, Jelili Atiku, Adeola Olagunju, alongside Benin Republic’s Leonce Agbodjelou, Zimbabwe’s Kudzanai Chiurai, Cameroon’s Samuel Fasso, Italy’s Nicola Lo Calzo, France’s Patrick Willocq, Turkey’s Ahmet Polat and Spain’s Critina de Middel. A sensational part of the night was the display of large scale outdoor prints.

The LagosPhoto Festival, which is the first and only international arts festival of photography in Nigeria, began in September.