Every year, MTN Foundation actively invests in empowering Nigerian youths in the arts and creative industry through partnerships on various creative projects and theatre productions. And this year, they brought us an array of exciting festivals and theatre productions that we would all be talking about for a long time!
And they’re not done! This festive
season, the MTN Foundation is supporting a theatre production titled Motherland
the Musical. The play staged in Lagos from
December 23 to January 2, 2023, is to showcase the uniqueness of
Nigeria’s history and culture and create
opportunities for young Nigerian creatives in arts and culture through dramatic
storytelling.
With this in view, here is a recap of
five times MTN Foundation has partnered with other Nigerian creatives to both
empower youths and deliver premium entertainment.
1. SARO, THE MUSICAL
In 2017, MTN
Foundation sponsored the highly anticipated award-winning Nigerian musical
play, ‘Saro’. Produced by Bolanle Austen-Peters Productions (BAP), ‘Saro the
Musical’ is a rich showcase of Nigerian arts and culture. It tells the story of
four talented young men who face a series of challenges as they chase better
fortunes in the ‘city of dreams.’ It is also the first Nigerian
musical that was performed at London’s West End and Shaw Theatre.
1. OMG
the Musical
An age-long problem in our society is
the issue of gender inequality and the underrepresentation of women in the
workplace and the political space. To put a spotlight on this, MTN foundation
in partnership with pioneer theatre director, Ayo Ajayi, stringed all these
together in a play. The musical also visits
Nigerian history to shed light on the contributions and efforts of three
Nigerian heroes; Olufunmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Margaret Ekpo and Gambo Sawaba.
The production brought together almost
100 youths from different fields – acting, dance, drama, light, designing, and
costume, amongst others.
1. Our Son the Minister
Our Son the Minister tells the story of
an individual who turned down the opportunity to be a Minister of his country,
as he felt that he would not be able to maintain his integrity due to the
amount of pressure from his family and friends. The play in partnership with MTN Foundation is a masterful work of
political satire written by Paul Ugbede and produced by the award-winning
actor, Bikiya Graham-Douglas.
1. Life
in My City Art Festival
Over the years, MTN Foundation has partnered with Life in my City, an annual visual arts festival targeted at youths from all over Africa where artwork is submitted online for review by a panel of judges. Works by the shortlisted artists are then taken on a local tour of nine states, covering 5 of the 6 geo-political zones in Nigeria. The festival also includes lectures, a music night, and a workshop for children on Art.
1. BEETA playwright
competition
MTN Foundation in
partnership with the Beeta Playwright Competition recently trained ten writers
in a playwriting workshop, following the call for entry which had 794
submissions, from 30 states across the country.
This is in line with MTN Foundation’s
efforts aimed at encouraging budding
playwrights to tell organic indigenous stories, showcase new dynamic Nigerian
writing talent, and at the same time improve growth and development in the
theatre and creative industries in modern Nigeria.
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