A month after the resurgent COVID-19 pandemic prevented the culture community from celebrating her 80th birthday, all is now set for a grand celebration of the iconic actress and culture advocate Taiwo Ajai-Lycett.
President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industries (LCCI), Toki Mabogunje, actress Joke Silva, theatre producer, Ifeoma Fafunwa and environmental/ girl child activist, Sola Alamutu, are among amazons that will feature in the ArtHouse Forum of the Committee for Relevant Art (CORA) in honour of the artiste who clocked 80 on February 3.
The Forum, the first out of four CORA will organise in 2021, and themed ‘Women- Now that the Glass has been Shattered: What Next?’, will happen on Sunday, March 7, in a hybrid live and virtual format.
Others that will feature at the event, a collaboration between CORA and the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP), are educationist, Noma Shodipo; founder, Communicating for Change, Sandra Obiago; poet and visual artist Nkechi Nwosu-Igbo; art manager, Iyabo Aboaba and culture activist, Chinwe Uwatse.
CEO of TerraKulture, Bolanle Austen-Peters and actress Lara Akinshola will deliver goodwill remarks at the Forum produced by Kennii Ekundayo. Yinka Davies, Ranti Ihimoyan and Ayeola Mabiaku will perform at the event.
While the physical component that will involve a few people in compliance with COVID-19 protocols will hold at Freedom Park, Lagos Island, others can join on Zoom via https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83820787819?pwd=cjN1eXg1cnh0TGpsaEJpTXdVQnVudz09
The meeting ID is 838 2078 7819, while the passcode is CORAforum.
A statement from the CORA Programme Directorate announcing the event disclosed that 2021’s first ArtHouse Forum would, among others, feature speeches, screening of a documentary film, ‘TAIWO AJAI-LYCETT — MATRIARCH of the ACT’, musical performances, dance, drama, and spoken word.
“The March 7 event is strategically positioned to coincide with the World Women’s Day on March 8 as well as the International Women’s Month (March). To this end, the programme is designed as an all-women event, which means from planning to execution, it will be handled by carefully selected women, who are individually accomplished in their field,” CORA further noted.
The women will speak on the arts, environment, education, mentorship, communication, administration, empowerment and culture activism, all areas dear to Mama Ajai-Lycett’s heart.
Offering more insights into the theme’s choice, the organisers disclosed that it is “taken from a comment from an extended interview that the CORA documentary team had with Mrs Ajai-Lycett, in which she duly acknowledged that many more women have since assumed important and critical offices and status in the Nigerian corporate and political space. However, it is not clear what the next move is: first, to consolidate such positions and expand the reach; and two, to use their attainment to lift other women, advance the cause of women in the polity, and as well set a solid template for the redress of the various injustices done to the Girl-child.”
