Celebrity photographers and creative gurus, Sunmi Smart Cole, TY Bello, Kelechi Amadi Obi, Aisha Augie and Ugoma Ebilah have emerged as the lead judges for the WeNaija Photography Campaign which kicked off on Wednesday, December 1, 2021. The campaign, tagged ‘Visions of Nigeria’ is scheduled to run up until midnight of Saturday, December 25, 2021. Participants can submit their entries via https://www.wenaijaphotocontest.com/
Powered by the Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund (NSSF), as part of its efforts to mitigate the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Nigerians and to empower Nigerian youths, the contest is open to youths in Nigeria across the length and breadth of the country. NSSF is a not-for-profit innovative platform for resource mobilization primarily created to complement the government’s efforts to mitigate the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Nigerians.
Unveiling the judges of the inaugural WeNaija Photography Contest, Dr Fejiro Chinye-Nwoko, General Manager, NSSF, praised the members of the judging panel for consenting to participate in the project. She noted that each one is an accomplished professional helping to shape Nigeria’s burgeoning creative industry.
According to Dr Fejiro Chinye-Nwoko, “The WeNaija campaign titled ‘Visions of Nigeria’ is an initiative to tell, through photography, Nigerian stories, by Nigerians on how Nigerians are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. It would tell the COVID-19 story through the eyes of the youths/public using compelling photography.”
She noted that the campaign will provide an opportunity for youths across the country to communicate visually the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the people, organizations, and the country at large and how Nigerians are coping.
Sunmi Smart-Cole is a multi-award-winning photographer and jazz drummer whose works has been exhibited in five continents. He is former managing editor of Nigeria’s Guardian newspaper, and the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of PHOTONEWS online. Smart-Cole is widely regarded, and justifiably so, as the father of Nigeria’s Modern Photography.
Toyin Sokefun-Bello, popularly known as TY Bello, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, photographer and philanthropist. Before pursuing a solo career, she was a member of the now-defunct gospel band Kush. TY Bello is also a member of the Nigerian photography collective, Depth of Field.
Kelechi Amadi-Obi is a Nigerian creative photographer, painter, artist and publisher of Mania Magazine.
Aisha Augie is a Nigerian photographer and filmmaker based in Abuja. She won the award for Creative Artist of the year at 2011 The Future Awards. Her work spans documentary, fashion and aerial photography.
Ugoma Ebilah is a veritable multi-hyphenate! Trained in economics, business and finance, Ugoma has made a career out of pivoting. She is an art enthusiast, creator and curator. She is the founder of Bloom Art Lagos. She brings a tireless and energetic presence in her work as a creative.
The WeNaija Photography competition is open to all youths with a mobile phone or digital camera to capture memories or images that suit the theme of the competition.
Participation is free and easy. Participants are to register on the website https://www.wenaijaphotocontest.com/ and post their entry. All submissions and voting close by 11:59 pm on Saturday, December 25, 2021.
The funds generated through this competition and other activities will be used to upskill Nigerian youths and provide a platform for them to thrive.
