Decades after taking poetry to new heights through performances, musical and video productions, multitalented artist, Akeem Lasisi, is introducing something novel. He will, in Lagos on December 10, stage a poetry visual arts exhibition in celebration of some values, personalities and institutions across Africa.
While the poet has broken boundaries with his acclaimed albums that include ORI AGBE (For Wole Soyinka), WONDERLAND (Eleleture) and UDEME, he envisions the multimedia African Citations project to explore the flow of moral, communal, institutional and generational influence among heroes on the continent.
“It will promote the power of words to communicate and inspire, and provide a platform for Nigerian poets and artists to share their work,” Lasisi notes in a statement.
“The idea is to explore more possibilities with poetry,” he adds. “Over the years, I have built a bank of poetic tributes inspired by different factors but largely based on the subjects’ contributions to the advancement of humanity. Many of the personalities do not know anyone has dedicated, while a few do. I just feel this is an opportunity to showcase them, celebrate the subjects and expand the frontiers of the poetic form,” he explains.
Adding that African Citations has the potential to ignite twists and surprises, he says it is a continuation of what he has always tried to do with his performance and musical poetry. Apart from the exhibition, the poet’s troupe, Akeem Lasisi & the Songbirds, will be on stage at the event – along some star appearances.
Lasisi, who also works at the First Technical University Ibadan, notes, “I have had encounters with many people and organisations in the course of my about 30 decades of my performance, journalism and teaching adventures. I have performed poetry at many events. I have been commissioned to produce multimedia poetry while I have had cause to admire folks from a distance based on various factors. Some of these have been produced into musical poetry and videos. They have been on air, online etc. Now, the experimentation will berth in a gallery setting so that it becomes more total.”
