By ISAAC DANIEL
In a very welcomed efforts to ensure that Nigerian creative artists and Illustrators were equipped for global exploits, the Lagos International Festival of Illustrations (LIFI), organized by Book Buzz Foundation in collaboration with Bookstorm, was proudly launched, and its laudable first edition remarkably held in Lagos recently for the very first time.
It was a graceful three exciting days of the excellent exhibition and celebration of Nigerian arts, culture and creative talents in Lagos at Ouida House, Ikeja, Lagos. LIFI is a groundbreaking platform dedicated to nurturing and celebrate the art of children’s book illustration. In the three dynamic days, as 45 emerging Nigerian artists who according to the CEO of Book Buzz Foundation and festival Director of LIFI 2025, and award winning author and publisher, Lola Shoneyin, were openly chosen by registration for the festival. They were fully engage in intensive workshops, panel discussions, lectures, networking and live art sessions with nine internationally acclaimed illustrators from Spain, Slovenia, and Latin America. These included: Emma Casadevall Sayeras, Miriam Persand, Marta Cartu, Maša P. Žmitek, Eva Mlinar, Matej de Cecco, Geraldine de León, Caio César Coutinho Gonçalves da Silva, and Gina Rosas Moncada.
The festival intends to spotlight 100 children’s books written by Nigerian authors and illustrated by Nigerian artists by 2027, showcasing the depth of Nigerian rich creative talent for global impact.
This pioneering initiative was made possible through the partnership and generous support of the European Union, IBBY Africa, Lagos State Government, Sterling Bank, Center Ilustracije, Ouida, Embajada de España en Nigeria, AECID and Espara Cooperación.
The organizers stated that LIFI is set to be an inspiring convergence of creativity, collaboration, and cultural exchange in Lagos and Nigeria with the collaboration with the global illustrators.
The landmark event commenced with a grand opening ceremony. It featured an inspiring
welcome address by Lola Shoneyin. A heartwarming goodwill message was delivered by Consul General of Spain in Lagos José María Ferré Savall, who promised that the partnership between the Spanish Embassy and Book Buzz Foundation will yield the desired results it was set up for.. Bologna Children’s Book Fair Illustrator K. R. Onimole shared his enriching and applauded experience outside Nigerian shores as a tourist illustrator. Afterwards, the global Illustrators from Spain: Marta Cartu, Miriam Persand, and Emma Casadevall Sayeras, were introduced for panel discussions. And they also exhibited some of their classical artworks.
The festival participants were divided into three groups of A, B and C. The groups represents the three visiting countries. They are Spain, Slovenia and Latin America. They groups were shared to the foreign illustrators to decorate in line with their country’s creative arts designs. To this effect, the participants were asked to spend a day in each of the groups or better countries to experience and aquire their illustrative arts skills from the countries. They shared their works with the illustrators and receive professional counseling. At end of this trailblazing event, awards, gifts and certificate of excellence were given out by the organizers and her partners to the top placed participants and others.
Some of these awardees are Aniedi Okorie of X3M Ideas Agency, Mustafa Muktar, Vivian Uwakwe, Kayode Onimola, among others. They told this reporter in an interview that they truly appreciate the organizers of the festival for the rare global professional training they received free of charge with transportation fees, as well as feeding during the festival. Speaking in the same vein in an interview, the global illustrators especially Miriam Munoz from Madrid Spain, Geraldine de Leon from Venezuela, Emma Sayeras from Barcelona, Spain, and Cairo Zero from Brazil, who were stunned with the incredible artistic heritage and potentials in Nigeria, showered profound gratitude to the organizers for giving them the opportunity to encounter the African and Nigerian rich creative, artistic and culture resources for the very first time in their life. They disclosed that it has effectively developed them tremendously and increase their artistic repertoire with more global spectrum, much more better than when they were practicing with only the artistic expose from their respective countries.
About the Author
Isaac Daniel is a journalist with a passion for sports, entertainment, culture, and arts coverage globally with a keen eye for detail and storytelling. With years of experience covering football across Europe and Africa, he brings emotion and accuracy into every report. Isaac is committed to delivering timely, human-centered sports news that resonates with readers around the world.
