Connect with us

General

Stirling Pavilion Venice to Exhibit Nwoko’s Iconic Architectural Works

Published

on

Demas Nwoko Stirling Pavilion

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The Stirling Pavilion in Venice, Italy, will exhibit the iconic architectural works of a Nigerian-born artist, designer and architect, Prince Demas Nwoko.

The pavilion will exclusively showcase the materials for a period of six months, beginning from May 20, 2023, to November 26, 2023.

This is coming after Mr Nwoko was chosen as a recipient of the highly prestigious Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement Award of the 18th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale, Venice, Italy.

He would be conferred with the prestigious award on the first day his works would be displayed in Italy at Ca’ Giustinian, Venice.

The architectural exhibition will be curated by Professor Lesley Lokko, an international architectural academic, educator and best-selling novelist of Ghanaian and Scottish descent.

She has taught architecture at universities in the UK, the US, Europe, Australia and Africa. She is the founder and Director of the African Futures Institute, established in Ghana in 2020 as a postgraduate school of architecture, research and public events platform.

On the choice of Mr Nwoko for this year’s award, Prof Lokko said, “One of the central themes of the 18th International Architecture Exhibition is an approach to architecture as an expanded field of endeavour, encompassing both the material and immaterial worlds; a space in which ideas are as important as artefacts, particularly in the service of what is yet to come.

“With all of its emphasis on the future, it seems entirely fitting that the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement should be awarded to someone whose material works span the past 70 years but whose immaterial legacy  – approach, ideas, ethos – is still in the process of being evaluated, understood and celebrated.”

The Golden Lion Award, formerly known as The Golden Lion of St. Mark until 1954, is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival since 1949.

In 1970, a second Golden Lion was introduced to honour people who have made important contributions to cinema and theatre architecture.

From a galaxy of eminent nominations, Mr Nwoko was finally chosen as the recipient of the 2023 awards.

Baba, as he is fondly called, has been at the forefront of the Nigerian Modern Arts Movement. He is everything at once: an architect, sculptor, designer, writer, set designer, critic and historian.

When prodded, he refers to himself as an ‘artist-designer’, which speaks both to the polyglot nature of his talents and oeuvres and to the rather narrow interpretation of the word ‘architect’ that has arguably kept his name out of the annals.

Modupe Gbadeyanka is a fast-rising journalist with Business Post Nigeria. Her passion for journalism is amazing. She is willing to learn more with a view to becoming one of the best pen-pushers in Nigeria. Her role models are the duo of CNN's Richard Quest and Christiane Amanpour.

1 Comment

Leave a Reply

General

Watt Renewable Secures $15m Loan for Hybrid Solar Power Plants in Nigeria

Published

on

Oluwole Eweje WATT Renewable Corporation

By Dipo Olowookere

A $15 million debt facility has been obtained by Watt Renewable Corporation from the AfriGreen Debt Impact Fund to finance hybrid solar power plants to be built and operated by the former, especially in Nigeria.

WATT intends to use the projects to serve commercial and industrial clients in Nigeria, particularly in the telecommunication and financial services sectors.

By integrating solar hybrid solutions, the firm aims to significantly reduce diesel consumption and CO2 emissions, enabling its clients to achieve substantial energy cost savings while promoting environmental sustainability.

As a pioneer in renewable energy solutions, WATT continues to drive innovation in Nigeria’s energy sector.

The company’s robust roll-out plan includes deploying hundreds of hybrid solar power sites nationwide to meet the growing energy demands of commercial & industrial clients.

This strategic expansion aligns with WATT’s vision to revolutionize energy access across Africa, enabling sustainable development and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.

The funds from AfriGreen provide the critical capital needed to accelerate WATT’s ambitious projects, strengthening its market position and empowering businesses with reliable and affordable energy solutions.

Business Post gathered that to mitigate the currency risk for WATT in the event of devaluation of the Nigerian Naira, AfriGreen is offering a local currency facility that matches the payment structure of the power purchase agreements.

“We are thrilled to partner with AFRIGREEN on this transformative journey to expand reliable and sustainable energy solutions across Africa.

“With this support, it enables us to accelerate our shared mission of providing hybrid solar power to businesses, reducing carbon emissions, and supporting economic growth while enhancing energy security for our clients,” the Managing Director of WATT, Mr Oluwole Eweje, said.

“We are delighted to support WATT in rolling out hundreds of hybrid sites across the country.

“This represents another key transaction for AFRIGREEN in Nigeria. The combination of high energy prices, good solar irradiation, and strong demand from industrial and commercial energy users makes this market particularly attractive for companies like WATT.

“By leveraging these favourable market conditions alongside WATT’s exceptional operational performance and a well-structured financing solution, we are setting the stage for a strong and lasting business partnership,” the Managing Director of AfriGreen, Mr Alexandre Gilles, stated.

Continue Reading

General

NMDPRA Denies Restricting Gas Supply to Gencos

Published

on

ANOH Gas Plant

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has denied issuing a directive that gas supply to power generating companies (GenCos) be halted.

In a statement on Wednesday, the authority also denied instructing wholesale gas suppliers to stop further supply of gas to companies due to failure in payment obligations.

The NMDPRA described reports stating that it has directed the stoppage of gas supply to GenCos over N2 trillion debt as “false and completely unfounded”.

“It has absolutely no bearing on the information shared at a recent stakeholders’ engagement held in Lagos between the Authority, the OPTS, IPPG and other stakeholders in the oil and gas industry,” the NMDPRA said.

“The purpose of the engagement was to sensitise stakeholders on the requirements, opportunities and benefits associated with the implementation of the wholesale supply license as provided by sections 142 and 197 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.

“It was a follow-up to an earlier stakeholder engagement held at the NMDPRA corporate headquarters in Abuja on November 27, 2024.

“The Authority wishes to reassure all our stakeholders and indeed the general public that at no time was the false statement made at that event and anywhere else, and are advised to completely disregard the publication as every effort is being made to ensure that the supply and distribution of natural gas and petroleum products to end users is seamless and unabated as we head into the festive season and indeed all through the coming year 2025.”

Recall that Nigeria’s national grid experienced another collapse on Wednesday, the 11th time in 2024 as Gencos couldn’t generate enough power, compounding issues facing the Nigerian power sector.

This was the first time in over a month as the last time the nation witnessed a nationwide shutdown in electricity supply was on November 7, 2024.

Before then, the country was experiencing an incessant collapse of the grid, which prompted the federal government to set up a team to address the issue.

Continue Reading

General

Power Outage in Nigeria as National Grid Collapses

Published

on

national grid collapse

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Nigeria is currently experience a cut in power supply after the national grid collapsed for the 11th time in 2024.

This is the first time in over a month as the last time the nation witnessed a nationwide shut down in electricity supply was on November 7, 2024.

Before then, the country was experiencing an incessant collapse of the grid, which prompted the federal government to set up a team to address the issue.

However, just when Nigerians were thinking they will not witnessed another national grid collapse in the year, it issue reared its ugly head again.

On Wednesday afternoon, most of the energy distribution companies suffered power outage, prompting them to inform their customers of the situation.

One of the DisCos, Ikeja Electric Plc, in a message to electricity consumers under its franchise area, said, “Please be informed that we experienced a system outage today, December 11, 2024, at about 13:32 hours affecting supply within our network.

“Restoration of supply is ongoing in collaboration with our critical stakeholders. Kindly bear with us.”

Recall that on Tuesday, in a report, Google listed national grid as one of the top trending searches by Nigerians this year.

Continue Reading

Trending