OTA ART FAIR. 2018 DRAWS CLOSER....

Ota is a town in Ado/Odo-Ota local government area of Ogun State, mostly populated with Awori ethnic group, the Aworis are also found in enclaves mostly in Lagos State. Ota is endowed and deeply rooted in tradition and culture, cutting across art and crafts which include Egungun, Gelede, Oro, Ogun and other Yoruba gods and deities. Their crafts dwell in carving with expertise in gelede mask carving, blacksmithing, goldsmithing, mat weaving and shrine paintings. Most of the aforementioned crafts had gone into extinction gradually but carving and shrine painting are still in practice to date.

Organising an Art Exhibition in Ota tagged Ota Art Fair is a germane development that has been long overdue considering the prominent place occupied by the highly industrialised and densely populated town with proximity to the coastal city of Lagos.

Howbeit, Art promotes culture, encourages vocational practices and thus eke out living for the interested individuals or group of people. Against this background, the maiden edition of Ota Art Fair is primarily to bring forth the talents within and around the town and also to further extend art appreciation and patronage to Ota and its environs. Having realised that art still requires lots of publicity in order to change public perception of art as a mere hobby that can hardly generate income and register it as a profit spinning engagement.

We hereby welcome you to the home of culture, housing pleasant and amiable Awori people and diverse settlers; enjoy the cuisine, savour the scenery and go back home with indelible and remarkable memory.


Bello Olayemi Azeem
The Head of Department, Fine and Applied Art Department
Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta.
Educational blog