Lagos — With the shift in societal values and norms, there exists a fissure in certain aspects of human existence. Coupled with the poor state of education in the country, there is the apprehension in some quarters that the void created by the existing paradigm shift might become impossible to fill in the near future. The talk about stepping into others' shoes might then become a thing of the past as has already been witnessed in the political scene where leaders are being recycled.

To tackle the situation in the art world is the art initiative called Mirror the Masters from the coffers of Access Bank.

The art initiative is a national programme that gets children from all corners of the country involved in arts, while encouraging them through the work of Ben Enwonwu to come in, be inspired and create works.

Mirror the Masters, which started with a regional competition, is intended to bring children together so that they can learn more about art, and be able to project their culture. The age bracket for participation is nine to 16. During the course of the programme, children were challenged to create a piece of art inspired by Ben Enwonwu. The principle was for them to engage in creative art workshops focused on the artwork of the master, learn from them and use the experience to inspire their own creative art piece. It was important not to restrict the imagination of the children by enforcing strict boundaries. They were free to explore and had the opportunity to express the knowledge gained.

Children participating in the programme were of primary to secondary school age from a mix of private and public schools. Schools were selected in consultation with local education authorities in each zone. The focus was on schools with some established form of arts education infrastructure in place, but this was only for guidance, not a qualifying rule.

Workshops were facilitated by professional artists. At the end of the workshops, a panel of three judges assessed and selected three winners in each zone who went away with N20,000, N15,000 and N10,000 respectively.

Following the trainings and workshops, the children were able to, in their own way, depict subjects at the centre of their minds as is evident in the 100 works on display at the Nike Art Gallery, venue of the finals of the competition. Some of the themes addressed by the children include slave trade, career, culture, religion and sports among others.

As peculiar to children, their works were mainly done using primary colour schemes except for a few that tried using secondary colours. The work, on slave trade, for instance, had yellow as the predominant colour. Even though brown was used to portray the skin colour of Africans in captivity, yellow, blue and a dash of red were shone above others.

After judging the works of the 12 finalists, the work of 13-year-old John Cross Omeke, which coincidentally was chosen for the cover of the exhibition brochure, was picked above others. Little Omeke, a pupil of Model Primary School II, from Nsukka region, did a painting of the Bronze head of the Benin Kingdom. Using acrylic on canvass as a medium, Omeke depicted the popular figure used as the symbol of Festival of Art and Culture (FESTAC) in 1977 on a platform as had never been seen.

One of the judges, Oliver Enwonwu, said that the work was picked above others because the young painter was able to remove the figure from the platform it has always been known for centuries and give it a universal outlook. "Also, the fact that he made use of secondary colours stood him out above others."

An elated Omeke was too shaken about his victory that he broke into tears. On his work, he says, "I didn't see it as anything fantastic. I just want to be a part of the competition that is why I painted the figure."

The entire Mirror the Masters was captured on film with the aim of capturing a strong documentary message that will promote the voice of the unheard.

Omobolanle Babatunde, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Access Bank says "we want to mirror the masters of art of the yesteryears in today's children using Enwonwu as an inspiration. "Mirror the Masters" is an Access Bank initiative aimed at propagating masters in the art filed while introducing children to them. We came up with the initiative and then contacted Kambani Arts to implement it for us.

Speaking further, Babatunde said; "we chose art because it is one of our key focus areas for investment within our immediate community. Being a focus area for us, we decided to create an initiative that was not common, is innovative, bridges the gap and addresses the challenge of finding art masters in the generations to come. I don't think there is a better place to start then with a man of the caliber of Ben Enwonwu. He is like a master among the masters."

The maiden edition of the competition started October 2009 with the regional competitions and was concluded this year, she said. "What we intend to do is that with each competition, we will pick a master of art to be celebrated. In the future, we also hope to make it a continent-wide competition because the gap does not exist only in Nigeria but in the entire continent. It is not about what we spend on the project but the success rate and from what I have gathered form the judges and other experts in the field; I don't think our resources have been wasted."

Following the success of this first edition, the bank is committed to making it an annual event. "It is the bank's overriding view that art and culture capture the good that resides in traditional values of honesty, respect for the individual family. By supporting these core values, access bank is assisting in creating a better society for Nigeria. With 'Mirror the Masters,' the bank is making a statement in support of nurturing the younger generation by empowering them to develop their artistic talents and project them to develop them to a global audience.

Expressing his delight at the success of the initiative, Director of Kambani Arts based in the UK, Chima Ezeilo, said that the winner of the initiative has already embarked on his creative journey. "Children need to start being creative as young artists and be inspired for the future. The basic idea behind the project is depicted in the theme, 'Mirror the Masters.'"

The objectives of the initiative are to enhance the artistic awareness in the youth, stimulate artistic skills in the youth while motivating them to follow he path of the masters, increase appreciation for the arts amongst the youth, discover and expose promising artistic talent in the youth and help platform this for wider recognition as well as to celebrate the life and work of Ben Enwonwu.

As winner of the competition, Omeke will visit Buckingham Palace and in the UK to view the sculpting of the Queen by Ben Enwonwu. He will also visit Marlborough House, Tate Britain and the British Museum in a bid to give him a firsthand experience of art at the highest levels.