Children's Art Olympiad
After signing a partnership with the International Child Art Foundation (ICAF), Washington DC in 2018, FEAAN staged Nigeria's leg of the 6th World Art Olympiad during its Children Creativity Fair, held every June to mark the Day of the African Child.
Schools were invited through the FCT Universal Basic Education Board, with private schools joining in. Eighty entries were adjudicated by a panel of two professional artists, two art teachers and two UBEB staff, and ten finalists emerged.
Nigeria had staged Art Olympiads in 2010 and 2014 under the National Council for Arts and Culture, and the Olympiad winner represents Nigeria at the World Children's Festival in Washington DC.
Day 01
Registration & art workshop
Children from government and private primary and junior secondary schools across the Federal Capital Territory arrived and settled into a hands-on art workshop, with materials, from cardboard and canvases to acrylics and poster colours, provided by the association.
Day 02
The Art Olympiad
The Olympiad was painted live on the spot, alongside the schools' collaborative Unity Art for Peace canvases and an essay writing competition. Career talks and a leadership seminar kept every child engaged while the jury did its work.
Day 03
Celebration & awards
Cultural dances and poetry presentations closed the fair before the award ceremony. Certificates came from FEAAN, cash awards from UFUK Dialogue, and gift items like school bags and books were given to encourage a reading culture.
A huge turnout, a yearly tradition born, and a life changed by one painting.
Children's talents and creativity showcased to boost self-esteem and foster leadership development.
The Children Creativity Fair became a yearly event, held every June to mark the Day of the African Child.
Certificates from FEAAN, cash awards from UFUK Dialogue, and school bags and books to encourage a reading culture.
A Nigerian delegation went on to represent the country at the 6th World Children's Festival in Washington DC.
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- 10
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John Joseph, 12
Twelve-year-old John Joseph, a pupil of LEA Waru in Abuja, came top with a painting of a football match. An indigent child displaced from Borno in the North East, he lives with his brother at an IDP camp and had never entered a competition before he walked into this one. FEAAN secured him a scholarship through to university level.
The gallery
Photographs from Children's Art Olympiad.
