Creative Arts-Scholarly Publications

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Browsing Creative Arts-Scholarly Publications by Author "Oni, D."

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    Open Access
    The Changing Fortunes of the Cinema in Post-Colonial Lagos
    (Urban Generations: Post Colonial Cities. A Publication of the Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences- Rabat, 2004-08-09) Oni, D.
    Urban generations in post-colonial cities have been characterized by the development of certain monuments, architectural edifices and socio-cultural infrastructural facilities. Most of these have, overtime, become dilapidated or are close to going into extinction, through their relevance to the urban milieu is not in question. Restoration of these legacies, in particular the cinema, would assist in the sustainable socio-cultural linkages of at least the immediate urban community.
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    Open Access
    DEVELOPMENTS IN THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF CONTEMPORARY NIGERIAN DRAMA AND THEATRE A FESTSCHRIFT IN HONOUR OF DAPO ADELUGBA
    (Alpha Crownes Publishers, 2011) Oni, D.
    When the idea was proposed to publish this collection of tributes and essays in honour of Professor Dapo Adelugba, it was enthusiastically embraced by several scholars, theatre artists, critics and teachers; all friends, colleagues and students of the celebrant. However, despite the great display of affection and honour accorded Adelugba, no one could imagine the volume of contributions: tributes flooded major Nigerian newspapers and magazines, all dripping with encomiums and adulations; essayists and critics from Nigeria and abroad swamped the seminar venue of University of Lagos, turning the forum which was planned to be, at most, an assembly into a huge two-day conference; and several other contributions were sent to the editors, months after the celebrations.
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    Open Access
    Global Diffusion of Chinese Culture: The Case of Confucius Institute in Africa (Nigeria)
    (Peking University, 2021-05) Oni, D.
    For a rising power, China’s soft power diplomacy has assumed an unprecedented momentum. As a projection of its soft power diplomacy, the Chinese government has promoted the noble ideas of Confucius as well as the establishment of Confucius Institutes across the world. Obviously, the specter of soft power diplomacy is relatively large. It includes culture, language, public diplomacy, education systems, organization and promotion of various festivals and other related events. These are all geared towards the ability to attract and co-opt rather than coerce or use force to win international partners. In several African countries, the Chinese government and other relevant authorities have established a number of Confucius Institutes. This is done through mutual understanding and collaborative efforts with authorities of Chinese and African universities. In Nigeria, the desire to embrace the institute started around 2006, culminating in two CIs; Nnamdi Azikiwe University and University of Lagos. The CI at the University of Lagos has been designed to stimulate the study of Chinese language and culture. Since its establishment, the institute has recorded outstanding success in the promotion of Chinese language and culture across the Lagos metropolis and its environs especially through the Bridge program. In addition, the institute has organized several events to celebrate the Chinese New Year or Chinese Spring Festival, the Chinese Autumn Festival, the Chinese Independence Day celebration, among others. Similarly, the CI has also served as an avenue for the introduction of African cultures to Chinese scholars. Despite this important role, no scholarly study has been devoted to analyzing the role of the Confucius Institute in Africa with special focus on the University of Lagos. This gap in knowledge has undermined our understanding of the Confucius Institute as an instrument for the projection of Chinese culture and global diplomacy. The study aims to investigate the critical areas of intervention of the Institute in the promotion of Chinese culture and language. It adopts the narrative and analytical methodology to analyze the activities of the institute vis-à-vis the impact of the Institute on Africa. It recommends that effective management of the Confucius Institute is a sine qua non for the projection of China’s soft power diplomacy.
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    THE NATIONAL THEATRE AND THE SEARCH FOR A COLLECTIVE IDENTITY OF THE NIGERIAN NATION STATE
    (National Theatre Monograph Series: A Publication of the National Theatre, Nigeria, 2022-09-10) Oni, D.
    While the capacity of Nigerian art forms to promote national unity has been emphasized and acknowledged by scholars and critics, the part that The National Theatre of Nigeria specifically can play in this process has not received appropriate scholarly attention. Apart from newspaper articles, there is very little and no detailed study about the crucial role of The Nigerian National Theatre as space and place in promoting national unity. Hence, it is this gap in the knowledge production about the National Theatre that this study seeks to fill. The proposed study would be divided into seven (7) sections. The first section provides an overview of what the study is all about as well as the conversation into which it enters. The second section would be devoted to the conceptualization of the fundamental terminologies of the study. The study, for example, differentiates and at the same time establishes a confluence between the National Theatre as a structure, place, and space on one hand; and the National theatre as the performative acts of a nation on stage with an audience on the other. The need for this is to demonstrate how both the physical and imagined space are symbiotic and can together be exercises in nation building. The third section, offers a brief explication of what Henri Lefebvre’s theory of space is all about and its relevance to this critical intervention. The fourth section is a sort of background to the fundamental argument of the study; it underscores the urgent need for/of a collective identity in the face of national disintegration. But what nation in the face of disintegration is to be built-up? In what sense should Nigeria as a nation-state be understood? Is it in terms of the space it occupies in relation to boundary markers and cartographic placements or how the inhabitants of the space and placement see themselves? And if the latter is what is of utmost signification, how should the inhabitants see themselves? Answers to these questions dovetail into the fifth section entitled “The Vision Behind the National Theatre and the National Troupe of Nigeria.” It is curious that it is the same Section of the Law that sets-up the National Theatre that also established the National Troupe of Nigeria. Accordingly, this section of the study argues that the vision behind the setting-up or establishment of the National Theatre as space and place, and the National theatre as performative gesture in the same spatio-temporal articulation of the law is an enactment for a unitary/common purpose of national unity. Art as a performative gesture needs a space from which it could speak; and The Nigerian National Theatre as a structure is such a space. Conversely, space in isolation has no meaning without what inhabits or occupies it. It is, however, against the backdrop of this established vision as enunciated in section five that the sixth section entitled “The Role of the National Theatre in Nigeria’s Collective Identity” goes on to revisits in detail Henri Lefebvre’s theory of space to highlight “what has been” and “what should be” the role of The National Theatre. The seventh and final section is the “Conclusion,” which recaps and hammers on the arguments/findings of the study.
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    Open Access
    Negotiating Youth Identity in a Transnational Context in Nigeria
    (Routledge Publishers, 2009) Oni, D.; Omoniyi, T; Scheld, S
    Russell Potter’s concept of ‘resistance vernaculars’ () is evident in the style and lyrics of Lágbájá, a Nigerian musician who is currently popular among African youth at home and abroad. Youth identities based in Lágbájá’s music would appear to be a mere mimicry of US hip‐hop. We demonstrate that Lágbájá’s work is not an imitation of an American resistance vernacular, however. Lágbájá’s music emphasises themes of hybridity and global cultural diversity. His music provides Nigerian youth with a means to break into other worlds and markets, as well as a way to access that which is global. His music also complements efforts by Nigerian political leaders to facilitate an African renaissance. In this light, Lágbájá’s music is a complex form of a resistance vernacular. Potter’s concept is useful for considering the political dimensions to this music; however, it is limited for shedding light on Nigerian youth, their concerns and the role that popular youth music plays in the developing nation‐state. This discussion is based on interviews conducted with Lágbájá in 2005 and an analysis of his musical style and lyrics.
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    Open Access
    Nigerian Drama and National Unity: Olu Obafemi Dramaturgy and the New Historical Criticism
    (Published by National Theatre, Nigeria, 2021-08-06) Oni, D.
    This paper analyses Olu Obafemi Dramaturgy using New Historical Criticism. The thesis of this paper is that beyond the Marxist/ Socialist content of Obafemis plays, as part of his asthetic vision, he also uses them to advocate for the national unity of the nation state.
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    Open Access
    Reconstruction the performance paradigm in unconventional theatrical settings: The Example of Wole Soyinkas a Dance of the Forests
    (The Soyinka Impulse: Essays on Wole Soyinka (ed. Duro Oni and Bisi Adigun; published by Bookcraft Publishing), 2019-07-13) Oni, D.
    This paper examines how technical elements are used in the presentation in an unconventional stage of A Dance of the Forests that was presented at Ijegba9 Soyink's residence in Abeokuta) as directed by Tunde Awosanmi and the challenges staging Death and the King's Horeseman on a conventional stage (the Cinema Hall I of the National Arts Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos) by the National Troupe of Nigeria as directed by Mike Anyanwu.
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    Striking Expressions: Theatre and Culture in National Development
    (Society of Nigeria Theatre Artists (SONTA): National Secretariat, Department of Theatre Arts, University of Maiduguri, Nigeria, 2008-07-09) Oni, D.
    Theatre and cinema. Tradition, innovation and change in contemporary Nigerian theatre ; Theatre, culture and change management in Nigeria: Theatre education and spectatorial participation as key to the activism and societal consciousness of the change mantra ; FESTAC 77 and the Nigerian national theatre legacy ; The role of creative arts in a society's quest for peaceful environment ; Theatre training in the Nigerian university system: A critical assessment of selected design and technology courses at Ibadan and Lagos ; Lighting: Beyond illumination ; Development of design and technology in the Nigerian theatre: From Ibadan to Nassarawa ; Design and technology considerations in contemporary Nigerian theatre performances: A critical assessment ; Scenography and dramatic atmosphere in Ukala's The Placenta of Death ; Producing Osofisan's Midnight Hotel and Tegonni: Challenges for the design team ; Multiculturalism and the predicament of African and African diaspora dramatists ; Historiographic representations of Africans and diasporan Africans in theatrical works: Performance paradigms of Walcott, Aidoo and Onwueme in perspective ; Ebenezer Obey and his musical activities in Lagos state ; The changing fortunes of the cinema in post-colonial Lagos
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    Towards The Development Of Theatre Practice in Nigeria:
    (Concept Publications Limited, Lagos, 2005-06) Oni, D.
    This paper examines the practice of theatre in Nigeria and looks at its declining fortunes. It attempts a historical overview of theatre practice and observes that the question of the viability of theatre was not in dispute until the advent of the Nigerian video industry, How did this adversely affect the practice of theatre? What are the reasons that can be adduced for the development? Why is theatre practice on the decline? The paper attempts to decipher the problems and offer suggestions on the way forward; which in the opinion of this writer,rests on the need for the repackaging of theatrical productions by paying more attention to the design and technology aspects of production.
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    Open Access
    Towards the Development of Theatre Practice: The Design/Technology Dimension
    (Nigerian Theatre Journal: A Journal of the Society of Nigerian Theatre Artistes, 2005-04-08) Oni, D.
    This paper examines the practice of theatre in Nigeria and looks at in declining fortunes. It attempts a historical overview of theatre practice and observes that the question of the viability of theatre was not in dispute until the advent of the Nigerian video industry. How did this adversely affect the practice of theatre? What are the reasons that can be adduced for this development? Why is theatre practice on th decline? The paper attempt to decipher the problems and offer suggestions on the way forward; which, in the opinion of this writer, rests on the need for the repackaging of theatrical productions by paying more attention to the design and technology aspect of production.
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    Open Access
    Tradition, Innovation and Change in Contemporary Nigerian Theatre
    (ANZCA Conference 2012, Adelaide, South Australia, 2012-07) Oni, D.
    Contemporary Nigerian Drama and Theatre has undergone various changes in recent times from its traditional mode of the Alarinjo Theatre (Adedeji, 1969) to Western style performances which started in the late 19th Century with the concerts, cantatas and native air operas (Echeruo, 1977). From these early beginnings, the theatre developed with the emergence of Hubert Ogunde on the theatre scene in 1945 (Clark, 1980). From that period until the early 1990’s the theatre survived with performances mainly among the major ethnic groups, particularly the Yoruba Travelling Theatres (Jeyifo, 1984). Other organizations and establishments including universities in Nigeria, cultural centres of Art Councils and private production organizations followed in the involvement in theatrical productions (Oni, 1985, 2002). The paper notes that theatrical performances and the theatre started to merge with the production of celluloid films when Wole Soyinka produced Kongi’s Harvest in 1970. This was followed with the works of such theatre producers as Ade Afolayan and Moses Olaiya and others. It was however the foray of Hubert Ogunde, regarded as the father of modern Nigerian Theatre, that the film medium started to have a truly new dimension. This paper investigates the transition from the traditional/modern live theatre to film/video formats in the Nigerian theatre scene (Haynes, 1997) culminating in the UNESCO ranking of the Nigerian film industry as the second largest in the world. The paper examines the various trends that have occasioned these changes and the innovations that it has brought to the Nigerian theatrical scene.
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    Open Access
    Trends and Considerations in the Aesthetics of Stage Lighting Design
    (Technical Theatre Practice in Nigeria: Trends and Issues. Center for Black and African Arts and Civilization (CBAAC). Lagos, 2006-06-15) Oni, D.
    In most artistic efforts theory has always followed practice at a respectable distance. However, in the case of stage lighting, the theories relating to the art did not follow the usual pattern of events. For as Bellman (1967:295) asserts ….. the main body of theory applying to modern stage lighting design, Even to the whole of modern stage design, preceded not only the practice, But also the technology by some odd 20 years The history and explication of the theoretical framework for the evolution of modern stage lighting concepts began with the rebellion against the “well-made play” when Europe was rife, in the middle of the nineteenth century, with fermenting new ideas concerning arts, painting, music, architecture and theatre. In general, these ideas bordered on a revolution that”could be typified as antitraditional, anticonventional and antiornamental” (Bellman, 1967:295). The new concepts advanced a revolutionary approach that deviated from perceiving things from the traditional and conventional way. New approaches were experimented upon that sought to conceive art beyond its ornamental attributes.