BY OLANIYI OLUGBENGA JOSEPH
The Committee for Relevant Art (CORA) Art & Cultural Foundation has announced Breakout: Hope is a Stubborn Thing as this year’s Lagos Book and Art Festival (LABAF) theme.
The festival, from November 11 to 17 at Freedom Park, Campbell Street, Lagos Island, is a special dedication to Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka, who celebrated his 90th birthday in July, a milestone that the world continues to celebrate.
“In 2024, the year of the 90th birthday anniversary of Wole Soyinka, we steer the discussion back to hope and dedicate the event to his constancy. Professor Soyinka has been the motivator-in-chief of LABAF. He has addressed our Children’s programmes several times, visited our exhibitions and declared open the library and resource centre we opened at Freedom Park,” stated CORA’s Secretary General, Toyin Akinosho.
The festival will engage with books in which hope, doggedness, and the will to win are critical subjects in fiction or reality to explore the theme fully.
The 11 selected books that embody the theme are Andre Brink’s ‘Imaginings of Sand’, Mukoma Wa Ngugi’s ‘We, The Scarred’, Mark Manson’s ‘Everything Is F*cked: A Book About Hope’ and Laila Lalami’s ‘Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits’.
The others are Ayi Kwei Armah’s ‘The Way of Companions’, Wọle Ṣoyinka’s ‘Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth’, Antje Krog’s ‘A Change of Tongue’, Edward W. Said and Daniel Barenboim’s ‘Parallels and Paradoxes: EXPLORATIONS IN MUSIC AND SOCIETY’ about a possible Pluralism of Israeli and Palestinian societies and Peter Zeihan’s ‘The End of The World Is Just the Beginning’.
The remaining three books are Hans Rosling’s ‘Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think’, Chigozie Obioma’s ‘The Road to the Country’ and Chibundu Onuzo’s ‘Sankofa.’
The 26th edition of the festival will feature regular activities, including book displays, visual art exhibitions, live music and drama performances.
There will also be the Book Trek, where authors will present readings from their latest works, and the Publishers’ Forum, a full-day workshop dedicated to the publishing industry where topical issues are discussed.
“LABAF is not just a book fair, a performance concert, a literary festival, or an art expo. It’s a healthy fusion of all four in a festival atmosphere,” CORA’s programme chair, Jahman Anikulapo, noted its uniqueness. He added that this interactive nature, where attendees can engage with authors, artists, and industry professionals, has made the festival an annual event for families, literary enthusiasts, and culture producers.
Indeed, the festival is designed to cater to people of all ages and tastes, with discussion panels that critically examine the featured books beyond the authors’ star power, ensuring that everyone feels included and valued.
The children’s programme, coordinated by Children and The Environment (CATE) and CORA Young Creative Club, will also offer a range of activities, workshops, talks, and performances centred around the festival’s theme. The exhibition, drama and music sessions are also hugely popular and well-attended.
