DISTINGUISHED NEW MEMBERS JOIN BOARD
PARTICIPATION FEE IS NOW NGN 5000
THEME: ‘CAN WE BREATHE?’
The Life in My City Art Festival (LIMCAF), Nigeria’s leading platform for the promotion of contemporary art and all-round empowerment for young Nigerian artists, is proud to announce the commencement of the 18th edition of its art competition with the announcement of a total of over 60 million naira Prizes in different categories.
They include the six LIMCAF Prizes, the Endowed Prizes, the El Anatsui International Travel Prizes, the Capacity and Expertise Development Prizes and the Consolation Prizes.
The top LIMCAF prize which used to be known as the Overall Winner’s Prize, will now be known as the Elder Kalu Young Artist of the Year Prize. The Winner will now take home the naira equivalent of USD 2000 up from One Million Naira last year.
Of the five Category Prizes in visual arts, the prize for the Best in Photography will now be known as the Chinelo Chime Prize for Best in Photography and earn a new prize of One Million Naira. The others in Painting, Sculpture, Drawing and Ceramics remain at N500,000 each (see Prizes and training opportunities, below).
By, these and other means, LIMCAF as the nation’s most enduring youth art competition, continues to grow its impact and effectiveness through the transformative power of creativity to which it exposes young artists, enabling them to sell their works, earn handsome prizes and continually experience and interact with the larger art community including scholars, gallery owners and collectors, locally and internationally.
Theme 2025
This year’s theme Can We Breathe? calls for profound artistic reflections on the challenges of our times. From environmental crises and societal constraints to global inequality, the theme inspires artists to explore the urgent need for freedom and sustainable solutions through their work.
Prizes and Training Opportunities
This year’s competition boasts of an impressive increase in existing prizes as well as new prizes.
LIMCAF Prizes
Elder Kalu Uke Kalu Prize for Young Artist of the Year is the top prize. It was formally called the Overall Winners prize and is now worth $2,000 (paid in naira equivalent). This prize is sponsored by the family of the late Elder Kalu Uke Kalu.
Category Prizes are awarded for the best entries in visual art categories such as photography, drawing, digital art, textile art, painting/mixed media, sculpture/installation, ceramics and more, with prizes ranging from ?500,000 to ?1,000,000. Each of these prizes is open for sponsorship (please see attached.
New Category Prizes in this category include the Armstrong Obialo prize for Best entry in artwork in Wastepaper as a distinct medium, and the Kanyeyachukwu Tagbo prize for Best entry by a person living with disability.
Endowed Prizes: These prizes include:
Those that provide opportunities for individuals, families and organizations including Foundations and Corporate entities to memorialize persons, organizations and achievements. Current endowments include the Justice Anthony Aniagolu Prize for Originality and Dr. Pius Okigbo Prize for Technical Proficiency, and the Felicia Okoroafor prize for Most Promising female artist.
In addition, there are regional prizes endowed by individuals to encourage young people in specific geographic areas to study art. Current regional prizes include the Mfon Usoro Prize for Best entry from Uyo Center and the VinMartins Ilo Prize for Best entry from Enugu.
Training Opportunity Awards
Residencies and Boot Camp: is an opportunity to take the experience and maturity of our participants one step further beyond featuring in the Grand Finale Exhibition and or winning cash prizes. Hopefully our young artists will be eager to learn other skills to enable them benefit from operating in the national and international ArtSpace.
Eligibility
The competition is open to Nigerian artists and foreigners within the specified youth age bracket who have been continuously resident in Nigeria for a minimum of 5 years, and who will be not more than 35 years on October 25, 2025.
LIMCAF also proudly encourages diversity. There are equal participation opportunities for male and female emerging talents nationwide as well as special prize offerings for females only. We provide training for the younger generation through workshops for primary and secondary school children and particularly for persons living with disability. Over the past couple of years, such workshops have been held in Abuja and Enugu.
How to Enter
Submissions of entries already open, will close on May 31, 2025. Participants must submit their entries online and pay a non-refundable fee of ?5,000.
Please visit or www.lifeinmycityartsfestival.org or scan the QR code on the event flier or on our website to complete your registration.
New Appointments to the Board
In the continuing bid to continually reinvent itself through expanding its portfolio of activities for the development and enrichment of aspiring young artists as well as for the enrichment of the cultural environment in Nigeria, LIMCAF has proudly announced that the following key persons have accepted its invitation to join the Board of Trustees.
They are Ms Barbara Kalu, Executive Vice President (Middle East, India Subcontinent and Africa for Argus Media, Sandra Mbanefo Obiago, an award Winning film maker and multicultural artist and curator of local and international experience and Professor Jerry Buhari, professor of fine art, curator and scholar of the Department of Fine Art, Ahmadu Bello University. Zaria.
About LIMCAF
Since its inception in 2007, LIMCAF has remained a beacon for artistic the development of artistic excellence in Nigeria, fostering the careers of thousands of young artists while contributing to the country’s cultural dialogue. Each year, LIMCAF attracts wide acclaim for its commitment to nurturing talent and showcasing art as a tool for societal development.
Contact Information
For further enquiries, please reach out to:
Email: lifeinmycityart@gmail.com
Phone: +234-7031933558 (LIMCAF Office) | +234-8035241241 (Admin. Manager)
Social media: Follow us @lifeinmycityart on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X, formally Twitter and TikTok for updates. Also, please let us know if you would like to be on our Newsletter e-mailing list: Thank you.
