LIPFest announces ‘The Science of Things’ as festival theme 2024
By Editor
THE Paul Efe Azino-inspired Lagos International Poetry Festival (LIPFest) has announced its theme for the 2024 edition of the festival. It is ‘The Science of Things’. While announcing the theme, organisers say, “We are thrilled to announce that Lagos International Poetry Festival (LIPFest) is returning for its 10th anniversary edition, with the theme, “The Science of Things.” Mark your calendars for October 24th to October 27th as we gather at the Alliance Française de Lagos, Mike Adenuga Centre to explore how poetry and science intersect to help us understand the world and drive change.”
The statement further went on to provide the context for the choice of theme, as exemplifying the times that seem to be inexplicable even to the most discerning.
“As we navigate through a time of rapid technological advancements and intense global debates — on everything from Artificial Intelligence to economic mobility, social identity, and climate change — our exciting line up of poets, scientists, writers, thinkers, and artists will lean into inquiry and imagination, language and experiment, poetry and science, to point us toward a future defined by our courage to explore, question, and understand,” it said, adding, “In essence, LIPFest 2024 is a tribute to curiosity and discovery, a celebration of our individual and collective freedom to pursue knowledge, unshackled by the influences of politics, religion, or capital. Expect four days of engaging panels, thought-provoking readings, inspiring performances, hands-on workshops, and captivating exhibitions and film screenings.
“As we travel deeper into uncertain territory, with advances in Artificial Intelligence coinciding with fierce debates on economic mobility, social identity, and climate change, we must rely more dispassionately on the confluent forces of inquiry and imagination, language and experiment, poetry and science, to guide us into more sustainable ways of living, resisting along the way the forces that seek to co-opt them into instruments for advancing political agendas and narrow economic interests.
“LIPFest 2024 is a tribute to curiosity and discovery, a preoccupation with what the poet Derek Walcott calls “the astonishment of the soul.”
“It is a reassertion of our individual and collective freedom to pursue knowledge without the corrupting influence of politics, religion, or capital. It is a reaffirmation of our commitment to a world where poetry and science are reinvigorated to point us toward a future defined by our courage to explore, question, and understand.
“This implies a vociferous defence of plurality – of voices and opportunities – and a thoughtful consideration of the impact a sustained underinvestment in education and knowledge production has had on of millions of people across the world, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where about 60% of young people are out of school.
“Over four days of carefully curated panels, readings, performances, workshops, and exhibitions, our lineup of poets, scientists, writers, thinkers, and artists, will embody our commitment to breaking down barriers — not just between fields of study, but between cultures and people. We invite you to join us for this special 10th anniversary edition.
“LIPFest was conceived in 2015, dreamed up over drinks and arguments on a forlorn park bench in Lagos, as a vehicle to enable artists on the fringes create their own centers of gravity with cultural force, vision, and daring.
LIPFest Founder/Director, Paul Efe Azino
“We have powered through funding droughts, a global pandemic, and the beautiful calamities of our personal lives, to bring the world to Lagos every year, because we insist on poetry and the life of the mind.
“We are excited to welcome you, from October 24th – October 27th, at the Alliance Française Lagos | Mike Adenuga Centre in Lagos, to LIPFest 2024. Doors open at 10 am each day. We have an open call for participation here. Join us as a guest poet, writer, artist, thinker, activist, or raconteur, or sign up to host an event or volunteer. Deadline is 9th September.”
Organisers also list the milestones the festival has attained in the last 10 years of its coming into being, when it notes, “In the last ten years, the Lagos International Poetry Festival has brought poets, writers, artists, and public intellectuals to Lagos for four days of readings, performances, panels, exhibitions, workshops, and community outreaches, establishing itself as one of the continent’s key cultural highlights. Invested in sustaining an inclusive space for dialogue, debate, and a celebration of creativity and culture, the festival has continued to connect poets and writers to new audiences and practices through multi-generational programming, supporting, and championing the development of the local literary and cultural scene by platforming emerging talents and equipping them with the skills and resources needed to flourish.
“Managed by a dedicated team of arts managers and cultural producers, our work provides extensive support and opportunities to the community of artists we serve. This includes workshops, residencies, and fellowships that cater to the creative and professional development of poets and writers at different stages of their careers; platforms and showcases that help local and international poets and writers develop new audiences; and exchange programmes that expand existing local and international networks of cultural production and distribution.
“Our most recent projects have included a collaborative translation programme for Slovenian and Nigerian writers; a multi-city residency and anthology project for mid-career Scottish and West African writers; a Fellowship for young poets and writers from Northern Nigeria which produced an anthology of new writing from the region; and the launch of an annual print and digital journal that amplifies and archives the voices of Black and African poets.
“The festival reaches a vast local audience across ages, including emerging and established poets, writers, art enthusiasts, and the general public. It is also a transnational site for introducing international poets and writers to Nigerian and African audiences, even as it connects poets from the continent to new audiences around the world, through its multiplatform exchange programmes. We work with emerging voices between 15 and 30 and mid-career/established poets and writers. We work collaboratively with festivals, residencies, cultural organisations, and individual artists to create interdisciplinary projects that develop and showcase poets from across the African continent. We work with donor agencies on initiatives that expand access for poets and artists working on the continent and execute programmes that address systemic inequities through poetry and art. We have worked with the MacArthur Foundation, the British Council, Goethe Institut, Poetry Africa, The Poetry Translation Center UK, Southbank Center, Moniack Mhor (Scotland’s Creative Writing Center), the Library of Africa and the Africa Diaspora (LOATAD), Pa Gya Festival, Ghana, Ake Festival, Edinburgh Book Festival, the US Consulate, Africa No Filter, ACP-EU, and several others.
“We believe facilitating pan-African, pan-diasporic, and international connections between poets and writers from different universes of experience are important to deepening artistic consciousness and are enthusiastic about collaborations that expand space for the life of the mind and enrich practice – feel free to contact us on info@lagospoetrtyfestival.com for exchanges and collaborations. Though tightly curated around yearly themes, LIPFest also presents opportunities to feature as a guest or curate an independent event.”
The festival has made an open call for participation (see festival website for details) to join by hosting an event, or volunteering, “as we celebrate this milestone year together!”
