PRESERVING VALUE SYSTEM OF NDI IGBO IN FOLKLORIC EXPRESSION ARTS EXHIBITION: THE REVIEW

Abstract

On 13th of November, 2015, an Art Exhibition title “Folkloric Expression” was opened in the National Gallery of Art, Enugu, Nigeria. Organized by Izuchukwu Muoneme and Chidiebere Onwuekwe, the exhibition consisted of over thirty five paintings, drawings and digital illustration which themed Igbo Folk Stories. Folktales are ancient stories which were transferred from oral tradition to literary forms. The tradition has gradually diminished as a result of grave influence of western tradition on the culture of Ndi Igbo. Today, even the bulk of folktales which had been written and published are hardly perished, because of easy accessibility and distractions of the social media and videos. In view of this the two artists embarked on research which involved transformation of existing folk stories written by renowned Igbo authors such as Chinua Achebe, Iroaganachi and F.C. Ogbalu, into visual metaphor, using diverse materials on different two dimensional media. A review of the works displayed by the artists in “Folkloric Expression” will reveal that they have achieved a wonderful feed in preserving Igbo value.