New York City, New York Mar 14, 2021 (Issuewire.com) - Contact:
Iquo B. Essien, Writer & Director
Email: iquomma@iquomma.com
FUNDRAISER LAUNCHED TO SUPPORT DEVELOPMENT OF ELIZABETH'S DAUGHTER MEMOIR GALLERY AND ARTIST RESIDENCY IN CALABAR, NIGERIA
Nigerian-American Writer and Director Iquo B. Essien have launched a campaign to raise $30,000 to convert her family's historical land in Calabar, Nigeria into a memoir gallery and space for Nigerian cultural preservation, alongside a residency for African womxn artists.
Essien recently learned that the land, purchased by her late grandfather, Chief Paul Bassey Okon, has been put on the market for immediate sale. The goal of the fundraiser is to secure the land and transform the home that stands upon it into the Elizabeth's Daughter Memoir Gallery and Artist Residency. Excess funds will be used to begin the development process and establish a fund for visiting artists.
The dream for the gallery started as a research project in 2010 when Essien traveled to Nigeria to conduct interviews toward a memoir of her late mother, Elizabeth Essien, who died of cancer in 2002. The project culminated in Elizabeth's Daughter in Words and Pictures, an e-book of photos, essays, and historical accounts collected to honor her. The ED Memoir Gallery and Artist Residency re-imagines the initial collection of historical mementos and expands this work to include the broader history of colonialism, Christianity, independence, war, and globalization through the lens of Essien's family's story.
The memoir gallery will exhibit a multimedia content archive representing 100 years of familial history--including that of the Ibibio people, the country's most ancient ethnic group, whose customs and oral traditions have only recently begun to be documented. The archive will explore issues of religion, politics, language, and education through the lens of Essien's personal and family history, as well as the broader Nigerian context.
The exhibition will be accessible to viewers around the globe online through a virtual gallery. And adjacent to the memoir gallery, Essien will create a living space and studio for visiting womxn artists such as writers, filmmakers, musicians, and dancers who preserve and promote culture through their work.
The impact of cultural preservation cannot be overstated in an era where the deaths of elders threaten the survival of indigenous languages, cultures, and belief systems.
Essien believes that the creation of the memoir gallery will positively impact the lives of global patrons, project partners, Ibibio people, and Nigerians alike through the preservation of history and culture, and the creation of jobs. "In a post-COVID world, the work of cultural preservation is more important than ever and must be prioritized worldwide," she asserted. "We all have a role to play in creating the historical record. This is my part."
To learn more, visit https://ifundwomen.com/projects/elizabeths-daughter
This campaign ends on 25 April 2021.
About Iquo B. Essien:
Iquo B. Essien is a Nigerian-American writer and director with a Bachelor's degree in biology from Stanford University and a Master's of Fine Arts degree in film from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.
Her films have screened in 14 countries worldwide, including at the Panafrican Film & Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO), the Durban International Film Festival, New York African Film Festival, Zanzibar International Film Festival, Student Academy Awards (semifinalist), Africa International Film Festival, and Africa Movie Academy Awards.
Essien is a 2013 Spike Lee Production Fund winner and a 2019 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellow Finalist in Screenwriting from The New York Foundation for the Arts. A recipient of a Hedgebrook Writers' Residency, she has contributed to Gawker, Okayafrica, Shadow & Act, Guernica, and Essence.com. She is the author of Elizabeth's Daughter in Words and Pictures, a multimedia memoir chronicling her mother's life and her own coming-of-age story as a writer.
To learn more, visit: www.iquomma.com
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Editor's Notes:
- IFundWomen is a funding marketplace for women-owned businesses and people who want to support women with access to capital, coaching, and connections.
- A folder of relevant images may be viewed at this link.
- The campaign promo video may be viewed at this link.
Media Contact
Elizabeth's Daughter
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Source :Elizabeth's Daughter
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