Also, the Ooni of Ife commissioned Africa Fashion Week London
and Nigeria to build a new Cultural Centre to be located in Ile-Ife, in South
West Nigeria.
The new cultural center has been described as a massive
capital project that will require national and international funding sets to be
laid on 30,000 square metre of land in Ile-Ife.
A few days back, Ademiluyi told Citypeople that the Cultural
Centre will be a repository for the indigenous arts and crafts found in
Africa."It will provide an ecosystem for development, teaching and
learning guided by tradition, innovation and sustainability and will connect
the stories of indigenous arts to the heritage of Africa."
According to her "Other facilities within the complex
will include a gallery for visiting exhibitions, a textile museum, a digital
library, heritage artisan village (which will include the bronze casting,
terracotta pottery and wood carving); an Aso-oke cloth weaving pavilion, Yoruba
culture academy, a design innovation lab and timeshare residential
lodges."
"The cultural complex project starts with the opening of
phase one - an Adire Textile Hub which heralds the revival of indigenous fabric
production and creative arts in Ife.
"The Hub will generate employment and become an example
of the Non-Oil Export Initiative promoted by the Nigerian government. It
will increase the capacity of the artisans working in Ile-Ife and educate on
the importance of sustainability and ethical and environmental practices."
Princess Ronke Ademiluyi who is an award-winning fashion
icon with huge commitments in positioning Nigeria as a formidable force in the
leading other top nations in the world's fashion industry, explained a lot
more.
"The Hub is a collaboration between His Majesty and my
organization, Africa Fashion Week London and Nigeria," she elaborated."
And it was set up to empower women and youth and to also increase the
production capacity of artisans in Ife and Osun state as a whole. If you listen
to Osun, it says Osun ilu Aro, which means Osun is the home of dye. The art of
indigo dye on clothing using the Elu leaf actually started in Ife by Orunmila
who was inspired by Olodumare and this you can find in the book of IFA."
The Adire has become a global fashion statement and
celebrities from all over the world wear it so we see this hub as adding to the
global awareness of the Adire textile something that His Excellency the Gov of
Ogun State is at the forefront of doing.
"The Hub is Phase one of a cultural center that is going
to be located on 30,000 sq metres of land gifted to the center by His
Majesty."
What is the Adire Textile Hub all about, we asked her?
"The Production hub is only 10 percent of the Cultural Center which we aim to build and the center will include facilities like an African Fashion Museum, a Digital Library, Ife Art World, an Aso Oke Pavilion to mention a few.
In terms of mass productions of the textiles, we are going to
be working with over 300 artisans increasing their capacity to produce."
"As I mentioned earlier, the Hub is a collaboration
between His Imperial Majesty, the Ooni of Ife and my organization, for the
development and capacity building and wealth creation of artisans in Ife and it
is being funded by His Majesty," she explained.
How about the series of Training and Workshops, going on there
now?
"The Hub is phase one of a cultural center that His
Majesty and I are building on 30,000 square meters of land."
"The hub will benefit the local artisans who will be
working with us. The hub will benefit young people who want to train in the
craft of Adire making, as we started our 1st training program on the 8th of
March in celebration of International Women's Day where we offered training to 100 young women.
The hub will also benefit students studying Textiles and
Design to use for their industrial training program."
Why focus on Adire Fabric? “It is because it is the most
popular Nigerian fabric. It is recognized as a timeless piece and it allows
designers to communicate, to tell their stories through the fabric they
use."
"Back in the 1960s during the civil war in Nigeria, Adire
became an iconic symbol for the peace conference settlement and was seen as a
symbol of peace and freedom."
"Already Adire is being used by the new generation of
African and western designers to make contemporary pieces and our plan is to
keep working with them to create designs they can use for their
collections."
"Our contemporary designers use the new Adire which is
the Adire on silk, chiffon, satin, organza to make beautiful pieces.. So, yes we
will be working with other fabrics aside from the normal cotton and
brocade."
The Hub now has a free training program every 3 months. To
train people interested in the craftsmanship of Adire for free and this is
being sponsored by His Imperial Majesty The Ooni of Ife.
The hub is also going to be working with students from across
the Nation to use as an IT center. Various universities abroad have also
indicated an interest in sending some of their design students to Ife to benefit from
the free Adire training.
"On the day of the opening of the Adire Oodua Textile
Hub, His Majesty actually participated in the workshop and made a tie-dye piece
himself."
"And we are just under a month old and have rolled out
over 100 different designs."
"A few designers from various parts of Nigeria have visited the hub to place orders for their summer collections.".
0 Comments