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About Us

  • The Committee for Relevant Art, CORA was founded in June 1991 as a non-for-profit advocacy organisation to advance the cause of artistic and cultural production and expression. It was created and, has been over the decades managed by dedicated culture enthusiasts with the intent of making Nigeria a prime destination for art and culture tourism
  • CORA was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission in Nigeria as a charity in 2007 as the CORA Art & Cultural Foundation.
  • In 2006, the organisation was a recipient of the Prince Claus Award for Culture & Development
  • CORA has been instrumental to major policy shifts in the creative industries, the most recent of which is the ongoing revamp of the 45-year old National Theatre of Nigeria; the introduction and ongoing review of the Cultural Policy of Nigeria; the sustenance of the various culture parastatals of the federal government of Nigeria; and most famous, the launch of the Bring Back the Book initiative by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
  • CORA organises regular art events including live performance events and plenaries such as the quarterly CORA Art Stampede; the monthly CORA BookTrek, and the periodic CORA Artists ‘Forum, and the annual Lagos Book & Art Festival, LABAF, organised since 1999, and widely revered the biggest of its type in the West Africa sub-region. These events constantly draw attendance from the creme of Nigeria’s art enthusiasts, practitioners and patrons and are regularly reported in the press.
  • Ideas shared at CORA organised forums have influenced major interventions in the literary, film, musical, visual and performative arts of Nigeria in the past three decades.
  • CORA has consulted in the past for major organisations seeking to evaluate and revamp their CSR initiatives for the arts and culture sector.
  • Other CORA initiatives include: the music-industry-focussed The Great Highlife Party and The Hip Hop Conference; the literacy-literary-campaign The City Libraries initiative and The City Arts Guide; the film-media-focussed open-air the Lagos Cinema Carnival; and the publishing industry-focussed the National Book Conference, etc.
  • CORA executives are drawn for a wide range of professions and backgrounds with a common interest and dedication to the growth and development of the arts.
  • CORA Trustees include notable personalities in the art and culture sector such as veteran actress and culture advocate, Mrs. Taiwo Ajai Lycett; the poet-journalist–businessman, Chief Kayode Aderinokun; the art facility manager Ms Iyabo Aboaba; the dramatist-culture communicator, Mr Ben Tomoloju; ten architect-art advocate, Mr Theo Lawson; the sculptor-art teacher, Mr. Olu Amoda; the theatre/film producer and creative entrepreneur, Mrs. Bolanle Austen-Peters; the poet-painter, Mrs. Nkechi Nwosu Igbo; the filmmaker-media content creator, Mr Femi Odugbemi; the technical theatre artist-entrepreneur, Alhaji Teju Kareem; the culture diplomat-teacher, Mr Pascal Ott; the culture curator-communicator, Mr. Jahman Anikulapo; and the art critic-cuture patron, Mr. Toyin Akinosho amongst others.

About LABAF

LABAF is CORA’s homage to the written word. But it’s much more than a book market; it’s a festival of the arts with high book content. Since its birth in 1999 at the cusp of Nigeria’s return to democracy after over three decades of military rule,  the LABAF has grown to being a yearly ritual for top-notch publishers, adherent book lovers and literary activists, attracting huge patronage from members of the public. The main objective of the LABAF is to call attention to the importance of literacy in our quest for nation building. The festival is the one book event with high children participation. Every year, over 2000 students in Elementary and Secondary schools are hosted in the GREEN FESTIVAL segment of the festival to workshops on paintings, readings, photography; a range of experience and, most crucially, discussions around books. Due to increasing demand from the Green Festival (Elementary and Secondary school students participants) alumni,  who had grown into adolescent and often returned to be part of the festival, the CORA YOUTH CREATIVE CLUB was formed in 2018, which curate and produce programme items in all the disciplines of the Arts to help discover the talents and as well hone the skills of the youths. This is organised on the concept of DYOT – Do Your Own Thing, which encourages the young ones to develop sense of self-discovery and self-expression through the instrumentality of the Arts..

CORA has returned to regularly featuring the BOOKTrek, a periodic Book Reading programme at Book stores and culture spaces.  It’s a periodic author-audience interface, featuring readings, reviews and discussions of select books of searching historical and contemporary insight. We have had six Book Treks this year and trust me; the texts are all significant.  The BookTrek It is part of CORA’s extension services, aimed at deepening Literary Appreciation and Audience Engagement with the published text.