BIC, a premium brand in stationeries, lighters and shavers has announced the winners of its Art Master Africa competition.
The Art Master Africa is an annual competition that invites artists to creatively develop art pieces using the iconic BIC ball pen. The competition fosters creativity in Nigeria and across the region
Among this year’s winners are Odaro Franklin Osaivbie and Andrew Nathan, two Nigerian artists, who placed third and fourth respectively amongst the top 10 in Africa.
Osaivbie came third with his art piece, Entranced, while Nathan’s piece, Value earned him the fourth position. Both artists went home with a cash prize of $500 and $300 respectively amongst other branded gift items at an event held at the BIC head office in Lagos. The 2020 BIC Art Master of Africa winner, Fatiou Aboudou, witnessed the prize giving ceremony.
According to Osaivbie, his winning piece, Entranced was created using five BIC ball pens and it took a total of 200 hours to complete. On his part, Nathan’s piece, Value was created using five BIC ball pens and it took a total of 180 hours to complete.
However, continent wide, Ugandan artist, Gayi Eric was named the 2021 BIC Art Master of Africa for his portrait, Circle of Life, while Kamgaing from Cameroon also won with the artwork, In My Room.
A vividly excited Osaivbie said: “I am a big fan of BIC pens because of their unique ball points. I use them to write and draw. I am grateful for BIC for running the Art Master Africa competition, which allows talent across the region to express themselves through art and creativity. I’m blessed to have been rewarded at such a meaningful competition. This is a very proud moment for me.”
Commenting, Senior Sales Manager, West Africa, Guillaume Groues, stated: “We are proud of the impact that the Art Master Africa competition has had on talent across the region, and are even more proud to have two winners from Nigeria amongst the top ten artists in Africa this year. Human expression and creativity are core values of BIC, and the inception of the Art Master Africa competition is testament to that. The competition has allowed us to support thousands of talent in Nigeria and across the continent. We are proud of how far we’ve come and we look forward to recognizing more Nigerian talent in the future.”