Ibibio Union Museum, Unity Park — Cultural Exhibitions

Hello, Hivers! Merry Christmas to you all! I hope it's not too late to say so.

I haven't been too busy lately because I had a one-week Christmas break from school. I was really looking forward to this break, hoping to get some rest, visit interesting places, and have fun with my siblings. But things didn't go as planned, or I should say I'm doing them, but not exactly the way I wanted.

The reason behind this is our upcoming exams, which are less than two weeks away. Preparing for it has been taking up a lot of my time and focus.

However, yesterday I decided to take a break from studying and get some fresh air. I didn't want to go to a crowded place, so I thought it would be a great idea to visit a museum in the middle of the town,(Uyo, Aks.).

I never knew this place existed I would have visited it since. So I had to browse to get more information about it and I discovered that it's made up of mostly paintings, statues and a little bit of history.

Now the exhibitions:

Title: Laughter
Artist: Aniekan Etudor

The last time I saw a paper mosaic was in my high school library.

This is a beautiful work of art that captures the strength and grandness of a lion.
This demands a lot of creativity, from choosing the paper colors to arranging them to make a picture.

Title: Brave
Artist: Aniekan Etudor

Hunting requires bravery indeed, resilience and focus can also describe this painting.
This painting and many others here are from the same artist.
He is lucky to have his collections here because while others display theirs in traffic lights and street junctions, he has his own here and got the necessary recognition.

Title: Expectation
Artist: Aniekan Etudor

This is a thought-provoking title for this painting of a giraffe.
Staring at it got me reflecting on my own expectations and the journey I embarked upon to fulfill them. It's a painting by the same artist.

Title: Sail
Artist : Ubong Eyo

This vessel and the title have a lot of meaning to the Africans. There are other paintings and statuses here that also point in the same direction of smooth importation, exportation, and slavery.

Leaving that behind, I love the artist's choices of colors. The vintage sailboat and the smaller boat in the water create such a picturesque scene. It creates a glimpse into a bygone era of sailing adventures.

Title: Strength
Artist: Aniekan Etudor

Graceful tiger. It looks fierce and the title “strength” compliments it well.

Title: Uyai Iban (beautiful woman)
Artist: Aniekan Etudor

Another paper mosaic. This cultural attire belongs mostly to the Oron people. Featuring the beauty of a woman, her values, and her graceful movement in dance.

Title: Traditional Dancer
Aritist:Emmanuel Unung

A typical Ibibio traditional dancer.

The use of beads creates a stunning visual effect, adding texture and dimension to the artwork. I’m amazed at how each bead placed on the canvas brings out the intricate details of the dancer's features. It's amazing how art can be expressed in so many different forms.

Title: Shift Not The Ancient Boundary
Artist: Ukeme Udo

This painting says “Shift not the ancient boundary”.
Anyone from my state would understand the meaning of that title.
Shifting boundaries is always a great issue that can bring serious fights among men, and even death if care is not taken.

The painting is very clear, a typical ancient farmer's outfit with bush meat in his bag.

Title: My Portrait
Artist: Nancy Offiong

Another beautiful painting of a dancer.

Title: Herald
Artist: Iniobong

Traditional instruments I've grown to see in fiction books and traditional movies.
The artist captured everything in detail, from the man with a flute to the other man on a bicycle. This may be a town crier trying to pass a message to the villagers (you will understand if you've read folk tales😉)

Title: The Light
Artist: Aniekan Etudor

I won't fail to add this painting as it is a Christmas season.

I didn’t know how to take this photo without the light interfering. I tried but still, it didn’t come out well.
The painting is intriguing, I love it because I’m a bit attracted to dark colors.

Title: Sounds Of Merry
Artist: Ubong Eyo

Cultural instruments. Africans are familiar with these, if you haven't seen it in real life you must have seen it on television.

Title:Lets Rock
Artist: Ubong Eyo

Beautiful painting of a singer. The blue on the face and other splash colors are what I don't understand. It may be from the stage light I guess.

Artist: Ubong Eyo
This painting is titled “Mbok Idung” meaning neighborhood.
I kind of wonder if the artist is from a riverine area of the state. This work is very unique, two hurts beside a river, and a waterlogged road, and the people on the street gave a detailed explanation of the title.

This photo did not come out well because of light reflections, but it’s fine anyway.

The artist explains a local setting of husband and wife( with her baby at her back) pounding something, definitely palm fruits. This was the only method to get red cooking oil those days. But now machines are used to carry out the whole process.

It was an interesting outing, and I’m glad I’ve been able to share few of what I loved with you.
As I said earlier, this is a museum with other exhibits like statues and historical arts, so I divided the photos I took into three sections, this is the first part of it. I hope you like them.
(And please pardon my explanations, it'll get better with time).

Thanks so much for your time.