Art Master Africa Competition 2022 by BIC, a world leader in stationery, has recently concluded and the winners of the competition’s fifth edition were announced. The competition under the theme Celebrating Africa encouraged artists to create artwork that represents their personal identity as well as their unique perceptions of the African continent and its diverse cultures using the BIC ballpoint pen.
Three Art Master Africa competition winners and six national winners from countries across the region including South Africa, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Morocco, and Tunisia were announced. Winning pieces were chosen out of a total of 6,574 pieces submitted marking a significant increase versus last year. The art pieces were selected by a panel of judges comprised of experts from BIC, renowned artists from the region, and previous Art Master Africa competition winners.
In first place artist, Nosakhare Igbinosa won with his portrait titled ‘Bona’. Artist Hezekiah Okon with portrait titled ‘Proudly an African’ ranked second; and artists Moses Ojeleye with portrait titled ‘Amaka’, and Dumbor Debeeh with portrait ‘Echoes of joy’ were announced in third place.
The national winners across Africa include the following:
- Nigeria: Proudly an African by Hezekiah Okon, also the second-place Art Master Africa winner
- Uganda: Celebrating Africa in Harmony with Wildlife by artist Maiku Fred
- Kenya: African Culture portrait by Griffin Lundi
- South Africa: Imwe hamwe na Kamere (One with Nature) by Romeon Mwiseneza
- Morocco: Mother Africa by Essadik Laila
- Tunisia: Africa with my pen by Mouhamed Boudhri
The Art Master Africa winner received a cash prize of $2,000 (Shs7.5 million), while the second and third-place winners received prizes of Shs1,000 (Shs3.8 million) and $500 (Shs1.9 million) respectively. National winners have received cash prizes of $500 (Shs1.9 million) each as well as BIC hampers.
In Uganda, the national winner, Maiku Fred, was awarded on the 16th of November 2022, in an event hosted by renowned Crystal Newman at African Queen’s headquarter (BIC’s distributor in Uganda). Ugandan winner Maiku Fred received a cash prize of $500 (Shs1.9 million) from BIC for his artwork entitled ‘Celebrating Africa in harmony with wildlife’.
Commenting on the occasion, Peter Van den Broeck, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Middle East, and Africa said: “In its fifth edition, Art Master Africa continues to shine a light on ballpoint pen artists as they express themselves through creativity. Our flagship competition has seen tremendous growth year-on-year with higher participation numbers.
We are proud of the results we have seen to date and are confident that we will continue to encourage African youth to express themselves through art and creativity.”
The Art Master Africa competition is an annual competition that invites artists to creatively develop art pieces using the iconic BIC Ball Pen. The competition was launched in South Africa in 2017 after which it expanded into the wider region in 2019 and into the Middle East in 2021. BIC has long been connected to art and regularly celebrates the creativity and originality of talented individuals. BIC has a number of established partnerships with art institutes around the world and has its products displayed in a number of renowned museums around the world.