Fun as Illustrators from across the globe rubbed minds in Lagos

By Nehru Odeh

It was fun galore as illustrators from across the globe converged on Lagos for the Lagos International Festival of Illustrations, LIFI. The first of its kind in Nigeria, it was organized by the Book Buzz Foundation in collaboration with BookStorm between 18 and 20 September, 2025 at Quida House, Lagos.

A groundbreaking platform, LIFI is dedicated to nurturing and celebrating the art of children’s book illustration. And for three days 41 emerging Nigerian artists engaged nine internationally acclaimed illustrators from Spain, Slovenia and Latin America in workshops, panel discussions and live art sessions.

The international illustrators included Emma Casadevall Sayeras, Miriam Persand, Marta Cartu, Maša P. Žmitek, Eva Mlinar, Matej de Cecco, Geraldine de León, Caio César Coutinho Gonçalves da Silva, and Gina Rosas Moncada.

In her welcome address, Ms Lola Shoneyin, the founder, Book Buzz Foundation and Festival Director of LIFI, welcomed the visiting guests to the festival, which she described as “a celebration of imagination, creativity and storytelling through art.”

“We welcome you to Lagos, our vibrant, restless and endlessly inventive city where ideas meet and dreams take shape and colour. We are especially proud to welcome our extraordinary line up of facilitators from across the globe.

“They will be sharing their invaluable expertise and creative experiences with us. In turn we will show them the best of our Nigerianess. We are extremely proud that Nigerian illustrators will finally be part of the global conversations around creativity, representation and innovation in Illustrations.

“Illustrations in Children’s books are more than just images on a page. They are powerful windows into identity, belonging and possibility. We believe in every shade, every line and in every stroke lies the power to transform children into worlds where they can see themselves, their realities and imagine brighter fantastical pictures, ” Shoneyin noted.

Shoneyin also thanked the partners, supporters and international collaborators of LIFI for their support. “I thank you for believing in the transformative power of storytelling and investing your time, your trust and your knowledge in us. And to our participants and guests, the success of this edition would determine where we go next. So, may ILFI inspire you, transform you and spark creations that travel far beyond these walls,” Shoneyin said.

In his goodwill message, Consul General of Spain in Lagos José María Ferré Savall said he was pleased to be at the festival, adding that the partnership between the Spanish Embassy and the Book Buzz foundation had been fruitful.

“I have had opportunity to take part in the Ake Art and Book Festival organized by Lola Shoneyin every year. I am also very happy that the Spanish Embassy is collaborating with the Lagos International Festival of illustrations. I am pretty sure it’s going to be a huge success in the next three days,” the Consul General enthused.

Ms Eva Barta Martin, the Cultural Adviser of the Embassy of Spain in Nigeria, for her part, noted that when Shoneyin shared the idea of LIFI with the embassy, they immediately knew they wanted to be part of the journey. “And today we are proud to contribute to this space by offering the links to the vibrant world of illustration in Spain,” she said.

Mr Kayode Onimole, a Nigerian illustrator and one of the participants at the Bookstorm Illustrators and Writers Programme, who shared his experiences at the Bologna Children’s Book Festival said he was blown away by the festival.

“That was amazing. That place is huge. I got lost about four times in a day,” he said. He also said he learnt the importance of getting a literary agent at the festival.

It was indeed three days of fun, excitement and intellectual discourses in Lagos. After the international illustrators had made their presentations,.they spoke about the canon, trends and the culture of illustrations in their respective countries.

Not only did they reach the participants something new about the way they illustrate, they (the participants) also had opportunity to put what they had learnt into practice in workshops The illustrators taught them different techniques that lifted their illustrations.

They also had portfolio clinics and did some networking. Then they later went back into their classes, where they showed the illustrators the works they had done, while they (the illustrators) commented on them, offering suggestions on how they can improve their work.

Still, an interesting feature of the festival, which added more fun to it, was that the participants were divided into three groups, A,B and C, which represented Spain, Slovenia and Latin America, where the international illustrators came from. And a room was assigned to each of the three countries, which the illustrators decorated like their countries and where they had new concepts sessions

“So what is interesting about the way we are doing it is that Group A will spend the day in Spain, tomorrow in Slovenia and the day after in Latin America,” Shoneyin said.

Asked why she organized LIFI, the award-winning writer and publisher said:

“My books, my writing and my festival were taking me to different countries around the world. I was seeing these amazing book festivals, all these illustrations.And when I see things like that, the first thing I am thinking is how can my people benefit from this. How can I make sure that Nigerian illustrators are equipped so that they are competing globally?

“And you know one thing, if Nigerians are good at something we excel in it. So I wanted to create that opportunity. The best way to do it was to bring a few countries at a time to Nigeria. And that’s what we’ve done. So we have Spain, Slovenia and Latin America here,” Shoneyin maintained.

How were the participants selected? Shoneyin said it was an open call and everyone who registered was accepted as long as they were residing in Lagos.

“The only thing we really wanted was that they are actually living in Lagos. So that they don’t have to travel. And because we want to give each person a transport allowance we didn’t want it to be too much money outside Lagos. So within Lagos we can pay for an Uber for them them to come and go back to their homes.”

Asked to state the importance of having illustrations in children books, Shoneyin noted: “The most important thing about having illustrations in children’s books is representation. It is really critical for Nigerian children to see children like themselves in books. There is a way that it is life-affirming.

“When you are Nigerian and all the book you are seeing have Indian, Chinese and white children, then you start to ask yourself if you are unworthy. ‘Why am I not worthy of being in a book?’

“But when they see themselves and their realities, it grounds them. It makes them feel yes they are doing something incredible, that they exist in the world.

And indeed the Lagos International Festival for Illustrations was an inspiring convergence of creativity, collaboration, and cultural exchange.

“We have set an ambitious goal to publish 100 children books by the end of 2027. And we have got up to a real good start. But to achieve this goal, we need illustrators who can dazzle and inspire children and also compete with the digital distractions of our time.

“We want to make picture books that remind children that there is plenty of magic to be found in the printed page,” Shoneyin averred.

And with the successful hosting of the first edition of the Lagos International Festival of Illustration, Book Buzz Foundation is on the right track.

This pioneering initiative was made possible through the partnership and generous support of the European Union, IBBY Africa, Lagos State Government, Sterling Bank, Center Ilustracije, Ouida, Embajada de España en Nigeria, AECID and Espara Cooperación.