More than just a photography exhibition

On Friday 14th of June 2024, we had a remarkable event  at The Iconic Towers. Graced by the presence of the Honorable Commissioner of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs Toke Benson-Awoyinka, Honorable Commissioner of Youth and Social Development, Mr Mobolaji Ogundele, the Managing Director of Cruxstone Development & Investment Ltd., Dr. Adetoro Bank-Omotoye, the Managing Director of BCL Construction, Roda Fadlallah, the Editor in Chief of Mania Magazine, Kelechi Amadi-Obi, Mr Dayo Adedayo among others, it was an event tailored to showcasing the impact of the the construction industry in Urban Renewal.

One of such impacts besides provision of housing, infrastructure and real estate is the motivation of the youths of the generation. The discourse shared was nothing short of stellar as it was more or less a confluence of the traditional minds of the older generation and the fresh perspective of the millennials.

The event was held in celebration of the 5 Year Anniversary of APD Project Management Limited, as a pioneer of its series in providing a fora for education and collaboration through exhibitions and symposiums. To mark this inaugural event, a group of selected renowned photographers were invited to display their works and talents of capturing the stories that have shaped the great city of Lagos and the blocks and bricks that make it the center of excellence.

The photographers present were Amanda Iheme, Olajide Ayeni, Aisha Hamas and Daniel Uwaga, who have used their lenses and passion for documenting the architectural heritage of Nigeria and proving beyond a doubt that the future of construction, infrastructure and social impact is not lost on the coming generations.

Each photographer and each work displayed coined a story of the culture, process and beauty as was made notice in a statement by the Commissioner of Tourism, Arts and Culture when she said “the minds eye of a photographer is unique”.

Our Special Guest, Kelechi Amadi-Obi in a bid to buttress her point added that “by the time a picture is taken and it’s shared to tourists, newspapers, magazines or whoever may view it, it is already too late. Because the photographer was there in that moment in time, he understood the beauty and captured the moment that enticed the viewer to want to hop on a plane to see the picture that was in the frame”.

Mr Dayo Adedayo and the Commissioner for Youth and Social Development both encouraged them to keep up the good work and the impact they are making in changing the mindset of youth towards being more creative and resourceful is invaluable.

Present at the event as well was Yinka a student of Mass communication doing her PhD in Photography and Elusanmi Oluwasegun, a student of IT from the Yaba college of Technology who both covered the event.

In addition to these present was also the Director of the Children Library and Discovery Center, Miss Grace Nkwocha, whose charitable initiative to provide education for underprivileged children living in Ajegunle also served as a cause for the event as APD plans to give a percentage of the proceedings of the exhibition to the renovation of the library in a bid to solidify its values on education, social impact and urban renewal.

The exhibition was ceremonially opened on Friday by the Honourable Commissioner of Tourism, Arts and Culture and the exhibits will be on display for a week whilst a closing event viewing is planned for the 19th of June, 2024.

APD truly saw it as a privilege to be able to host this inaugural journey. As we look back with fondness on the footprints we have made so far, we look towards the future with a fresh zeal to continue to change the narrative of the construction project management industry and inspire social impact in every road we tread.