In a fusion of comedy and art, Olanrewaju Gregory, popularly known as MC Larry J, will stage MC Larry J Comedy Party Fine Art competition in this year’s Comedy Party With MC Larry J and Friends Live In Lagos show. The competition is in partnership with Adumaadan Gallery.
Out of the 100 contestants who are graduates from various higher institutions, that have submitted their works, the judges will reduce the number to 20 after scrutiny and then five persons will invited to show their talent for the final stage to determine the winner. The winner will go home with N1 million among others.
The judges are Founder and Creative Director, Adumaadan Gallery, Cornelius Toks Brown; Inventor of Araism painting technique, Mufu Onifade; Guinness World Record Achiever, (Largest Painting by Number) holder, Yusuf Durodola and ace broadcaster, Chris Ubosi.
Comedians such as Alibaba, Gbenga Adeyinka, Dmola, MC Royal, Mr. Paul, Funny Bone, Josh 2 Funny, Kenny Blaq and others will be performing life during the Comedy Party With MC Larry J and Friends Live In Lagos which will be held at the Harvesters International Christian Centre (HICC), Lekki, Lagos.
Speaking on the event, he said: “Last year we had Comedy Amazon, which was a competition for female comedians in Nigeria and we thought Fine Art is another aspect that should be looked into.
MC Royal who won the Comedy Amazon competition last year is now one of the fastest-growing female comedians in Nigeria.
“This year we are having a Fine Arts competition, thanks to Adumaadan Gallery. I could have decided to do just comedy but we decided to infuse art into comedy because comedy itself is an art.”
“I saw a painting somewhere and someone told me not to touch it that it was worth £300,000 and I asked if it was drawn with blood because it appeared like a red ink was given to a baby and asked the child to draw on a canvas. And I’ve seen paintings here in Nigeria and they look amazing and better. So, we have to look for a way to push them up. I see this as meeting a need.”
On the comedy show, he said: “The Comedy Party With MC Larry J and Friends show will be one of the most comfortable shows; I pride myself in doing ethical comedy, a family-friendly kind of comedy. There are kinds of comedy that make the body cringe, they are funny but not ethical. Nigerians now take entertainers seriously and play with their politicians and the governments so, Comedians have a lot to do in making people comfortable.
Speaking also, Brand Manager, Adumaadan, Solabunmi Akinpelu, said: “Art is therapy, art encourages the brain to function, and encourages the neurons to rewire. Through art, a person can relearn, at times, you don’t need to use medication to heal, you can use art; We do meditation, we meditate with the Scriptures. We pride ourselves as an unapologetic Christian art. A large percentage of our art is from meditation of the scriptures so, you could pick a portion of the bible and you will be shocked about what you will create out of it.
