Nigerian Student’s Documentary Exhibited In US Arts Festival

A Nigerian student and documentary filmmaker, Samson Oklobia, currently studying at the University of Mississippi, United States, exhibited his photo documentary, Empty Spaces, at the just-concluded 19th Creative Arts and Scholarly Engagement (CASE) Festival at Jackson State University, Jackson, Mississippi.

The Margaret Walker Center organises the festival to celebrate art and foster scholarly engagements through creative arts.

Each year, the festival invites high school, undergraduate and graduate students to submit their essays, spoken word pieces, performing arts presentations, visual art, poems, fiction, and more to present to peers and professors. The organisers say seeing the tremendous scholarship and artistry the students produce is a highlight for the Center each year.

According to Oklobia, who expressed excitement over the acceptance of his work, Empty Spaces was a project that captured unutilised spaces in Oxford, Mississippi, questioning the reasons but recognising the memories created through and in these spaces.

During the event, Empty Spaces was exhibited digitally alongside other artwork at the art gallery at Johnson Hall for two days.

The 2025 edition featured a keynote address by Natasha Trethewey, former U.S. Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner. It also highlighted the life and legacy of Emmett Till and a plenary conversation featuring the Emmett Till Interpretive Center staff.