Plen Air Lagos is derived from a French word, ‘en plein air’ translated ‘in the open air.’

It is credited to Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes who developed the art concept of landscape portraiture.

Established as a festival and competition platform in 2015, organizers have positioned the contest to be a rallying point for outdoor art and renaissance of the culture heritage of one of the most populous black cities.

For this year’s edition, Plein air Lagos is giving away N100,000 cash each to artists who are able to give their best representation of Lagos.

Artists are expected to paint or draw their impression of Lagos either in the present (traditional media format) or future (digital media).

To submit, participants are to post a one minute video of their process on their Instagram page and tag the Plein air Lagos, Instagram handle.

“Years ago, it was determined to establish an accomplished Plein air “outdoor painting” competition which arose from the need to connect people to the art community,” convener Winifred Okpapi said.

“We enlisted the help and support of other like-minded community members, art patrons and artists to establish the Plein Air Lagos Competition and Festival. The first event was held in November 2015 and attracted 25 artists and 11 volunteers.”

“We aim for the festival to become an eminently respected popular community event dedicated to promoting our community and enriching our cultural heritage,” he also said.

The online contest is the first step to reaching the artists and supporting them in terms of providing materials and funding for their projects.

For those who are new to the event, it celebrates artworks created “en plein air,” meaning literally “in the open air.”