Taiwo Idris is a final-year Pharmacy student from the University of Lagos. She is also a 3D animator and came third place for her submission titled, “The Guardian of the Cervix- battle against the sneaky Villain” at the 2023 #EndCervicalcancer art contest. In this interview, she shares with us her reasons for applying and her view on using art as a tool for raising awareness on Cervical cancer prevention.
- What inspired you to join the art contest?
Taiwo: At the end of 400L, I had the opportunity to intern at a general hospital in Lagos. One day, a woman came with her son to the maternity and childcare centre to meet the Pharmacist. She came to ask on how to prepare an ORS solution. The pharmacist answered her well but when she left, I wondered if she really understood what we explained. There was really no way to demonstrate to her or show an explanatory video. We could not ascertain if she would do the right thing as instructed. I asked the pharmacist and she said she wished we had visual content to help because research shows that people assimilate visual content faster than words. For example, a video for patients with diabetes showing how to clean an ulcer would be really helpful. When I saw the art contest sent to my group chat, I was inspired by the opportunity to use art to create awareness and send out a message to the general public.
- How did you feel creating the masterpiece you submitted?
Taiwo: Honestly, I felt really good. At the time, I was only 3 months into learning animation. This gave me an opportunity to gain an understanding of what it takes to work on projects. I was glad my project partner and I envisioned something like this. Being able to see your work come to life was an awesome feeling.
- How do you think art can promote HPV awareness and cervical cancer prevention?
Taiwo: There’s a lot of potential for art in the health sector. There’s a lot that art can really do. We need more art and creative content in videos too. Even more so, we can employ art in various forms. Billboards across the country, for example, can be used to showcase designs for advocacy. Even in animation, we can also create music and voiceovers in various local languages to bring the message to the grassroots.
We trust that you enjoyed Taiwo’s experience and are thinking of applying for this year’s contest too! The 2024 Cervical Cancer Prevention Art Contest invites anyone to submit a piece of art in the form of drawing, video, animation, illustration, photography, poems, and more to promote awareness about cervical cancer prevention such as HPV vaccination, HPV screening, signs & symptoms of cervical cancer, etc. Cash prizes will be awarded to the highest score (1st place N200,000; 2nd place 150,000, 3rd place 100,000).
Hurry to submit on/before: October 14th, 2024
Submit link: https://bit.ly/4gwcontest
