When Ballard artist and Sev Shoon director Dionne Haroutunian was preparing for her 2009 trip to Nigeria as a U.S. State Department cultural envoy, she received warnings about abductions, carjackings, armed crime, dangerous roads, unsafe airlines, illegal roadblocks and more. She felt shaken.

"When I told people, 'I'm going to Nigeria,' the first response I got was, 'Why? It's dangerous there,'" Haroutunian said.

During the time she spent in that country teaching printmaking at the University of Nigeria Nsukka, the warnings did not match what she saw.

"All of [the warnings] may have some truth in them, but most of it happens in a given context," Haroutunian said. "And, a lot of it can be said of most countries in the world, including the U.S.A."

While the Nigerian friends she made agreed there are problems with airline security, police involvement in crime and road conditions, they had not heard of notable problems with many of the other issues she had been warned of, she said.

She said it is illegal to carry handguns in Nigeria, and she doubts armed crime is more of a problem there than here.

"Most articles we read in the media about Nigeria focus on the violence that takes place in the Niger Delta and more recently in the north part of the country," Haroutunian said. "I have recently come to realize that many people are interested in hearing about the Nigeria that the media does not cover."

To that end, she has organized Nigeria Month at Sev Shoon, which will feature an exhibit of her Nigerian students' work as well three guests from the University of Nigeria Nsukka.

The first guest artist, Ngozi Omeje, is already in Seattle and will be present for the kickoff to Nigeria Month from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on June 12 at Sev Shoon, located at 2862 N.W. Market St., during the Ballard Art Walk.

Haroutunian's students from the University of Nigeria Nsukka created more than 165 prints in four days.

The printmaking studio at the university had been closed for seven years before her arrival, and she said the students were excited to get instruction. They often came early and stayed late, she said.

"One evening, I went by the studio to find several of my students printing by the light of their cellphones," she said.

Haroutunian said she was struck by the students' ability to learn new techniques, their fearlessness exploring new methods and the joy they felt at the final results.

"It was a true inspiration for me as a teacher and as an artist," she said.

The artwork of Ngozi Omeje, Nigeria Month's first guest, made an impression on Haroutunian because of its contemporary and universal aspects, as well as her developed sense of aesthetics, Haroutunian said.

Omeje is working on a permanent installation at BallardWorks, owned by Haroutunian. The piece will be a large cup made out of hundreds of cups, which will hang from the ceiling.

Haroutunian said Omeje's inspiration for the piece stemmed from the cold she felt when she first arrived in Seattle and her longing for a cup of hot tea.

"I was quick to point out to her that her subject matter couldn't be more appropriate for Seattle – the city of coffee," Haroutunian said.

Omeje's finished installation will be unveiled during a reception from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on June 22 at BallardWorks, located at 2856 N.W. Market St.