Artexpo, good news for Nigeria’s future
Starting off as Artexpo Nigeria in 2008, and also holding under the same name in 2009, it is an initiative of the National Gallery of Art (NGA) organised in collaboration with the Art Galleries Association of Nigeria (AGAN). Work of paintings, sculptures, mixed media pieces, potteries, installations, amongst other genres were represented which brought the […]
Starting off as Artexpo Nigeria in 2008, and also holding under the same name in 2009, it is an initiative of the National Gallery of Art (NGA) organised in collaboration with the Art Galleries Association of Nigeria (AGAN).
Work of paintings, sculptures, mixed media pieces, potteries, installations, amongst other genres were represented which brought the number of displayed items to 635 works from 35 galleries in Nigeria, Togo and the Republic of Benin.
With a history in art, Mr. Nduka Obaigbena, publisher of ThisDay Newspaper was chairman of the occasion and declared the event open alongside the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Mr. K.G.B. Ogwuakwa, Ag. Director-General, National Gallery of Art, Mr. Abdullahi Muku, and the President of the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA), Mr. Uwa Usen. Obaigbena, in his remarks, described the event as a home-coming for artists. “This is a happy return to my primary constituency which is art and creativity. I am also happy that you are trying to make it look like other big expos all over the world. This is good news for Nigeria’s future as you know that art and culture are the only things that have the potential of uniting the nation.”
Ogwuakwa in his keynote address, said the Expo was timely as it falls in line with the current administration’s goal of diversifying the nation’s economy using the visual arts sector as a major source of alternative revenue for the country.
“Tourism and culture are globally recognised as major sources of revenue; the visual art is one of the tools government intends to use to fast-track tourism in Nigeria.” While urging AGAN to go into collaborations with other relevant agencies to organise other programmes to benefit artists, he saluted the joint efforts of the NGA and AGAN saying, “You have put up an impressive event this year.”
Although it could be said that works exhibited expressed current trends in modern Nigerian art as well as contemporary art styles worldwide, some of the guests who were art enthusiasts pointed out that many of the works were still regular. Explaining further, Mrs. Mildred Akanbi said, “Most of the works here do not have any depth. They are ordinary and what I would call regular. They are basically the same kind of things that we see on the streets. One would expect that for a third edition there would be more works reflecting issues we could relate with and issues that could attempt to bring about change. I particularly appreciate the creations by Emmanuel Inua on President Jonathan as well as the painstakingly done piece by Mr. Rodney Askihia from abandoned slippers. These works immediately provoke thoughts in the mind and make the imagination run wild.”
Accessing this year’s outing, three-time visitor to all editions of the Expo, Mr. Jimmy Adesina, gave kudos to the brochure which he described as better packaged in terms of grammatical errors and content. He said, “The brochure is richer and better organised. It is also good to see that the contributors were selected from across the nation rather than from a particular area. The translation this time too is a lot better and allows for the Togolese and Beninese participants to carry something decent back home. In all, I think the organizers have improved.
A lot more still has to be done as they are still addressing the same clout of people and are yet to go out to invite outsiders and the real people who should benefit from such a gathering. It is basically the same gallery owners and artists who make up the crowd, year in, year out.
What is Art Criticism? Aims and use of art criticism and Journalistic art criticism was the crux of the discussion by the curator of the Expo and acting director, Research and Education of the NGA, Mr. Simon Ikpakronyi. He set the tone for this second phase of the gathering last Tuesday, a workshop for art journalists giving a detailed overview of the issues.
The workshop which was organised to give participants the avenue to update had paper presentations by Dr. Krydz Ikwuemesi, Dr. Kunle Filani and Prof. Tonie Okpe. Ikwuemesi in his presentation tagged Beyond Monologue: Personal Notes on the Critique and Hermeneutics, emphasised could be anybody including a legless person who teaches running as long as ability to open and make accessible the dialogic essences of art is not in doubt. For his part Filani stressed that major components of criticism are style, good command of language and rich art vocabulary. These he said are advantageous if the critic is an artist, art connoisseur or art historian, as they help the critic’s perception become contextual.
In his presentation showing powerpoint representations of his topic, Installation and Performance Art: A Single Platform Co-existence Agenda, Okpe dwelt on the components of art within the content and context of Nigeria’s social economic factors. He stressed that, “Artists here cannot pretend to be unaware of the dynamics of art, particularly in the new media as regularly being displayed by artists across the world.”
Another well received presentation was by Goddy Leye, founder of a Douala, Cameroon-based “laboratory for contemporary arts, ArtBaker.” He reviewed artist-gallery relationship; an issue many were glad to discuss.
Highly appreciated were these presentations even though their reservations were about the fact that it lacked focus on art reporting. However, there was a general acknowledgement of the fact that there were challenges regarding reporting art especially with most media houses giving very little or no attention to art.