NGA holds 10th annual lecture in Abuja

Erudite scholar, Professor Ola Oloidi, a professor of Art History and Criticism at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka the guest speaker, gave an insightful lecture on the   state of visual art in Nigeria today. Speaking at the event,  the Minister of Culture, Tourism  and National Orientation,  Chief Edem Duke  represented  by the Permanent Secretary  in  […]

Erudite scholar, Professor Ola Oloidi, a professor of Art History and Criticism at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka the guest speaker, gave an insightful lecture on the   state of visual art in Nigeria today.

Speaking at the event,  the Minister of Culture, Tourism  and National Orientation,  Chief Edem Duke  represented  by the Permanent Secretary  in  the Ministry,  Dr. Ben Ibe  said  that the theme  of the 10th annual lecture suggests a radical shift of Nigeria’s culture from the static to the dynamic, adding that culture lives and grows with the society and contributes to it’s maintenance.

He  said that the lecture is designed to among other things  enable stakeholders in the cultural sector rub minds with scholars on the various aspects of Nigerian visual arts and culture  in order to build up resource materials for use by art institutions, scholars and art lovers within and outside the country.

“To achieve  this laudable objective of improved level of art appreciation, the three tiers of government must put in place institutional framework to complement the efforts of the National Gallery of Arts, while the private sectors, corporate bodies and other stakeholders should be the driving force in the area of promotion and sponsorship of programmes such as this,” he said.

In his address Senate committee chairman of Culture, Tourism   and National Orientation, Senator Ahmed Hassan Barata disclosed that the   National Gallery of Art has put a plan in place to bring all the lectures together to form a book to serve as good reference materials to students, lecturers and workers particularly those in the culture sector.

Also speaking,    NGA Director General Dr. Abdullahi Muku said that the annual lectures is being organised for the specific benefit of art students, scholars,  stakeholders and the general public, adding that it is designed to attract speakers of international standing and repute to give views on burning issues.

The lecture was inaugurated in 1995 to enlighten the general public on the various aspects of Nigerian Arts and Culture.