Nigeria, Europe, Asia in ‘Art of Friendship’

Works of Nigerian artists at home and in the Diaspora from the National collection as well as works of artists from the participating countries Czech Republic, France, Italy and South Korea, boundlessly interacted. From abstract, 3-dimensional, mixed media to sculptures in different colours, textures, techniques, shapes and sizes, guests were educated on and entertained by […]

Works of Nigerian artists at home and in the Diaspora from the National collection as well as works of artists from the participating countries Czech Republic, France, Italy and South Korea, boundlessly interacted.

From abstract, 3-dimensional, mixed media to sculptures in different colours, textures, techniques, shapes and sizes, guests were educated on and entertained by various art and cultural perspectives and trends of the participating countries.

Ushering guests into the arena was the multi-coloured melody of Korea’s Sung Jung-soon’s guitar mixture on canvas, ‘For Rianna’, as Ray Soko’s mixed media ‘Homage’ beside Sor Sen’s oil on canvas, ‘The future is now’ and Kolade Oshinowo’s ‘Journey through savannah’. The journey continued to other works like Italy’s Isabella Catoni’s eye-catching fish series and France’s Pascale Bigot beautiful maidens and landscapes.

Declaring the evening open, Minister of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation, Edem Duke said the collaborative effort presented a rare opportunity of feasting rich aesthetics of the countries.

Although according to Duke, “we’ve failed tonight in the art of holding the rain,” he commended guests and enthusiasts who turned up en masse despite the fact that it was a rainy day and a public holiday.

Urging upcoming artists to enhance their skills, Duke said a boy could go to bed hungry but upon taking a plain canvass and working on it he could wake up a millionaire. Seizing the opportunity, he appealed to the Federal Government to allocate land to the NGA for the purpose of a multipurpose gallery.
With the first edition held in 2012 NGA boss, Abdullahi Muku said the initiative was borne out of the need to strengthen the bond of friendship that exists between Nigeria and the other participating countries.

He said: “At a time like this when world peace is hanging on a precipice, cultural fiestas like that on display today can be used to preach the message of peace.
Describing art as a universal language which unites nations and bridges their socio-cultural differences, Italian Ambassador, Fulvio Rustico said: “through art we can get a better knowledge and understanding of both our own culture and that of other people.”

He added that Italy’s participation takes place within the framework of the cultural events organized to celebrate the “XIV Week of the Italian Language and Culture in the World” and the Semester of Italian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

“Our art remains an important tool of communication and our artists have made an eloquent testimony of the abundance of Nigerian art,” Rustico said.
The Czech artists, Boris Jirku (55) and David Ledvinka ( 30s) according to  Ambassador Pavel Mikeš are from two generations and have links to Africa making illustrations for African proverbs and folklore.

According to him: “Ledvinka called upon to particpate in the exhibition said he would make a series of paintings of his friends of different ages, sexes and characters in line with the exhibition theme.”

Mikeš said he hoped the exhibition would further educate Czechs about nigerian artists as most of them already new about lieteray giants like Achebe, Soyinka and Adichie whose works have been translated into the Czech language.

For a lot of guests it was also an opportunity to have a firsthand and one-on-one encounter with works of artists they had heard or previously read about.  Irene Anene said: “I first saw Kolade Oshinowo’s wotrks a few years ago when the fashion designer Tiffany Amber used them for the clothing line.”
She added that: “This is the first time I’m actually seeing one of his original works and I’m so excited to be this close to the artist. I really admire his creativity.”
Food from the countries were a major part of the exhibition as many sampled and tatsed items like sushi for the first time.
The exbition which is open to any interested country to participate in ends today.