Nigeria Content Online

The third edition
of the International Art Expo will hold at the National Museum, Onikan,
Lagos, from August 21 to 26. Organised jointly since 2008 by the
National Gallery of Art (NGA) and the Art Galleries Association of
Nigeria (AGAN), the exhibition will, as usual, feature artworks from
Nigerian galleries and participants from outside the country.

Activities for this
year’s show were unfolded at a press conference held at the Aina
Onabolu Complex, National Theatre, Lagos, on August 14. Acting Director
General of the NGA, Abdullahi Muku; AGAN president, Frank Okonta; NGA’s
acting director of research education, Simon Ikpakronyi; chair, AGAN
publicity committee, Oliver Enwonwu and curator of the NGA, Ekene
Okorooma, were among art aficionados at the briefing.

Enwonwu, who spoke
first, recalled the history of the expo and the goals of this year’s
show. “The maiden event in 2008 showcased over 400 artworks from 34
galleries. Building on this success, the fair was renamed International
Art Expo Nigeria in 2009, with over 50 galleries from Nigeria and five
galleries from neighbouring African countries, including the Republic
of Benin, Cameroun, Togo and Ghana participating.”

The chair, Lagos
State chapter of the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA), added that
“this year’s event promises to be even bigger and will feature
seminars, talks and the presentation of papers by renowned art scholars
on issues concerning the visual arts in Nigeria.”

Enwonwu also
touched on the collaboration between the NGA and AGAN, noting that the
partnership arose from the federal government’s Public/Private
partnership (PPP) initiative.

Speaking on
arrangements for the Expo, Ikpakronyi disclosed that this year’s Expo
is tagged ‘Special Edition’ because each of the 30 participating
galleries will be allowed to choose their own theme. He also disclosed
that the number of booths for galleries was reduced to 30 to allow
exhibiting galleries show more works.

The acting director
of research education further noted that the Expo is tagged ‘Special’
to celebrate the country’s 50th anniversary. “The emphasis for the art
expo is art promotion and patronage in Nigeria to assess how much has
been achieved in patronage and promotion since independence” he said.
Ikpakronyi also talked about the content of the brochure and mentioned
that the names of contributors to include respected names like Peju
Layiwola and Krydz Ikwuemesi. “We promise to give the best in the third
edition,” he reiterated.

Okonta thanked
members of the organising committee for their commitment and disclosed
that publisher of THISDAY Newspaper, Nduka Obaigbena, will chair the
Expo’s opening event.

Muku told the
audience what the NGA hopes the Expo will achieve. “Art Expo is
intended to be an art market for visual artists and the art community
in Nigeria. The intention of the NGA is to create a platform for
cultural exchange between Nigeria and the rest of the world,” he said.
The Acting DG also highlighted the relevance of seminars scheduled to
hold during the Expo. He said one will be for the media, including Arts
critics, reporters and writers. There will also be discussions on the
role of the banking sector in the development of the visual arts
sector, Muku added.

The sustainability of the expo, poor publicity, challenges faced by
organizers and their yardstick for progress, were discussed during the
question and answer session that followed. Moving the Expo to another
city was also raised, but Okonta said, “You have Art Expo Berlin, you
have Art Expo NewYork, so this is Art Expo Lagos.”