For Rasheed Gbadamosi, a sumptuous arts feast

The maiden Rasheed Gbadamosi Eko Art Expo may well be the fillip needed by the creative sector in Lagos and, indeed Nigeria 

IN celebrating the late economist, industrialist, art patron, playwright and co-chair of the Lagos@50 celebrations, Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi, with an art expo last weekend, the Lagos State Government also affirmed that its support for the arts was not limited to just music and films.

Spanning Friday to Sunday at the Eko Hotel, Victoria Island and tagged Lagos For All,  it was an event which Gbadamosi, author of plays including Behold My Redeemer, Echoes From the Lagoon  and Trees Grow in the Desert would have approved because it had all he liked and promoted in his lifetime: music, performance and visual art. But most importantly, it was also about celebrating the several talents that dot the Nigeria’s creative landscape – the masters, emerging ones and students.

The opening ceremony on Friday evening, expectedly, was a well-attended, colourful affair. But beyond the razzmatazz, the organisers also seized the occasion to outline their transformational visions for the arts sector, which, if fully implemented, would cement Lagos’ status as the centre of Nigeria’s artistic universe.

Involving not less than 12 major galleries from the city, the art exhibition component of the expo was an interesting affair for art lovers who had their fill of works by various artists. Works by the grandmaster; Dr. Bruce Onobrakpeya; the painter KoladeOsinowo; Ghana’s Ablade Glover; Gerald Chukwuma; Duke Asidere; Segun Aiyesan and Fidelis Odogwu among others were all displayed by galleries, including Mydrim, Terra Kulture, Nike Arts Centre and Art House Contemporary. Others were Rele Art Foundation, Palette Art Gallery, Sanya Art, Gemini Art and Henry Moweta African Centre. Independent artists also had space to showcase their works, thus making it an all-inclusive show.

Fittingly, the evening didn’t swing off fully until dignitaries including Governor Akinwumi Ambode and his wife, Bolanle; Information and Culture Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; Senator Olamilekan Adeola, veteran artiste, Jimi Solanke, Mrs NdubuisiKanu and others had viewed the exhibits. They also had brief interactions with some of the artists like TaiyeIdahor and Mrs Polly Alakija.

Three young artists that were present: Chigozie Obi of the Creative Arts Department, University of Lagos, Oluwasegun Akano, a graduate of Analytical Chemistry from the Ladoke Akintola University, Ogbomoso and Naomi Oladipo from the Obafemi Awolowo University, also had the opportunity of sharing about their works with guests before the opening ceremony ended.

Lagos’ photos

Curated by Azu Nwagbogu’s African Artists’ Foundation (AAF), the riveting photographs of Lagos showed different parts of the city and featured Akintunde Akinleye, Robbin Hammond, Hans Wilshut and Lorenzo Vitturi amongst others. With the theme Dey Your Lane, Governor Ambode had seen the photography exhibition in Belgium last year and requested that it be brought to the Centre of Excellence for the real owners to view. It was also one of the reasons that the expo happened.

Stirring performances

There were three performances on the night and all were appreciated by the audience. First up was spoken word performer, Titilope Sonuga, who stirred the hall with her From a place. The performance poet and writer, Akeem Lasisi, who followed, also introduced the audience to ijala, the traditional Yoruba hunter’s poem, before highlighting how the late Chief Gbadamosi straddled the corporate and art worlds in a moving poem titled His signature is bold and very rare. The last performance was by the dancer, Qudus Onikeku, who first presented Iwa Lewa before his troupe expressed their profound creativity in message filled dance routines that drew a standing ovation from guests.

The speeches

Expectedly, the evening was also one of speeches. Coordinator of the art exhibition, Adesanya, described the expo as a befitting tribute to Gbadamosi, a “very revered and much loved patron of the arts,” who did a lot for visual arts, music and literature. She further noted that the expo is the first project of such magnitude by the Lagos State to support visual arts.

“It’s great and commendable,” Adesanya said while thanking government for creating a platform for artists. She also expressed the hope that “this will be a platform for great things to come and that the art museum will come into fruition under Governor Ambode.”

Major art collector and patron, Prince Yemisi Shyllon said Governor Ambode “has started a movement unconsciously” by backing the arts. Shyllon, who reeled out figures of how the arts have helped the economies of different countries offhand, added that if Lagos continues on the track it had started on, it was capable of meeting the foreign exchange needs of Nigeria. “Lagos has blazed the trail; you are the real Moses we’ve been waiting for. It takes a lot of insight to recognize this talent and resources,” Shyllon added while also appreciating the honour given to his late associate.

A former Ogun State governor and Gbadamosi’s classmate at Methodist Boys High School, Lagos, Chief Segun Osoba, asked the deceased’s children and sisters to join him on stage before reliving their days in school.Osoba didn’t fail to comment on Ambode’s intervention in the arts, noting that he’s “bringing the old and new together and restoring Lagos as the modern father of Nigeria’s arts. Ambode’s revolution is sweeping.”

Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, fulsomely praised Ambode and revealed the governor’s efforts at reviving the National Arts Theatre. “He is one of the most passionate governors when it comes to the creative industry. He realised that one of the low hanging fruits is the creative industry and has demonstrated efforts to harness this in so many ways. One is enhanced security; he has given Lagos one of the intangible infrastructure for the creative industry. Without security, there is no night life. The Light Up Lagos is one of the best things he has done for the creative industry.

“He is the first governor to build theatres all over the state. He said I’m going to give you a brand new national museum and he has expended energy, money in trying to midwife a new museum for the country. He’s also using the opportunity of the Lagos@50 to renovate the main bowl, halls one and two and the lobby of the National Theatre. In fact, I’ll be the only minister [of culture] to have left the National Theatre better than I met it. The governor is creating infrastructure that have been missing for the creative industry to thrive into existence. He is starting a great movement to help unleash the potentials of Nigerians,” the minister said.

Mohammed lamented the disconnect between the town and gown, the outdated curriculum for teaching art and the lack of enforcement in protecting copyright. He acknowledged that governments across the world subsidised the arts and that the Federal Government was not relenting on the National Endowment for the Arts. The Minister also highlighted the gains of the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Tony Elumelu Foundation and British Council. He disclosed that training for managers of 40 festivals across the country will soon commence and that as part of efforts at improving the ease of doing business, the Federal Government had relaxed the visa regime. He said Nigerian embassies had been instructed to issue visas in 48 hours and that visa on arrival was now in effect in Nigeria.

Ambode said that if Nigeria was is going to beat recession, it’s going to be through the conscious development of the creative industry and that the  expo was to appreciate the  talents in Lagos,  honour the late Gbadamosi, and  demonstrate that the state’ intervention in the creative sector did not exclude the visual art.

He said that the expo was the “beginning of an enduring relationship with the arts sector and the arts intelligentsia that make this sector such an important partner in the development of our state as Africa’s largest, busiest and perhaps most lucrative creative hub.”

Government, he disclosed, had commissioned several artists to decorate various parts of the state with landmark installations, in addition to the six art theatres that will open across the state before the end of the year.

Governor Ambode added that, “Our administration believes that no nation or state can achieve its full potential without adequate attention to matters of heritage and culture or without due encouragement for the teeming youthful population that sees and seeks opportunities in the creative industries. This is why we are keenly interested in further development of our creative talents; in providing them with support and opportunities to be engaged; in helping to create platforms such as today’s to excel and compete globally, and in showing to the world that Lagos is more than ready to announce its arrival as the continent’s frontline destination of choice that gives arts and culture their due.”