Sculptors offer ‘Elixir’ to national issues

THE Sculptors Association of Nigeria (SCAN) will hold the first edition of its juried exhibition titled ‘Elixir’.

Opening on Saturday, November 13, at the National Museum, Onikan, Lagos, the show offers an escape from the country’s political, social and cultural issues.

Announcing the exhibition on Wednesday, November 3, Head, Fine Arts Department, Yaba College of Technology, Dr Adeola Balogun, noted that no less than 40 artists would participate.

Speaking on the conceptual framework of ‘Elixir’, Balogun noted that at no time has Nigerian nationhood been called to question like the current time and stressed the importance of peace.

The renowned sculptor said that the rising agitations by non-state actors sponsored by political blocs and seeming brutal suppression by state actors, with undercurrents of dubious foreign interests with eyes on material potentials of the country, urging ethnic discordant tunes amongst the masses, is dangerous.

He further described the exhibition as “an elixir urgently needed to keep the biggest black nation on planet earth afloat.”

Also speaking, Kingsley Braimoh, a representative of the SCAN Executives, revealed that the exhibition was scheduled to hold last year but was shifted due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Braimoh noted that art is ordinarily a form of therapy to take people’s minds off certain things. That is why we have come to see artworks in hospitals in recent times.

“Elixir, as the title suggests, is like calming the nerves of some of the national and global challenges. That is why we are coming up with this theme, hoping to redirect people’s minds to what joins us together. Art is just like football; it has no barriers. With ‘Elixir’, we are bringing in the artworks to tell our stories and cushion some of our challenges.

He further revealed that the show has the backing of lots of masters, including El Anatsui, Bruce Onobrakpeya, Nike Okundaye and the recently deceased Yusuf Grillo, who will be honoured for his contribution to the growth of the Nigerian art community.

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