AN Abeokuta-based visual artist and founder of Artitude Central, Amina Okikiolu Olajide, recently hosted an exhibition, which showed her artistic works, inspire other artists, and promote traditional and indigenous art for the benefits of the public.
Held in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, the exhibition brought together artists, lovers of art, tourists and the community to discuss and appreciate beauty.

Olajide, who doubles as the Founder and Director of Choice Arts, said the essence of the show was to establish the fact that different people, with different beliefs can co-exist without any hassle.
“The essence of this exhibition is to show that you can always allow people to be who they are, believed in whatever they belief and can also co-exist in the same space. I could believe that reading a motivational book could ease my mind and you could believe that maybe reading a bible or a Quran is what works for you. Don’t judge people based on their beliefs. Don’t believe that your faith is actually the yardstick or benchmark to connect with the superior being,” she said.

Olajide revealed that she got her partially paralysed hand back to life through painting, owing to a terrible accident that claimed many lives, adding she now sees arts beyond aesthetics, and beyond commissioning, as it became part of her healing.
She said: “In 2021, I had an accident, eight people died. Surviving that accident was more of a miracle. I remember that when my husband got to that scene, the people he met there told him all the passengers died. What happened was that our driver died on motion, so we didn’t know he was dead and apparently a ghost was driving us for about 10 minutes.  It was a period that changed not just the relationship that I have with my body but my creativity and how I see life after that time.

“During that time, different people came with different things which they believed will work if I had tried them. Because my right hand was partially paralysed, they offered series of remedies out of their goodwill, because they believed it and it worked for them. So, while I was recovering, automatically the people that recommended several things to me would have believed that it was their recommendations that worked because they were seeing my recovery through the lens of the path they chose.

My perspective about life changed since then, I realised that peoples believes are different.
“If I tell you that we tried everything to ensure my partially paralysed hand worked, but to no avail. The only thing that eventually got this hand working was painting. What I did was to put my brush in the hand and tie my wrist to the brush and start painting. I didn’t tell anybody as at that time because we had different remedies. This shifted my though because I actually see Arts beyond aesthetics, beyond commissioning to me, from that moment, it became part of my healing.”

The artist maintained that tourism promotion should extend beyond popular landmarks to include privately owned attractions capable of providing visitors with memorable experiences while creating economic opportunities for surrounding communities.
She urged the Ogun State government to intensify support for the creative industry and tourism sector through improved publicity, strategic partnerships and deliberate efforts to promote emerging tourist destinations across the state.
Olajide, who has practised art professionally since 2014, said the state had numerous tourism opportunities beyond established attractions such as Olumo Rock, but many remained underpromoted and insufficiently integrated into tourism itineraries.
She appealed to the government to recognise privately developed creative and recreational facilities as potential drivers of tourism, employment generation and local economic growth.
Pix: Olajide