The British Council has provided a platform for creative young artists to display their talents, as a way of boosting the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country.

Speaking with The Guardian at one of its creative economy showcase programmes, where Jude Abaga, popularly known as MI, was invited to mentor the younger creatives, the Project Manager, Ndubuisi Kanu, hinted that the British Council is working mostly with people from the age of 18 to 35.

Tagged: ‘British Council Creative Economy Showcase Programme,’ Kanu said the initiative aims to stimulate links among Nigerian creatives by providing them access to the British Council exhibition spaces for art displays, showcases and performances at no cost to the exhibition.

He said this is part of the organisation’s engagement with the arts and creative industries in Nigeria, where it supports creatives with access to British Council-owned exhibition spaces and other venues in prime locations (for one to three consecutive days) in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Kano states.

Kanu said the main objectives of the programme include, building a strong British Council Nigeria Arts Alumni network, increasing the creation of new art and sharing of this art with audiences and fostering new relationships between exhibitors and the wider creative sector in Nigeria.

“The creative industries in Nigeria are rapidly growing economic powerhouses that are increasingly being recognised as pathways for sustainable livelihoods for young people across art forms. However, most are faced with obstacles of weak policy support, a lack of infrastructure, low levels of awareness of the livelihood opportunities that exist within the art sectors and limited opportunities especially for networking, collaborations, and skill sharing.

“When we look at the situation of post COVID-19, a lot of artists are facing financial difficulties. And we know that venue space is one of the biggest expenditures for anybody wanting to put up a show. What we are doing in this programme is saying we’ll give you our facility free of charge to host your programme and also give you some other ancillary support as well.

“If you are an artist, and you want to use the British Council space, you will apply and if you qualify, we’ll give you the space and then you can ticket it to make money. We also provide electricity, sound, and other equipment and refreshment.”