Development of creative arts our priorirty – Sanwo-Olu 

Lagos is the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria, serving as the melting pot for business and commerce. It is the reason there is deluge of hustle and bustle in the city, including illicit activities that are not limited to the city-state.

There is the argument that Lagos must promote art, heritage of the past, reinvent cultural aesthetics for the future, especially as art can be used as a lead to transform other aspects of the society or serves as object or subject of transformation to check societal ills.

It was in line with this that the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture in collaboration with the Office of the First Lady recently held an art exhibition that showcased the works of over 30 different artists.

The exhibition dubbed ‘Greater Lagos Art Exhibition’ with the theme, “Art in and for Transformation, which was opened by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, had sessions for panel discussions and mentoring.

Sanwo-Olu, in his speech, said he was delighted that young and upcoming artists took a wise decision to embrace the opportunity provided by the platform to showcase their talents, network with their peers and gain from the knowledge and experience of veterans.

“Creative art occupies a special place in the E-pillar of our THEMES agenda which stands for Entertainment and Tourism. In the over 3 years of the implementation of this development agenda, we have left no one in doubt about our desire to fully harness the largely untapped potentials entertainment sector especially the creative arts component.

“We have therefore embraced every opportunity to support and encourage young and upcoming talented individuals to grow and gain the exposure they will need to succeed.

“This exhibition, which has been designed to feature knowledge sharing discussions by highly successful and award winning professionals, is one of the several initiatives being implemented by this administration through the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture to realise our goals and objectives for this sector.

He noted that the theme of the exhibition speaks to the power of art works as potent tools to drive and influence social transformation through the message they communicate.

“This is quite instructive as there is the need to utilise different modes and media to effectively communicate messages and ideas especially those that are meant to change the orientation of the general public on societal ills and their negative effects on the general wellbeing of the society.”

The governor pledged his administration’s unrelenting commitment to the growth of the sector as one of the major drivers of policy on tourism development in Lagos State.

In her remarks, the Wife of the Governor, Dr. (Mrs.) Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu said the event presents opportunities to appreciate the enormous contribution of artists to society and to remind them of the need to use their creativity to correct some ills within the community.

She said it was what informed the decision of her officer to collaborate with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture on the exhibition, aside the desire to open up opportunities for visual artists who have proven to stand out in their artistic work.

She further said that arts had been proven to be a powerful tool, which helps people, communicate with the outer world and better understand their inner selves.

“Across the globe, art has proven to be a powerful tool which helps people communicate with the outer world and better understand their inner selves. It has a transformational power and this informs why people spend millions of naira on artwork because of the satisfaction they derive from the messages communicated through these artworks.

“The role of an exhibition in the art industry cannot be overemphasised. People come together to attend art fairs and exhibitions, which gives Government the opportunity to build relationships with different artists from within and outside the country, using art as a tool.

“So, as an artist, beyond seeing yourself as mere art professionals and members of the creative sector, you all should be aware that you are also teachers who are gifted in the use of art to enlighten through painting imaginary pictures or recreating real-life scenarios.

“With these special skills, you are a great contributor to the Tourism and Entertainment pillar of this present administration and this also gives you space under the Education and Technology pillar of the THEMES Agenda of the administration of Mr Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu.

“As you may be aware that one of the major menaces in our society in recent times is the issue of Gender-Based Violence which is now on the increase.

“As opinion moulders and great influencers of thought, I challenge you to be deeply involved and commit yourself to supporting this administration in stamping out this menace from our society through the use of your artworks as a form of campaign against Domestic and Gender-Based Violence.

“Apart from the Elimination of Violence against Women, there are several other menaces within our society like child labour, sexual discrimination, and discrimination based on disability status, among others.

“These are some of the key areas that you can leverage to educate the populace with the aim of transforming our society to be a better place. I believe that our artists have a role to play in this task by using artworks to speak against these societal ills just as everyone else.