Norwegian Diplomats Hail Nigeria’s World Class Art Work
Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja
Diplomats from the Norway Embassy, Abuja, have rated Nigeria’s art works as world class.
The Consul and Counsellor of the Norway Embassy, Saul Novichyan and Sol Solveig made the assessment at the ‘Canvas of Identity, Resilience, and Renewed Hope’ exhibition organised by the National Gallery of Arts as part of 65th Nigerian Independence Celebration in Abuja.
Solveig said she was always amazed at the diversity of all the art from Nigeria in addition to the many gifted people in the industry.
“I think here in Nigeria, you find the very best. It’s just amazing, so good. I’m really impressed by the people here. So many really good artists. And beautiful work that is of high quality,” Solveig said.
The diplomat said she had been visiting several arts galleries in Nigeria since she arrived in the country last year, singling out the Nike Art Gallery for recognition.
She urged Nigerian artists to continue with what they were doing, as they were on the top on the international level.
On his part, Novichyan commended the exceptional quality of Nigerian art works and the impressive talent demonstrated by local artists.
He stressed that Nigerian art had reached an international standard, reflecting the creativity and skill inherent in the country’s artistic community.
He also advised them to continue their current artistic pursuits, noting that their work was already competitive on the global stage.
In his remarks, the Director General of National Gallery of Arts, Ahmed Sodangi, noted that the canvas of identity, resilience and renewed hope was a story about the current state of Nigerians as a resilient people who should dream bigger and have more creativity.
He added that the National Gallery was trying to incentivise the system by fostering the art business in Nigeria because it is one of the things that is mostly neglected.
“One thing that is very, very important is to look at the value chain. And because we have a lot of artists, art is a profession. So what we are trying to do in terms of improving the lives of Nigerians, particularly the artists, is look at the value chain and see how we can improve on it.
“And we all know around the world that the art industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. So one of the things the National Gallery is doing is improving the value chain, looking at the artworks as products, giving them certifications that will add to the base value,” Sodangi said.
