Lagos-based art collector and Chairman, Board of Trustees, Aguene Art Foundation, Solomon Ogbonna, has said that government must not only build museums but also support art and culture.
The collector, whose house in Aja, Lagos, is home to hundreds of art works across various media, made the declaration in an interview where he decried lack of support from government and poor art appreciation in Nigeria, while also calling for the building of standard museums in the country.
“I believe that art is a form of culture and an extension of the mind and reasoning of the spirit. I am an advocate of the customs and traditions of Africans, and I am convinced that nothing will strengthen a people as much as a proper appreciation and understanding of their own history as recorded by their own people in their own language,” Ogbonna said.
For him, one of the biggest and best museums in the world should be in Nigeria, since the country is so blessed with rich arts and cultural heritage that are not being given due attention. He is amazed that the government, especially the governors, pay lip service to Nigeria’s art and culture?
“It is a shame that most of the states in Nigeria, despite the rich cultural heritage and artefacts in them, the country cannot boast of any standard museum that can showcase their ancient or modern arts or compete favourably with museums in other parts of the world.
“Rather, our sons and daughters travel to the western countries and are proud to flaunt it that they saw one, two or more artworks of their tribes that are on display in various museums abroad, that are raking in money for these western countries in the process. It is a known fact that Nigerian artworks do not serve decorative purposes alone; apart from being priceless, they also convey important messages to the people, especially bronze, copper and wood works, which have been rated in the world as the best and most valuable African art.”
According to him, our leaders should know that setting up a standard museum that will attract tourists from all over the world is not about a certificate or how educated one is.
“It is also not about appointing a friend or relation who has no interest or knowledge in, or love and passion for art and tradition as a commissioner or minister. It is also pertinent to know that no one can govern his people without having a clear knowledge of their art, culture and tradition,” Ogbonna added.
He recalled that the preservation of art, culture and the tradition of the people is a passion in his family, stressing that the Aguene Art Foundation, which he established, is a product of his love for art.
“We launched the foundation on August 21, 2013. I want to use this foundation to help young artists who are talented but do not have the material to showcase and expose their talent to the world because of lack of resources. The foundation will help them with their creativity and make them independent, and also serve as a medium to empower students who are talented – in primary and secondary schools and also in higher institutions.
“I have over 6,700 artworks, including modern and ancient arts, bronze, beadworks, word carvings, paintings, batiks, ceramics, fibre glass works, some of them dates back to 200 years ago. I have some terracotta (Nok Culture) works that are about 2,000 years old.”
So, is he collecting artworks just for appreciation and documentation or is he also thinking of making money from them?
“For the modern works, yes,” he said. “I can commission specific works for people to buy. For such works, I also personally supervise them to make it special, make it different. For most modern works that I commission, I don’t use one artist. Sometimes one artist could do a work to a particular stage and I will tell the artist to stop, so that someone else will touch it. So you cannot claim the work; also you cannot copy the work.
“I hope to hold the first exhibition of most modern works I have collected for over two years. The exhibition will hold here in my house in April this year. The works for the exhibition will be limited to those I collected since two years ago.”
He added, however, that the works are not for sale. “The works are just for people to see.”