1952 Africa, an Art gallery, has partnered with Goethe-Institut Nigeria to enable artists access grants and other funding to boost their work in the global market. This was disclosed at the 1952 Art Lounge funding chat with the Goethe-Institut Nigeria, held in Lekki, Lagos recently.
The 1952 Art Lounge is an art community get together, where persons from across the art sector are invited to meet, network and discuss ideas, issues and solutions. The Founder of 1952 Africa, Ejike Egbuagu, said art is undervalued and underfunded in Nigeria and Africa, hence, many creative talents don’t see the light of the day and end up in the streets without jobs.
He said this is reason 1952 Africa has brought Goethe-Institut Nigeria, which is an arm of the German government and other private investors to support artists and their cultural expressions.
“There are no jobs and the government is not going to change that anytime soon. But we believe the young people of Nigeria and Africa are creative by name. If given the right resources and platforms, they can deliver themselves out of challenges.
“This platform is supporting that ability by giving them the tools they need to turn their creative abilities into wealth.
“We are giving them the knowledge, network, capability and platform to sell their works internationally and earn foreign exchange and be right next to their counterparts in Europe, America, Asia and other continents where they deserve to be.
“Our objective is to bring up the value and standards of the output of arts and the creativity industry in Nigeria and across Africa,” he added. On her part, the Director of Goethe-Institut Nigeria, Nadine Siegert, said artists in Africa lack funds to access the global market just like their foreign counterparts.
She said the institute would be working with 1952 Africa to build a culture corporation between Nigeria and Germany as well as to support artists and cultural operatives.
Siegert said the institute already has existing funding schemes, for International Corporation and cultural exchange between Nigeria and Germany. She said the Lagos-Berlin Residency programme and the Support and Connect funding schemes are yearly idea exchange programme for artists in Nigeria and Germany.
Siegert said this enables art teams in both cities to meet, explore and develop creative ideas.
“This is the first time we are working with 1952 Africa. It is a new project and programme that we started tonight, people are invited to come together to talk about funding, which is what the art world and artists need in Nigeria,” he added.
A Multidisciplinary artist, Stacy Opara, who is one of the beneficiaries of, Goethe-Institut Nigeria grant, stressed that a lot of funding comes from the private sector with a few from institutions, which is not always open to everybody due to inability to access investors.
She said this has made a lot of artists struggle within the practice to sustain it.
“Funding helps the creative sector to thrive, it also helps artists think outside the box and create their best work,” she said.
