By Prisca Sam-Duru

When it comes to creativity, give it up for Nigerian artists. The major factor that prevents a good number of them from reaching their full potential and competing favourably with their foreign counterparts however, is funding.
It was therefore in line with its commitment to support artists that 1952 Africa, an Art gallery in Lagos, is collaborating with Goethe-Institut Nigeria to make access to grants and other funding easier for artists.

The partnership is aimed at helping artists become more visible in the global art market.
The partnership was made known recently at the 1952 Art Lounge Funding Chat with the Goethe-Institut Nigeria, held in Lekki, Lagos.
Founder of 1952 Africa, Ejike Egbuagu, explained that the gallery is an art community get together, where stakeholders brainstorm for the development and progress of the sector. The art funding chat event he disclosed, was designed to create an opportunity for artists to chat with investors along with people that issue grants- Goethe-Institut Nigeria, adding that the organisation was proud to be partnering with them to offer opportunities for more artists to access grants they’d never have gotten elsewhere.

Speaking on the situation with art, he said, “Art is undervalued and underfunded in Africa and globally, hence, many creative talents don’t see the light of the day and end up in the streets without jobs. So, we are committed to helping artists get better economic value for their works as well as creating a new source of revenue for Nigerians.”

Egbuagu who got educated both in Nigeria and the UK, hinted that the programme was initiated because of his mindset to develop the community where he lives and also hails from. “Not everything is about giving people money; knowledge and capabilities are necessary so that they can help themselves. 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 nature. 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. In the next ten years, we hope to transform the platform into an African wide platform whereby we are helping a large number of young artists and 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. They don’t need to be earning in an underserved markets,” he stated.

Egbuagu further noted that their objective is to bring up the value and standards of the output of arts and the creative industry in Nigeria and across Africa, adding that it is their desire to see more investors join the team to enable more artists launch into the global art market.
Also speaking, the Director of Goethe-Institut Nigeria, Nadine Siegert, said the essence of the programme was to discuss funding for artists from a different perspective, stating the obvious fact that 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 disclosed that the Goethe-Institut Nigeria already has two funding schemes for International Corporation and cultural exchange between Nigeria and Germany, noting that, “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. It’s a beautiful programme where people from different background who are interested in knowing how access to funding works, gather.”