LVI Art Gallery and Cultural Nexus is to embark on a residency programme for some Nigerian young artists to further improve their level of creativity and expose them to the global space.
Julius Iyoghiojie, Chief Executive Officer of the art gallery, disclosed this during a news conference in Lagos on Friday.
Iyoghiojie said that the essence of the residency programme was also to ensure the young artists get the needed experience to compete favourably with their colleagues in other climes.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that an art residency programme is such that allows guest artists to work in a new environment, often away from the restrictions and pressures of their everyday lives.
He said that the residency programme with the theme; “TR Residency” would have six artists participate in the maiden edition and would hold from Sept. 1 to Nov. 20, 2022.
“We are trying to engage in arts promotion in Nigeria, we are passionate about this, the artists on residency would be painting on canvas for three months, we will be having three males and three females.
“Our criteria of picking them was that we ensured they are educated and are below age 30.
” LVI Art Gallery and Cultural Nexus would be providing the technical support throughout the programme.
“The gallery will be promoting the artists while the artists are to supply the gallery with art works,” he said.
The art collector noted that the artists will be given one year insurance plan, monthly allowance, free medical care and would be exposed to mentorship programmes.
He said at the end of the residency programme, there would be a local exhibition when the works produced during the period of the residency would be exhibited for the public.
According to him, the artists would be able to fully evaluate and appreciate arts, adding that those virtues were very rare among Nigerian artists.
“We are investing in this because we believe that the growth of Nigerian artists is important,” he said.
Iyoghiojie, with over 27 years experience as an art collector, urged parents to allow their wards engage in arts early enough as this would go a long way in boosting their level of creativity.
He noted that his gallery was focused on the promotion of contemporary Nigerian culture, arts, dance and music to achieve strong global brands.
He said the gallery was working on connecting arts and tourism with the combination of an art gallery, photo studio, framing studio, games arena, printing and laminating zones.
According to him, the essence of the framing and photo studios was to ensure quality control, good customer service, speedily service delivery and reliability in delivery. (NAN)
