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Yabatech Museum Conveys Art Schools’

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Yabatech Museum Conveys Art Schools’

As part of activities marking the first year anniversary of Yaba Art Museum of the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), the institution has conveyed an inaugural meeting of Art Schools in Nigeria.



The meeting, which was held at the Yusuf Grillo auditorium on the campus, aimed at bringing together creative intermediaries and representatives of Art Schools across higher educational institutions in Nigeria to critically discuss and work out possible solutions, collaborations and development plans towards Art Museum across Nigeria’s tertiary education sphere.



The event was declared opened by YABATECH Rector, Engr. Obafemi  Omokungbe, represented by Deputy Rector, Academics Dr. (Mrs.) T. A. Ukabam. In his address, the rector said that recommendations proffered at the meeting should be added into the curriculum so as to move art education forward in Nigeria.



“I want to commend the zeal you have towards art education. I appreciate your efforts to help art education move forward. By coming together, I believe we will develop a template that will move the art education forward. I believe at the end of the meeting we will factor into the curriculum training of the art students so that we can move art education forward and we can impact the society positively,” he said.



The representative board of trustee Yaba Art Museum, Engr. Yemisi Adedoyin Shyllon, founder/CEO of Omooba Yemisi Adedoyon Shyllon Art Foundation and who is also currently Nigeria’s largest private art collector spoke on challenges facing the art sector in Nigeria. He frowned at our collective attitude towards art work, especially ethnographic art work whom because of religious indoctrination are now labelled or seen as juju. He kicked against the restitution of the stolen because when they are brought back we lack the capacity to preserve the art work. .



Earlier, Mr Mackemjika Dabesaki spoke in support of restitution of the lost or stolen ethnographic art work to be bright back to their abode, urged participants and art stakeholders to do more in preserving artistic and cultural heritage, particularly works of great artists. He said: “What stories can we tell about contemporary issues like ethnicity, accountable policy, gender and other using our preservation frame?



“Art preservation requires intentionality on what stories we want them to tell. Preservation also requires that we have a conversation that is proactive to human development through art preservation.



“And I think I have to say that YABATECH has done a good job in steering a conversation around some of these contemporary issues. The story of preservation is important to capture both what we still have and what we have lost. It is worthy of note how YABATECH is preserving parts of the institution’s culture and history by creating a space where you can showcase these items.”



During a chat with the curator of the museum, Dr. Odun Orimolade, she revealed that the Yaba Art Museum is not just a museum for only showcasing artworks, but is also an education-based institution.



Yaba Art Museum, a project funded by Ford Foundation was recently listed as one of Lagos State Tourism sites by Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Art & Culture, like the Museum, since it was unveiled in November 2020  has been at the forefront of presenting Art Exhibition that supports Youth Advocacy, Social Justice, Sexual Harassment Gender-Based Violence.