Daily Independent (Lagos)
Michael Jegede
6 July 2009
interview
Abuja — Joe Musa is the Director-General (DG) of the National Gallery of Arts (NGA), Abuja. Musa, appointed into this position in 2006, was the National Coordinator in charge of documentation of arts and culture materials in the presidency under the senior special assistant to the president. In this encounter with REPORTER Michael Jegede, the DG lamented the apathy by Nigerians to the visual arts, but expressed confidence that the trend will change as the NGA, under him, has put in place certain measures to raise the consciousness of the people towards arts appreciation.
Excerpts:
As the Director-General of the National Gallery of Arts (NGA), how would you describe the art job?
The job is exciting. Challenging yes, but if you are a hard worker, you will definitely find pleasure in it. We see that the challenges are converted into new milestones to conquer and achieve greatness in the job. So, it is quite interesting. In fact, let me simply say that it is interestingly challenging.
What was the NGA like before you took over the mantle of leadership and how did you get the job in the first instance?
How I was nominated is another story entirely. But before then, I was the National Coordinator of the Nigerian Arts and Culture Directorate project in the presidency in the office of the then senior special assistant to the president on arts and culture, Professor Catherine Acholonu. For four years, we were travelling around, documenting every aspect of the Nigeria arts and culture and tourism by extension. We were doing that and we were gathering materials that would assist in the uplift and advancement of the art sector. No doubt, it was a Herculean task doing that for four years. But before then, I was a media man, having just concluded five years on Channels Television covering the art desk. About 20 years before then I was running Joe Musa Gallery. I was also syndicating write-ups in several newspapers. While I was doing that I was also consultant to a lot of banks.
What exactly were you doing for the banks as their consultant?
I was arts consultant to most of Nigeria first generation banks. I was in charge of arts valuation and the documentation of their works, so that they needed to know the pricing and all that. I was like a curator but on contract basis to most of them. And in the 2006, the Federal Government invited me that the tenure of the previous man there had expired and that they wanted me to come and redefine and reinvent the visual arts industry, considering that I had over the years organised workshops, seminars and programmes that saw artists getting residences not just within Nigeria but also in the United State of America. So, I was invited. And why the government does this, is that when they invite you, you do not reject and embarrass them. You know the issue of Chinua Achebe and the National Award. That is why they prefer to notify you. Otherwise, they would have just announced your name. And so I was notified that in short while they would announce my name and so I waited and they did that. And when I came on board, I noticed that in the National Gallery of Arts, even the staff lacked self-confidence, let alone the artists that we were supposed to preside over. I had to do an in-house rejuvenation first of all. We did a lot of personnel auditing using on the spot analysis and we began to put people where they were supposed to be. When I came in, I actually met an intellectual foundation already made. So, I began to build on it. We did some strategic planning, five years, ten years and 20 years strategic planning. And we began to implement. That is where we are now. It is three years down the line and the visual arts sector is excited. One of our achievements is that the Society of the Nigerian Artists (SNA) is now a member of the board of the National Gallery of Arts. Another of our great achievements is that there are about three bills in the National Assembly waiting to be passed and they are all geared towards arts development in the country, as they will further empower the sector. We have organised several international and domestic programmes, biennials and triennials like the arts competition, ARESUVA (African Regional Exhibition and Summit on Visual Arts) and others that are fully on ground.
In specific terms, what would you say are the challenges you have been facing in the administration of the affairs of the arts institution since you assumed office?
It has been a Herculean task. First of all, we realised that, just like people say, there is a low reading culture, there is also a low understanding of the visual arts in this clime. And that is what we had to deal with and that is exactly what we are dealing with. So, we have a propped up and increased arts appreciation. We are attacking it headlong. A lot of re-engineering has taken place. We revived the art journal into an intellectual journal for academics. Then we have also created a social magazine, dedicated arts magazine called The Atmosphere. That is already on. Then, we have also taken deliberate approach to documents of the visual artists. If you go to the bookshops you find that works on artists like Aina Onabolu, Akinola Lashikan, you know these books are not available. So, we are working with Art History Organisation of Nigeria to see that at the end of the year, at least ten titles will be on the bookshops on artists that have contributed immensely to the development of the visual arts of Nigeria. We achieved two previous years a couple of names, a couple of titles and one is of Professor Yusuf Grillo, a book Master of Masters. Another one is a book that we did on Ganiu Obitokun. So, for this year we are doing about five, six titles at the same time. We are contracting two historians to work on each title. And so that is one of the ways we are also expanding arts appreciation. And most of those books will be so simplified that we will have a secondary version and a tertiary version. Now, still talking about challenges, one of the aspects of challenges we are facing is the fact that people don't understand that art has a value and because they don't understand the figures and statistics for the visual arts, then the visual arts does not receive the attention it is supposed to achieve. And so, what we are working on is in a form of interlocking, collaboration and relationship. You know when you are building a house block tends to interlock for the house to be very solid. So, we are now collaborating with federal office of statistics and some other agencies because we believe that we cannot achieve much on our own without such partnership and collaboration.
From what you have said so far, it is glaring that Nigerians are not particularly enthusiastic about arts. What do you think is responsible for this apathy?
The market is not as vibrant as one would expect it to be. The apathy is just still there. But what would be responsible is the fact that people are not enlightened about the visual arts. The enlightenment aspect of the visual arts is still very low. Abroad, even if you are studying or specialising on architecture, medicine or law, you still take art as an elective course. So, people are trained in arts appreciation so that even when they have graduated they understand the schools of arts. They understand the history of arts in such a manner that you don't see apathy for arts being pronounced in those climes as obtains here. The main challenge here is that the apathy is still strong. But we are doing all we can by instituting such programmes to see that the apathetic response to the visual arts is done away with. Now, one of the strongest or major functions that we are working on is to systemise the secondary market. And with the systemising of the secondary market, automatically in another three to four years the tertiary market technicalities will arrange themselves. The secondary market has to do with auctioning and auctions and this auction has to do with arts valuation because it is through auctioning that the true value of arts is known.
What would you say is the future of arts in Nigerian socio-economic calculation?
The visual art and arts generally is very promising. Artworks are being sold in auction houses at very high prices, and artists are making a lot of money from it especially abroad, like I said earlier. Art is going to be one of the main alternative income generating sectors in a short while from now. At the rate we are going especially at the National Gallery of Arts, we are very optimistic that visual arts industry will be so transformed and enhanced to conveniently serve as an alternative source of revenue generation to oil. I want to encourage daring investors that are looking for investment alternatives that are vibrant to look towards the direction of the visual arts industry. It is indeed the best place they could invest without feeling the impact of the global financial meltdown.
Are you trying to say that the current world economic crunch that seems to have brought about recession in most businesses across the globe does not have any negative effect on activities in the visual arts circle?
Of course, I am not only trying to say it, but that is simply the clear and an obvious fact. The visual art business is not being affected by the so-called economic meltdown. Nothing is melting down in the visual arts industry. Rather than experiencing meltdown, what we are experiencing is melt up. If there is any word like that because business in the arts environment is booming particularly in other parts of the world where they have fully appreciated and come to know the true value of art. Our only problem in this country as far as the visual art is concerned is the fact that we have really fathomed the real value of art, which I have hammered on earlier. So, meltdown or no meltdown, visual arts business is flourishing without any encumbrance. In 2008, there were commercial activities to the tune of the N330 billion within the visual arts industry. We came up with that figure tentatively with our collaborating agencies at the last roundtable we had to review activities in the arts sector. But we are working hard to come out very soon with more accurate and precise figures. Even at that, this has at least given us an idea that it is really happening in the visual arts sector. We are sure that by next year we shall have tangible evidence on ground to prove to arts collectors and connoisseurs, and let them know the viability of this sector, so that more players would be willing to join the ship and be part of the visual art investment circle. And of course, the apathy that has been there for long will now change and the visual arts sector will become a place that everybody would want to be.
How has it been combining your job as a DG of an agency like NGA with family affairs?
It is not really easy to combine one's job with family affairs especially at this level that I find myself today. You are so engaged that most times you see yourself not coming back home the time you are supposed to be at home. Also, you see yourself always on one journey or the other within and outside the country, at a time that ordinarily you would wanted to stay with your family and relax with your wife and children. Notwithstanding all these, I try as much as possible to compartmentalise my life in such a manner that I tackle official matters officially in the office without having to bring official work home. That is, I make sure that official issues are dealt with right in the office and when I get home I wear my domestic cloak, and something I even go to the kitchen to assist my wife. I have a lovely, understanding and caring wife that respects my views and of course I respect hers too. And I just see myself working with her in the kitchen even when she may not even want me to. Besides being in the kitchen with my wife, I spend most of time at home in my private arts studio doing my private work, not official. Anything official always ends in the office.
Do you have time to unwind or go to party?
Yes, of course. I am not an introvert. I try as much as possible to blend with people. Although, the time is not just there to go out on a regular basis, some times I have to go out unwinding with the boys. Most times when my friends invite me for their party, I always go and have a nice time. Remember, they say, "All work without play makes jack a dull boy." At times I go out and play with my wife and children.
So, there is no encroachment your job by family affairs?
Well, the fact remains that no matter how you try, there are times that you have some kinds of encroachment on your job by home affairs. But, all the same, one in my own case I have endeavoured to ensure effective management of my official work and responsibility on one hand, and domestic engagement and commitment on the other hand.
Recently, the National Gallery of Arts organised a befitting sent forth programme for the outgoing Italian Ambassador to Nigeria, Massimo Baistrocchi, billed to leave the country at the end of this month. What actually informed that gesture from your agency towards the ambassador?
His Excellency, Ambassador Massimo Baistrocchi, for the period of just three years he has spent in Nigeria as the representative of his country here succeeded in proving to us that he is one of the major proponent and great lover of the visual arts. The ambassador, a professional artist of international repute contributed in no small measure to the advancement of the arts sector in our country, so much more that he opened the door of the Italian Embassy to both young and renowned artists to showcase their artworks including myself. He has through that launched most Nigerian artists into limelight and the international scene and market. He has collaborated in various ways with our organisation in its efforts to leave behind an indelible mark in the visual arts industry of our dear country Nigeria. And of course, there is no gainsaying the fact that he truly left behind an indelible mark that for us we wouldn't want him to go. And that was why as part of the events of the sent forth we gave the award of "The Ambassador of Nigerian Visual Arts," the first of its kind since the establishment of our agency. What else could we have done for a man who at his time we enjoined the best relationship, friendship and collaboration that we had never received from any embassy in Nigeria?
Now that the Ambassador is going, will that be the end of your agency's relationship with him?
Not at all! We shall continue to relate with him. Apart from ensuring that we continue to relate with him, we shall also try as much as possible to continue to work with all those things that we learnt from him as an experienced professional artist, who has seen it all in the visual arts industry even though he didn't study arts as a course. Baistrocchi is a political scientist and economist, but today he is known as a writer, poet and even more of an artist. That is to let you know that you don't really have to go and study arts in the university or polytechnic before you can join the field and make your cool and good dough. You can thrive in the arts industry if you have the right zeal and passion.
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