Agege Local Government in Lagos State is seeking collaboration with the Chicago Arts Institute in the United States to promote artworks from the local government internationally.
The chairman of the local government, Alhaji Ganiyu Egunjobi, sought the partnership when he visited the Chicago institute last week.
Egunjobi met the institute’s Deputy Director, Jon Clarkought, for the partnership with the 140 year-old museum, one of the oldest and largest in the U.S. when he visited its Grant Park location to meet the Deputy Director, John Clark.
The local government chairman said the council wanted collaboration and partnership that would ensure that the museum collected works of artists in Agege.
He said that the relationship would be of mutual benefits as it would help the museum to diversify its collections, while advancing the career of artists based in the Lagos suburb and growing their (artists’) personal economies and by extension that of the council area.
“We seek collaboration and partnership whereby the institute will be collecting works out of Agege. For both parties, it is going to be a win-win situation.
“While it will enrich your collections and diversify it, it would help to put money in the pockets of our artists.
“The other benefit to us, is that it would expose our artists to massive opportunities available in their trade.
“So, I am calling on you to consider our offer and give it express approval based on its merits,” Egunjobi said.
The council chief educated his host on the rich tourism potential of his community saying: “To start with, the direct English meaning of my surname is ‘Product of masquerades’, so you can start imagining.
“We have a rich vein of tourism potential in Agege, being a convergence of nationals of West African countries.
“The council is determined to tap into the vast tourism sector, which is one of Africa’s largest economic drivers after agriculture and have drafted strategic plans to develop the sector as an economic opportunity and development catalyst.”
Responding, Clark said the museum was not averse to any collaboration that would enrich its collections, adding that he would discuss the offer with the appropriate quarters.
Source: NAN
