Culture Minister lauds visual arts competition

Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed has described the annual National Visual Arts Competition as laudable.
He said this on Thursday at the sixth edition of the event organised by the National Gallery of Art which held at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja.
Mohammed said: “Today’s programme by the National Gallery of Art is one of its statutory responsibilities to reposition the Visual Arts sub-sector through promotion and appreciation of art.
“The competition is a laudable initiative that deeply tasks the creative abilities of our young people. It is a golden opportunity for Nigerian Artists of all categories to come to table with natural talents, fresh ideas and artistic skills to harness these potentials for self-sustenance and national development,” he said.
Commending the NGA for its efforts to promote visual arts in Nigeria, he said: “This year’s edition, which is the 6th, is an evidence of the National Gallery of Art’s commitment to ideals of creative discovery within the purview of regulating and promoting art appreciation to reinforce pure creativity, originality, artistic ingenuity and creative spirit of our people.”
He stressed that: “It is pertinent to note therefore that we have a great task of ensuring the Culture sector is repositioned to cater for cultural aspirations of our people and economic diversification. The National Gallery of Art and the visual arts sub-sector have a key role to play in this new dispensation of change.”
The minister expressed optimism that the nation’s visual art tentacles will always spread deeper and stronger across generations of our populace and the international community.