Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, NIDCOM on Wednesday said there is a huge revenue yet untapped in the field of visual art.
Dabiri-Erewa stated this when she received Ebeten William Ivara, Director General, National Gallery of Art, NGA and top level Management Staff in her office in Abuja.
She said that with a mutual collaboration with NGA, visual art will be appreciated and valued citing the feat of Anthony Ayodele Obayomi the first Nigerian Visual Art Winner in Switzerland.
The NiDCOM boss also added that plans are underway to put an end to the lip service concerning the issue of Data Collection and mapping of Nigerians in the diaspora especially Diasporans achieving great strides.
She said “we must hit the ground running in this relationship between NIDCOM and NGA which has long been overdue.”
She offered to link NGA with reputable Nigerians in the field of Arts in the diaspora and has promised to create a team of staff to work hand in globe to achieve desired results.
Ivara acknowledged and commended Dabiri-Erewa for her accomplishments over the years and congratulated her as the Commission recently clocked 2.
Mr Ivara explained the NGA’s mandate to include harnessing, harvesting and assembling all visual arts of Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora as repository of Nigeria’s socio- cultural and historical development.
He further informed that NGA has designed an online form for capturing and registering Nigerian Artists in the Diaspora to get proper documentation.
A Six-Member Working Committee between NIDCOM and NGA is to be constituted to fast track the process of Diaspora demographic mapping.
