APPRAISAL OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES IN THE PROMOTION OF ART EDUCATION IN SOUTH-SOUTH NIGERIA 2003-2013

ABSTRACT

The role of Museums and Galleries cannot be over emphasized as a means of survival to the Nigerian art education. Despite their importance, they still suffer neglect and rejection in the hands of the Nigerians. Museums and Galleries has not been given it proper placement as a promotional tool to our art education. This study is a descriptive survey within south-south Nigeria to appraise the effectiveness of these museums and galleries in the promotion of art education in south-south Nigeria from 2003-2013. A questionnaire was used and lecturers in the Department of Fine and Applied Arts of University of Benin, Edo State and Federal College of Education (Tech) Omoku, Rivers State and Museums and Galleries Staff of Benin, Edo State and Rivers State form the respondents. Data used was structured questionnaire in form of “Yes” or “No”, result shows that museums and galleries in south-south Nigeria from 2003-2013 had failed to discharge their duties as expected. . The study further enlists the followings and many  others  as recommendations:  School  authorities  should  make  visits  to Museum and Galleries by the fine and applied art students a must at least twice in a year, Government should review Nigeria curriculum on fine and applied arts to suit the current situation of contemporary art. Emphasis should be laid on exploitation of Museum and Galleries to improve students’ awareness on art, particularly African contemporary art and its usefulness to the society, all higher institution in Nigeria should also establish Museum/Galleries attach to fine arts.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     Background of the Study

A popular adage has it that a prophet is often not honored in his own land.  Though  allegorically  stated,  it  vividly  paints  the  true  state  of  Art  in Nigeria at the end of 20th century.

Contemporary Nigerian art enjoys patronage by foreigners and middle

class Nigerians whereas ordinary Nigerians view art patronage with disdain. It is  no  longer  a  surreptitious  fact  that  most  talented  and  educated  artists  in Nigeria still find it difficult to eke out a living solely on professional practice.

According to Grillo (1990), Nigerians, especially the stupendously rich elite,  who  could  be  ardent patrons of  art,  are  more  interested  in mundane pastimes like ostentatious spending at parties and acquiring  car each . While the gory phenomenon of relegation, neglect and ignorance of art persist, the artist like a matured chick is irresolutely eager to crack the suffocating shell and seek his proper place in society. Jegede (1983) aptly describes the scenario thus:

The most sophisticated  artist cannot survive in isolation and if he seeks  an audience then there is perhaps no other time more auspicious than  now to evaluate the worth of the audience… The (only) unfortunate thing, however is that chances for meaningful patronage shall remain jeopardized for as long as the  degree  of  public  appreciation   of  artists  remains   poor.  For  public appreciation to improve to a satisfactory level there has to be intensified art promotion and re-orientation towards art by appropriate art institutions  like museums, galleries and others.

Oladipo (1990), asserts that “our very existence as a people is in danger. This is because our past and our cultural heritage are being treated with disregard and total indifference. Yet it must be clearly appreciated that a people without a past cannot hope for a glorious future”. It is against this background that Museums are today known as modern man’s vehicle or method of proudly displaying and preserving the artistic cultural and historical treasures of his past.

Before  Western  incursion,  Africans  valued  art  for  the  functionality. Kings, chiefs and priests needed the artists like modern motorists need mechanics. Also the society patronized the artist for household appliances and furniture. However, missionaries   and colonial officers came and condemned African art and cultural heritage with cogmen like “primitive”, “tribal” and “pagan”. Then art and by implication the artists lost their prestige as the kings, Obas and Traditional Priests were dishonored and replaced with new religion and new governments or administration

Ekpo Eyo as quoted in Akanbiemu (1995) depicts this milestone as the systematic population and forbidding on the painful hell fire, the worship of other gods. The obvious result of this was that Christian converts either destroyed their art objects or left them to rot away. Likewise also left to rot was the dignity of the African artists. Stripped of its value, art works became the focus of unwarranted destruction, plundering and stealing by foreign missionaries and their native collaborators. To add to this, the colonialists also

brought with them the concept of aesthetics and “art for art sake” which is still very much alien to our culture and which contemporary Nigerian art enjoys mostly the patronage of the Europeans and other foreign nationals who fortunately continue, to maintain their posture as serious promoters and patrons of African art. The burning of a library housing thousands of ancient manuscripts  in  Mali’s  desert  city  of  Timbuktu  is  just  the  latest  act  of destruction.

The focus of this research is to appraise the effectiveness of Museums and Galleries in the Promotion of Art Education in South-south Nigeria, 2003 – 2013.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

There   are   over   1,000   museums   and   galleries   in   Nigeria   both Government and private owned, many with department of Art and culture employing  art  education  specialists  to  interact  with  children,  youth  and general public when they visit the museums, making their visits meaningful and vital.   Many schools and institutions of higher learning visit museums and galleries once in a year, some do not visit at all (Chu-Nelson, 2005).

The    place of    museums and galleries has not been properly placed and given the prominence it requires in the promotion of art education. These have  succeeded  in  creating  distortion  and  unnecessary  gaps  in  the  art program, hence roles of museums and galleries have been underrated in the promotion of art education

1.3 Aim of the study

The aim of the study was to investigate the efficacy of museums and galleries in the promotion of art education in South-South Nigeria

1.4 Research Questions

The following research questions were drawn from the objectives of the study:

1.  What is the quality of the content of the museums and galleries in south-south Nigeria

2.  What are the art educational potentials of the museums and galleries?

3.  Are there any roles played by museums and galleries in the promotion of art education in South-South Nigeria?

4.  To what extent has south-south Nigerian museums and galleries played their promotional roles?

1.5     Objectives of the Study

Art education in Nigeria has shown a lot of neglect to museums and galleries. There are numerous excuses offered by the schools for not taking advantage of art museums and galleries as a source of development and enrichment for the art programs or teaching. According to Chu- Nelson (2005), the main reason of school not taking advantage of museums and galleries is lack of conviction that museums visit can really offer anything of lasting value to the students.

The researcher feels that despite all the excuses, something still has to be done to fully harness the benefits of museums and galleries in the development of art education in Nigeria. Therefore, the study hopes to:

(1)Identify the quality of the contents of the museums and galleries in South- South Nigeria,

(2) Assess the art educational potentials of the museums and galleries

(3) Identify the roles played by museums and galleries in the promotion of art education in South-South Nigeria and

(4) Evaluate the contributions of museums and galleries in the promotion of art education in South-South Nigeria.

1.6 Significance of the Study

Majority  of  Nigerians  are  myopic  about  the  total  roles  Museums  and

Galleries plays in the promotion of art education ( Chu- Nelson, 2005). Due to this fact, this study will do the following:

Educate the Nigeria public on the roles Museums and Galleries play in the promotion of art education.

Bring Museums and Galleries close to lovers of art

Promote art education through Museums and Galleries in Nigeria.

1.7 Scope of the Study

This research work is on the Appraisal of the effectiveness of Museums and Galleries in the Promotion of Art Education in South-South Nigeria, 2003 – 2013.

The research work covers the quality of the content of museums and galleries in South-South Nigeria, various roles museums and galleries play in the promotion of art education and the extent to which it is played.   It also covers the problems faced by museums and galleries in the promotion of art education in South-South Nigeria.

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