Yinka Olatunbosun
A discovery awaits a curatorial team at the National Gallery of Art: untapped treasures are buried in a storage room, part of the national collection. While preparing for the grand opening exhibition of the newly renovated National Theatre, the team discovered that the national art collection was in a pathetic state – packed in storage without a proper inventory. This encounter prompted the Director General, NGA, Ahmed Sodangi, to develop a strategic plan to ensure that all the works are accounted for, preserved, and showcased to promote Nigeria’s rich artistic heritage.
As a parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism, and Creative Economy, the NGA has the mandate to promote and preserve modern Nigerian art. To achieve this, Sodangi embarked on a series of strategic collaborations to rebuild and reinvent the national art collection, aligning with presidential priorities.
However, first, the NGA needed a clearer sense of identity and purpose, given that the national collection was acquired with public funds and held in trust on behalf of the federal government.
“They are priceless treasures, and many generations had not seen them before because they had been in storage for a long time due to the lack of a proper gallery to house them. That poses a challenge for us,” Sodangi said at a ceremonial handover of digital inventory from the Goethe Institute to NGA, held at the National Theatre, Orile Iganmu, Lagos.
He continued: “The storage conditions have been far from ideal. We knew we had to start with the national collection. So, we decided to digitise the inventory.”
Sodangi further revealed that the NGA would have an art management platform where the works can be uploaded, exhibited, and where travel permit documentation can be sourced. A chance meeting with a Google Arts and Culture staff member led to another MOU to host the national collection online.
While sharing her perspective, the Director of the Goethe Institut Nigeria, Dr. Nadine Siegert, recounted how her initial apprehension about working with the NGA staff morphed into a beautiful experience. “At first, I wondered if the NGA staff would view us as intruders. I’m sure we’re not the first set of oyinbos to come here. But we had something valuable to offer. Everything went smoothly, which was a pleasant surprise given the potential for bureaucratic delays. The level of trust and understanding was amazing. We understood the need to protect the national collection from those with dubious intentions, and we were happy that the doors were opened to us. The NGA staff’s motivation was very supportive.”
She noted that the documentation leaves some gaps to be filled by researchers, as some works are missing names and dates. Still, the existing national collection can be a robust source of income for Nigeria, as international art loans can fetch foreign exchange earnings while the national collection can be financially valued.
A case in point is Ben Enwonwu’s work in the collection, which will be loaned to Tate in London later this year for an exhibition.
A project coordinator at the Goethe Institute, Tobi Idowu, spoke extensively about the journey of digitising 1,091 works and how the NGA staff had been very supportive throughout the four-month process of creating a digital inventory. “We created a new project instead of just our original idea of curating an exhibition, where we work with partners to document the collection so that it would be accessible to curators and researchers over time. For me, it’s been a truly enriching experience, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with the NGA staff.”
The DG, Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization, Aisha Augie, commended the NGA boss at the handover ceremony and promised support for the gallery in the areas of curation, storytelling, and archiving of artworks. “We are proud to partner with NGA, which has emerged as a leader in art inventory management. We are happy to be part of this collaboration.”
The DG, Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization, Aisha Augie commended the NGA boss at the handover ceremony and promised support for the gallery in the area of curation, storytelling and archiving of artworks.
“We are here as partners to NGA, which we now see as a leader in art inventory management. We are happy to be part of this collaboration.”
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