THE Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) said it was partnering with the National Gallery of Art (NGA) to harness the huge potential in the creative industry for improved revenue generation and economic development.

Chairman of NIDCOM Abike Dabiri-Erewa made this known on Wednesday in Abuja when she received Director General of the National Gallery of Art Ebeten William Ivara and management staff of the office.

Dabiri-Erewa, who recognised that there was a huge revenue yet untapped in the creative industry, said the collaboration had the potential to increase the value and appreciation of Nigeria’s visual arts and artists, including those in the diaspora, and ultimately lead to more profitability.

“We must hit the ground running in this relationship between NIDCOM and NGA, which has long been overdue,”  Dabiri-Erewa stressed.

On his part, Ivara said the mandate of the NGA included harnessing, harvesting and assembling all visual arts of Nigerians at home and in the diaspora as a repository of Nigeria’s socio-cultural and historical development.

He also disclosed that the NGA had designed an online form for capturing and registering Nigerian artists at home and in the diaspora for proper documentation.

A six-member working committee will be constituted to fast track the process of the collaboration. 

Art work in Nigeria is as old as the people, preceding even the colonial era. Although many Nigerian artists have gained wide recognition with their works exhibited across Africa, America, Europe and Asia, revenue from art is still very low.

An artist based in Lagos Sandra Ike noted that  art was a powerful tool that could be used to educate, transform, illuminate, inspire, and motivate.

“The art industry in Nigeria still has a lot of potential,” she added.

According to statista, in the first quarter of 2021, the combined revenue from arts, entertainment, and recreation accounted for 0.3 per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), showing a slight decline when compared to the first quarter of 2020 when it reached 0.31 per cent. However, compared to 2019, the contribution of arts, entertainment, and recreation to the GDP increased.