A professional artist, Gerry Nnubia, has expressed worries over the general dismal participation in arts class by students and described the profession as a field that brings international recognition and wealth for practitioners. Mr. Nnubia said the world looks up to the arts as a profession in Nigeria and advised parents to do proper grooming on their children and not to discourage their minds away from studying fine arts.
He spoke at the 2018 art splash and auctioneering entitled ’Waste to wealth’, a charity cause for Modupe Cole Memorial Home for the mentally challenged children, organised by Marymount School, Lekki Phase I. The exhibition featured various artworks on displays made by the pupils in pre-nursery, nursery and primary sessions to the admiration of parents and guests. Some of the artworks included construction of the clock using waste materials, aquatic drawings, poetry writing, ankara dining set, play field artwork, furniture artwork, land animal drawings, paper plate craft, watercolour painting, collage drawing, decorative pieces using waste materials among others.
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Nnubia said times were changing and people needed to realise that arts is generally the way of life in which every aspect of human endeavor is hinged. “Art and drawing develop your intuition,” he explained. “Once the mind is developed artistically, there is no limit to growth in every aspect of life. Nowadays, the greatest thing to be is an art, which will make you to have an international name, contribute immensely to your circle, and bring money for you. I am really very impressed with the quality of work. When the works came out, I was amazed with the styles and the technics the children adopted at this age, between four and eight years. The pupils have perfected their technics in collage, spray painting, standard in colour mixture and very professional in their works. I give credit to the school authority. I encourage our children in the way of arts because it is the basic tenet to develop a child’s creative intuition for future career choice.”
While speaking with The Guardian, the Principal of the school, Mrs. Naseem Sen, explained that every child should be encouraged to engage in art and education should be conducted through fun and games.
“We have all kinds of children and they need not to be naturally brilliant but we need to give them various options to develop their talents, which could be in sports, arts, or academics,” she said. “Academic is very important but it is not the only fact of life for children at the foundation level. We should teach them leadership and team spirit through art works. The impact of art on the pupils is that they become more observant, know the different colours and make them expressive in writing and creativity.”
Sen said the objective of donating the proceeds from the artwork auction to charity is to teach the children to be passionate about others and the art of giving.Art teacher of the school, Kemnasom Ossai, explained that the programme was about encouraging recycling of waste and helping parents discover what their wards are passionate about.“We are encouraging recycling instead of just throwing everything away,” he noted. “This is to make the world a safer place. Working with children, you need to be very patient, understand them based on their individual ideas.”
Source: G Entertainment
