An artist, Wande George, has said many Nigerians’ interest in patronising art works was declining.
George told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the sector needed patronage for the development of arts.
He said arts should be used to illustrate and communicate messages to the society and to effect changes.
“If arts are going to thrive, if arts are going to survive, it is going to be because people recognise its importance. Visual art is creative, we should embrace it.
“One of the problems right now is that artists and intellectuals are more comfortable talking to each other than to a mixed audience about significance of arts.
“I think it is better to start to talk to mixed audience on how arts can help to grow the society than talking to a specialised audience.
“If artists and intellectuals do not converse with our society, I believe we are going to see our societal culture dying further”, he said.
The artist said the advent of information technology was also part of the challenges facing the sector.
“They are one of the biggest problems militating against arts, because we are living in this kind of electronic culture.
“We have lost almost all our connections with the past. We take the present moment and want to turn it into entertainment”, he said. (NAN)
