THE visual frame 
memorable, than even the now familiar mode of 
spelling his name , his signature, all in the lower 
keys - dele jegede, the artist, cartoonist and scholar, 
was in his first visit to Lagos from the United States 
n seven years. 
An enthusiastic, even if sparse presence in 'the 
:ircuits' during the weeks of the visit, the bushy 
lair and sweeping beard now speckled with white 
grays could be picked easily either in the bookshop 
eafing through recent local publications or in 
[scores of art galleries dotting the landscape of Lagos 
island, mulling over works by some upcoming and 
promising artist who some seven years back might 
have been a mere junior high pupil. 
What jegede sees is a bubbly scene filled with activity 
and business. It is even to the credit of the 
scene that a few galleries opened but shortly closed 
down, giving place to galleries with more enduring 
vision, combining artistic with business vision. 
He could not catch up with all the often simulta- 
By dele jegede 
neous exhibitions and art shows but regrets however 
that the system has not evolved a process for 
election and possibly elimination, where, he says, 
litprnfl <^n«Un I • • ... . 
tion, and collectors also find good guidance. 
lalcynn rlnys when 
U g O S was the only credible centre in Nigeria where 
artists and their works could face critical evalua- a rarefied European breed - the cognoscenti and the 
hand, to talk in muted tones, strain their necks, remove 
their glosses and sniff at the new art produced by the 
<GLENDORA Quarterly on 
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dele jegede (middle) 
visiting the Nimbus Gallery 
in Ikoyi during preparations 
for the Nimbus art 
auction. With jegede is 
Chike Nwagbogu, the 
Nimbus curator (back to 
camera) and the artist 
Abiodun Olaku 
few Nigerians who threw reason to the winds and decided to become contemporary artists in an era when every 
parent's wish was to produce a medical doctor, an engineer or, 
at worst a lawyer, the necessary structure upon which the new art 
Things are changing. I have .seen"6 in the few weeks that 1 
<GLENDORA REVIEW></4/r/c<?n Quarterly on the Artt 
was supposed to rest was virtually non-existent. 
Patronage was almost exclusively a non-Nigerian concern. There 
were, of course, some noble Nigerians who reposed confidence 
in the new art. But theirs was a tiny tribe. Galleries? There was 
none. Not in the sense that Ikoyi is now defining the concept. 
Please, do not let us reopen that wound, still fresh in contemporary 
discourse. I refer to the non-existence, or the ineffectiveness, 
of a critical clan: those who, by temperament, training or 
disposition, are well suited to moderate, energise or railroad 
n a V e S p e n t after an absence of nearly seven years in 
Lagos, that Ikoyi seems poised to re-invent itself as Nigeria's new 
SoHo. This development seems to signal a welcome departure 
from the hit-or-miss approach of the past. Compared to what 
obtained a few decades back, Ikoyi becomes a metaphor, a yard- 
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stick by which one could attempt a linear historicisation to development 
in this area. The new razzmatazz posture that Ikoyi galleries 
are beginning to evolve contrasts sharply with the sedate 
air that The Exhibition centre, that primal, precious space on the 
Marina, exuded in its glorious days. Galler LABAC; Tayo 
Aiyegbusi's Mbari Mbayo (the one that started at Jibowu on 
Ikorodu Road, then a single-lane, comparatively rustic road); 
Festus Idehen's, Felix Idubor at Kakawa; Emily Imoukhuede's 
Gong Gallery on Lake Street; Onobrakpeya's Ovuomaroro: 
these and some others are forerunners of today's plum and 
plush galleries. Didi Museum is in a different category. In the 
last decade, the evolutionary process has been tempered by 
market forces. Galleries have continued to emerge; some have 
gone under while others continue to flourish, in tandem with 
public perception, artists' reactions and economic undulations. 
Regrettably, there does not seem, as yet, to be any concerted 
attempt to cultivate taste, with a view to informing, reforming 
and moderating gallery practice. Art collection, it would appear, 
is propelled more by individual fads and fancies, than by 
a corporate effort to stimulate appreciation. Some artists seem 
concerned about quantitative rather than qualitative output, and 
about the easy lucre that inevitably contaminates the contemplative 
and creative air. Within this scenario, the emergence of 
a new idiom in the visual arts is compromised, as artists pander 
to the taste of 'patrons'. 
illeries have continued to 
emerge; some have gone 
under while others 
continue to flourish, in 
tandem with public 
perception, artists' 
reactions and economic 
Galleries, if they must survive within the Nigerian environundulations. 
Regrettably, 
there does not seem, as 
yet, to be any concerted 
attempt to cultivate taste, 
with a view to informing, 
reforming and 
moderating gallery 
practice 
Chike Nwagbogu, the 
m e n T , mUSt demonstrate that they possess the panache, 
the survival instincts and an individual knack for reading 
the market. They must be willing to push the enveloped, to goad 
their clients, sensitise them to trends which are already well entrenched 
in other developed economies, but with which we are 
yet to be conversant. In addition to serving, perhaps intuitively or 
at times, quite decidedly, as outposts for the support and promotion 
of profound and compelling, even if initially disturbing works, 
gallerists must introduce ideas that have the potentials for benefiting 
the market and the polity. By coming up with an art auction 
that allows those who may have initially missed out on 
acquiring significant works by historically relevant contemporary 
Nigerian artists, Nimbus Gallery confirms its dynamism in 
this evolving area. It clearly shows an understanding of the 
import and connectedness of aesthetic literacy to economic benefits. 
Although many of the artists whose works are being offered 
for sale are alive, its equally important to note that there 
are works, many of which have not been previously exhibited, 
by artists who are no longer in our midst. Herein lies the significance 
of the toil. A Ben Enwonwu, a Rufus Ogundele, Chuka 
Amaefuna, an Okpu Eze or an Erabor Emokpae would, by the 
fact that death has for ever denied us the pleasure of seeing 
any new works from them, instantly increase in value. This is 
one of the reasons why collecting is not only a pleasurable 
p M e idea idea,, de d - 
our encouragement and support. The idea is not 
only sustainable, it holds significant promise for influencing 
trends in the field.GR 
<GLENDORA 
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