Renowned art collector, Omooba Yemisi Shyllon, has called on the Federal government to invest in the arts to bridge the employment gap and increase productivity.
This is part of the issues raised by Shyllon during the Toyin Falola Interview Series held through various social media platforms6 and broadcast live to various audiences around the globe on Sunday, January 15, 2023.
The interview panel was chaired by renowned African historians, Professor Toyin Falola, Professor Peju Layiwola, Professor Dele Jegede, and Victor Ekpuk. Professor Layiwola is an art historian and visual artist who works in a variety of media and genres. Professor Jegede is a Nigerian-American painter, art historian, cartoonist, curator, art critic, arts administrator, and teacher. Whereas Ekpuk is a Nigerian born artist based in Washington DC. Ekpuk became famous through his paintings and drawings, which reflect the indigenous African philosophy of Nsibidi and Uli art.
When talking about the importance of art, Shyllon said that art is more durable, “it is a legal transaction that is respected all over the world. It can be passed down from generation to generation. It also helps to revive the culture of a nation. It helps to develop young minds to be more productive in society. . Collecting art as a form of providing employment. If Nigeria can invest in art, the tourism potential is huge. The Eiffel Tower receives about 10 million visitors every year. The potential behind art is great and unimaginable. Art will give this nation something to be proud of. . It will give this nation something to showcase, which in fact means that we contribute to civilization and we have a history before we were colonized. It is better than taking ransom.”
Earlier, he told the gathering that his interest in art collection had grown from an interest to a passion.
“I started from love, interest for art. I have a latent talent for art. When I moved from interest, I went to passion. In that spirit, I began to read about Nigerian art. In my working life as the executive director of a multinational company, I have around the world. Before I knew what was happening, my passion became an obsession. I told my people that my obsession had grown into glory. It gave me the opportunity to make a mark in my life. Many people who met me only recognized me as a patron of the arts when I introduce me as Yemisi Shyllon. They don’t remember that I’m an engineer; they don’t remember that I have a degree in business administration; they don’t remember that I’m a lawyer; they don’t remember that I’m an investor. Art has given me a unique life. I’m the best when I’m there in my artwork. My best friends are artists because we have the same values in life. We see life from a broad perspective b warm. A good artist or collector is never parochial. You can’t be a good collector and be tribal because you’ll be collecting art from different tribes.
“Over time, I discovered that there is a lot of intrinsic value in art as an investment. Art investment is one of the best forms of investment. In other climates, when there is a recession, what people do is put their money into art and gold. Art is more stable instead of gold. You can’t buy glamor in art with money,” he said.
He warned that the demonization of art as a talisman in religious circles should be discarded because that is not the case.
“The average Nigerian does not know what culture is. They see culture through the prism of religion and nothing more. I have reason to give lectures to demonstrate the fact that culture is more than religion. Religion is only part of the philosophical trap of culture. Even in the concept cultural philosophy, we are talking about the values of society, and the attributes that are expected in culture. This is only a part. If you look at culture from a broader angle, it has a very large traditional element. You also have the problem of tradition. After this, you look at the government system. You look at literature, music, fashion, language and food. China sells culture to the whole world with food. I studied once and I found out that China makes an average of four trillion dollars with food. Every Nigerian wants to eat Chinese food. They don’t realize that they are contributing to China’s income base through food culture. There was a time when the association an alumni of the University of Lagos invited me to give a lecture at a Chinese restaurant. I went in there and told them that they invited me to speak about my nation’s culture in a Chinese restaurant and this is unacceptable. Culture includes the economic system. Only in Nigeria can you find people hawking on the streets. It is part of my cultural economic system,” he said.