By Shuabu Haruna and Hassan Kasim
The intention of this write up is to provide a panoramic understanding of visual art and its production as an important solution to the growth of a developing economy like ours. It is also to visualize visual art from its origin and how the technology has come to be part of human economic endeavor.
UNDERSTANDING THE PLACE OF VISUAL ART
From the onset, it is important to understand the concept of visual art before fully appreciating its actual place as a Panacea for the growth of our economy. Yesterday, today and tomorrow, the literal meaning and function of visual art would hardly change. One of such definition that have stood the test of time was defines visual art as ‘Creative art that included a broad range of tools (such as painting, drawing, photographing) and products (such as paintings, drawings, photographs) that connected with the visual perception and visual expression. Perception connects with different modes of visual inquiry and experience. Oxford Dictionary defines it as ‘Creative art whose products are to be appreciated by sight, such as painting, sculpture, and film (as contrasted with literature and music). It is also defined as ‘art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, comics, design, crafts and architecture’ by Wikipedia. Many more definitions abound all of which seem to have common denominator. Visual arts are seen as those arts that met the eye, evoke an emotion through an expression of skill and imagination. Visual art is seen to serve a political purpose such as in propaganda, they are used to symbolize certain beliefs or ideas without representing them. They are used to adorn the body, a room, a building etc. they also serve as a ritual or a ceremony and even sometimes have magical powers. Visual art is a fundamental component of the human experience reflecting the world and the time in which we live. Art can help us understand our history, our culture, our lives and the experience of others in a manner that cannot be achieved through other means. It defines human society and what brings us all together under the definition of mankind. It is impossible to know where we would be today as a race was it not for art. Today, the most popular form of visual art is digital art undoubtedly as technologies continue to shape and transform the creative landscape. This style encompasses various mediums, such as digital painting, graphic design, animation and virtual reality to name a few. Going by these definitions, and many more, the place of visual art in society is indeed central. Its centrality makes it fundamental to the goal of achieving economic growth. By definition, economic growth connotes an increase in the production of economic goods and services, compared from one period of time to another (investopedia). It is a rise; increase or improvement in the inflation – adjusted market value of goods and services produced by an economy in a financial year (Wikipedia). So when we talk about visual art as a panacea for economic growth, we are invariably referring to the contributions of visual art towards increase in real national income and real per capita income of an economy such as our own.
ORIGIN OF VISUAL ART
The earliest human artworks on Earth are the paintings made in caves during the Paleolithic Era. Because these were made long before recorded history, there were no indications as to specific individuals who made them, so therefore there is no single person who is credited as having “invented” art. Art, as those early archaeologists imagined it, came out of creative revolution coinciding with the earliest European care paintings, dated to about 30,000 years ago at their oldest Chauvet in France. Image patterns on the wall in the caves of La Roche – Cotard which have been sealed for thousands of years, were actually made by Neanderthals. J. J. Wincklemann Wikipedia asserted that the depiction of a “warty pig” in a rock art panel on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi is thought to be 45,500 years old and may be the earliest and oldest “representational” art ever found.
CONTRIBUTIONS OF VISUAL ART TO ECONOMY
According to the UN estimates, the creative industries account for 3.1% of global GDP, which generate annual revenue of over $2 trillion, and account for nearly 50 million jobs worldwide. About half of these workers are women, and these industries employ more people between ages 15-29 than any other sector. Also, according to the Arts and Economic Prosperity study, the most comprehensive study of the non-profit art and culture industry ever conducted, what arts contribute to the U.S. economy is $698 billion, which is 4% of the GDP (Grilliland, 2026) and in 2022, Washington, DC. New data released in the year show art and cultural industries hit an all-time high contributing 4.3% of GDP, or $1.1 trillion, to the U.S. economy. These statistics have shown that, visual art practices cannot be underestimated in its economic value. It has been viewed by many as a money spinning business with high record of sales of art pieces of some Nigerian artists in recent auctions in and outside Nigeria. Joshua (2015) states that ‘Nigeria operates a mono-economy and that numerous economic potentials abound and one area of focus is the virtual art practice vis-à-vis its capacity to be a catalyst for developing economy in Nigeria. The institutional capacity to develop art to contribute to the GDP (Growth Domestic Product) of the economy is lacking. Record sales have been achieved of Nigerian artworks and other artists around the globe. It is envisage that in the near future, art will become part of the major drivers of the Nigerian economy. Nigeria has great artistic potentials in visual art which when harnessed can contribute to developing its economy like any product and even much more after oil. The question now can be how can it be imagined that the one painting be worth of $300million? Can the worth of one painting build roads such as Lekki Epe express which was hazardous to motorists and paralyzing the economy of the affected area? Yet, there are numerous investments in different sectors in Nigeria without corresponding results to show. The world over especially in Africa, less attention is given to and little funding is made available to art institutions and schools. The spectrum of visual art is neglected in a way that has even policy makers do not regard it as a field of human endeavor that has the potentials to contribute substantially towards economic growth. Our perceptions on economic growth indices are narrow when it comes to art in the face of current economic challenges. The visual art in developed communities like the US, UK and the Asian nations have made appreciable progress beyond what African countries are doing. Most of the investments in visual art still depend on these foreign powers. We may appreciate the place of visual art in economic growth until we know our current state, our challenges and what is happening in the art market in other parts of the world. If the arguments by different writers are to stand on the contribution of visual art to our economy, then this sector requires urgent attention in the Nigerian setting to maximize its potentials. Reeves (2002) in art Impact Research in the UK: History, Rationale and Policy Context, the economic and social importance of the arts, reveals that, from the early 1980s onwards, arts and cultural activity became an increasing feature of urban regeneration programs in Britain, as Cities, in particular, sought solutions to economic restructuring and the decline of traditional manufacturing industry. Taking their inspiration from the experiences of American, European cities, major cities such as Glasgow, Manchester and Liverpool embarked on ambitious cultural development strategies, often based on flagship capital projects. These strategies were given added momentum by the Publication of the policy Study Institute known as “The Economic Importance of the Art in Britain (1988), which established the art sector as a significant, growing and value-added sector in its own right with turnover of $10billion and employing some 500,000 people. It is observed that most of the highest earning artists in Nigeria today are graduates. The impact on the economy then becomes enormous as these artists constitute a part of the skilled workforce in Nigeria. Their contributions cannot be overruled despite lack of statistical data on them and mostly on their activities. John (2015) reports that, the current state of visual art in economic growth shows that art in Nigeria is has improved and grown in the last two decades. Thanks to the number of art galleries and the level of art activities – exhibitions, conferences, and symposiums etc. which have culminated into the development of visual art in Nigeria. Nigeria is experiencing what can be referred to as a surge in prices of paintings, but still far below what can is obtainable in places like New York, London, Canada and Tokyo. Irivwieri (2010) assert that, from the 1990s up 2000s, there seem to be a re-invigoration of the creative consciousness among practicing artists and radical tendencies at experimentation rose to a level that installation art becomes something to marvel upon. Nigerian artworks are attracting global attention by the reason of auctions sometimes back in London and other exhibitions held outside the shores of Nigeria. A visual artist graduate of the 1970s through early 1990s can hardly quote a piece of artwork for N100, 000 not even professional artist could. Today, a fresh graduate of can quote a piece of painting for as much as N120, 000-N200, 000. This current trend when sustained can lead to where developed nations are in art activities. The worth of a piece of painting has so appreciated that the living standards of professional visual artists have improved to self-sustenance without the need for a second job. Major players in the art business in Nigeria are the gallery owners; among them are Arthouse, Contemporary Ltd, Signature gallery, Terra-Kulture, Treasure House, Nimbus gallery, Mydrim gallery, Galeria Romania, Nike Okundaye gallery, Quintessence and others. Private collectors are also on the increase and one of the avid art collectors Oyasaf under Engineer Yemisi Shyllon perhaps has the largest of single collections. It is also important to note that great collections of artworks are found in the possession of the National Gallery of Arts and Council for Arts and Culture. Buhari 2014, on National Collection of Contemporary Arts, asserts that …there is a collection of contemporary works by both government’s culture institutions and private collectors. The institution charged with the national collection of contemporary art is the National Gallery of Art NGA. It has the largest collections of artists works.
Shuabu Haruna and Hassan Kasim Education unit National Museum Gombe
