Nigeria is positioned to leverage $65bn art market, says Patrons director

Keturah Ovio, a director of Patrons, an art advisory and dealership firm, says Nigeria has the capacity to tap into the $65.1 billion global art market.

Speaking on Thursday on her upcoming miniature art exhibition titled “small is beautiful”, slated to take place between July 30 and 31 in Lagos state, Ovio said the Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market report 2022 puts the size of the global market at $65.1 billion.

Ovio said the Nigerian art industry has matured so much that works done by artists in the country are exhibited in various parts of the world, including London, Paris, Rome, New York, Valencia and Berlin, which are often regarded as artistic cities in the world.

“Nigerians are quite creative and can make something out of nothing. All we need is to ensure we are able to participate in global exhibitions with our works,” she said.

She noted that artists are not given sufficient attention in Nigeria as some drop out of the way due to lack of patronage and support by the government and the consuming public.

“We need to consume art in Nigeria because it has a lot of benefits. Apart from being a big industry globally, it provides excitement, leisure and tells stories of history that can’t be engagingly told in written form,” she added.

“It is a big industry that can help to shore up our revenue. When Nigerians travel out of the country, they visit art galleries, attend exhibitions and conduct museum visits. They spend the foreign exchange in order to see and watch what we already have locally. Supporting local artists starts one act at a time.”

She said the upcoming miniature art exhibition would showcase the works of a well-collected emerging artist, Oladimeji Alabi, who has exhibited and featured in several prominent places.

Ovio noted that the private viewing would take place on Friday, July 29, and promise to be a weekend of art, Italian boutique, wine tasting and delicious Hors D’ Oeuvres.

She described the event as a miniature art exhibition series meant to spark memorable and inspiring conversations in the art industry through bite-sized art works.

“As humans, our obsession to create great things in small sizes is evidenced since the world’s earliest civilisations. There’s something intricate and mind-boggling about paintings, sculptures, and engravings that come in small sizes,” Ovio said.

“Miniature art is a novelty. As an art form, it is extremely detailed as it forces the artist to communicate and engage with the audience in limited space and construct. ‘Small is beautiful’ is a series of miniature art exhibitions that are curated to stimulate one’s mind to lean in, inspire, and connect.”