Promoting Arts, Culture

Charles Ajunwa writes that the reception and exhibition in honour of Professor Ben Enwonwu held in Lagos, was attended by art lovers from all walks of life

Art enthusiasts from all walks of life recently gathered at the National Museum, Onikan, Lagos for a reception and exhibition of sculptures by Professor Ben Enwonwu.

The event was to commemorate the repositioning of the artist’s renowned masterpiece in bronze of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. It was organised by the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) in partnership with Coronation Group Limited and fine art auctioneers, Bonhams. The exhibition was themed: ‘Building A Nation: Ben Enwonwu and the Impact of Sculpture’.

Late Enwonwu, known globally as a great painter and sculptor, was commissioned by Queen Elizabeth II to sculpt her portrait, executed in London in 1957, and unveiled at the Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) later the same year. 

As guests arrived and took their seats on the green lawn located at the middle of the museum, Izuchukwu Nwokejiezi, a violinist thrilled everyone with his mastery of a giant harp, releasing soul-moving vibes that charged the entire atmosphere. Besides, the major centre of attraction was a massive sculptural image of Queen Elizabeth II, a replica of Enwonwu’s original artwork erected within the reception ground. Many, astonished, trooped there to take photographs. 

Dignitaries that graced the event included the Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative, Hannatu Musawa; Director General, NCMM, Olugbile Holloway; Chairman of Coronation, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede; Ambassador of France to Nigeria, Marc Fonbaustier, among others. 

Holloway, the chief host in his opening remarks, said, “As a child, Ben Enwonwu was captivated by the figures carved by his father at a shrine in Onitsha. Indeed, these figures inspired but they also frightened him.

“It was not until his father’s passing that Ben began to delve deeper into art, perhaps in an attempt to connect once again with his father. From the stained windows of cathedrals to carvings in ancestral shrines, there has always been a convergence between arts and spirituality. Art attempts to express the deepest aspects of what it means to be human and spirituality also seeks to do the same.

“Ben began to perfect his art and the rest, as they say, is history. Here we are, many years later, gathered today to honour his greatness and appreciate the intricacy of his work,” Holloway said. 

NCMM boss, who dwelt on why the past is important and should always be discussed, said “I believe the bricks we use to build the future often come from the past.The past is a repository of our shared human experience and serves as a guidebook for understanding who we are. In the old days, ships navigating the seas at night would rely on the North Star to find their way and stay true to their course. And so, in the same way, the past serves as our North Star as we navigate the seas of life.

“The past is an embodiment of our heritage. The stories passed down from father to son, from mother to daughter. These stories are told under the moonlight, passing down codified messages of our identity as a people to generations to come.

“Now, I invite you to travel back in time. The year is 1956 and Ben Enwonwu has just been commissioned to sculpt the Queen. This is the same year the Queen will visit Nigeria for the first time.

“Also in 1956, the sculpture of Enwowu that welcomed you at the entrance of the museum was completed. A year later, in 1957, Kenneth Murray, the first director of antiquities and one of the founding fathers of the NCMM, opened the doors of this same museum. And the Nigerian House of Representatives passed the motion requesting independence from Great Britain.

“And in the same year, the bronze statue of this Queen was unveiled. Three years later, in 1960, Nigeria would gain her independence. And not too far from here, behind us at TBS (Tafawa Balewa Square), the Union Jack was lowered for the last time, and the Nigerian flag was hoisted.

“So, I ask again, why are we here? We are here today to pay homage to the past. Not just our colonial legacy or our fight for independence, but also the spirit of self-determination that was burning across our continent at the time. I am not sure it is possible to speak of a Renewed Hope Agenda without alluding to renewed heritage first.

“Hope looks at the future, but first must be anchored in an appreciation of the past. The Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, under the leadership of our very capable minister, Hannatu Musawa, is steadfastly committed to ushering in what we call the Nigerian cultural renaissance. 

“I’d like to recognise the cooperation of the National Gallery of Art, and thank Mr. Ahmed Sodangi for loaning us a magnificent wooden sculpture by Ben Enwonwu.”

In his remarks, Aig-Imoukhuede who displayed his understanding of Nigeria’s socio-economic and political tapestry acknowledged that, “everybody here is serious about art-loving nature, culture-loving life, and really enlightened type of thought.”

“I started coming to this very place when I was four years old when my mother worked here as a curator of this museum. I think probably the strongest thing that Africa has given to the world is the arts and culture. And I remember debates and listening to debates in this very museum then about who inspired who. Picasso or Enwonwu, the debate is still on now in many respects. Ben Enwonwu and several other prominent masters, we still have some alive with us, but most have passed, men and women, who were my uncles and aunties when I grew up. 

“So aside from, of course, being, let’s just say, an African and therefore allied and affiliated to art in its every form, whether dancing, whether thinking, whether pursuing and so on, my understanding and belief in excellence was revealed in arts. Not in banking, not in finance, not in science, not in technology, but art. And I kind of bring everybody back to this defining question.

“When you labour in whatever form and you succeed, financially or otherwise, how do you express your success? Ninety-nine percent of the time it’s going to be expressed in trying to own a bit of what probably you cannot create, that is art.

“Whether it’s in the form of architecture, whether it’s in the form of a sculpture, whether it’s in the form of music, whatever it is, art is the ultimate expression of success. And I think that in Africa, certainly in Nigeria, we need to reconnect ourselves to this way of thinking, to this understanding that if we indeed lose our arts, if we lose our culture, our ultimate expression of success will come from somebody else, somewhere else. And indeed we may risk becoming somebody else, somewhere, or someone else.

Holloway, later took guests round the works of Enwonwu carefully preserved in different forms for posterity.