ART WORKSHOP IN IRESI, OSUN STATE

On 2, November 2010, the Wy art team was invited by the Iresi Progressive Union to conduct art workshops with students from various secondary schools in Iresi, Osun State on the occasion of the Iresi Day.   We drove into a most picturesque environment with beautiful hills and breathtaking rock formations.  Iresi, like many parts of Nigeria, can be transformed to a tourist haven!  This visit afforded us the opportunity of fulfilling one of our missions-to take art to rural settings. This workshop came on the heels of another workshop organized by the Museum of Ethnology, Vienna, Austria on 1 and 2 October, 2010.  We taught the same craft as we did in Vienna.

Students in the church hall Ebekun town Hall, Iresi.

The students were excited about learning the art of Tie and Dye but it was observed that none of them had gone through any art class before.  We interacted with secondary school students in both junior and senior classes.  We could not get answers to simple questions like ‘what are primary colours?

The situation is lamentable! Art as a subject is no longer taught in many schools in Nigeria. Excluding art from the curriculum in schools is tantamount to removing a large chunk of a child’s development. Many of our technical colleges have collapsed.  The emphasis for many parents is for their children to become doctors, lawyers and engineers. We do not intend to make every youth an artist by profession.

Students untying thier fabrics.

Our aim is to provide an avenue for honing the creative faucet of  children and youth irrespective of whatever profession he/she settles into. We desire to take art into every home and school to-

*engage children from very early in artistic activity,

*make art an option in the choice of a career

*bring awareness to the general populace about the benefits of Art to society.

We believe that people  should take charge of their communities.  We all have a stake in the lives and development of our children. We cannot leave this enormous task to Government alone. Please support the teaching of skills in your community by sponsoring workshops, and better still, by establishing a vocational training centre in your community.

Students proudly displaying their finished fabrics.