Art Reporting In Nigeria 

A Concrete Way Forward To Consider –Paul Ewurum

There is an urgent need for solely art newspapers and magazines in today’s Nigeria. Art news papers and magazines are much more preferable instead of  journals because there are a lot of them which are scholarly inclined and less accessible to the average readers. There is a vacuum for training facilities and endowments for art reporters and editors. Many art trends are going on globally without the knowledge of many of these writers, thus there is need for accessibility to information on trends in the visual arts globally. This can be achieved with the introduction of new art newspaper and magazine outfits which would need to embark on a sponsorship journey for their art reporters to international art workshops and world class museums, where information on the arts could be easily obtained. This can be done same way journalists (sport writers) are sponsored for the coverage of international soccer tournaments such as CAF African Cup of Nations and the FIFA world Cup tournaments. 

Secondly, art pages in Nigeria newspapers are not enough. According to Uche Nnadozie (2024), in developed nations, art pages are more than for instance sports pages, but in Nigeria the revers is the case. The editorial boards of existing news paper and magazine outfits should be made to assign more pages to the arts just like they do to sports and “special reports” especially politics. 

Also, there is need for sharpening and reshaping the appreciative skills of arts writers. This can be achieved by constant workshops and symposia for art reporters and writers. Such events will be an avenue to bring to the fore the creative essence of art criticism as a vocation rather than just a meal ticket. 

On the part of the art writers, they should not be so enthralled by the achievements of anyone so that they do not end up praising everything an artist produces. Research by Doctor Akinwale Onipede of the University of Lagos argues that professional visual-art criticism remains insufficiently widespread in Nigeria. In his publication, “The Nigerian Visual Arts Critics: Watch Dogs or pets”, the vocal scholar identifies problems including praise-oriented writing, personal attacks and inadequate professional standards as part of the major issues confronting the reporting of arts among in Nigeria.

Equally, there should be no bamboozling of readers with artistic jargons since the targeted audiences are the average literate. Art criticism in newspapers should be less scholarly and not laden with too much technical jargons, so that average Nigerians can participate fully in visual arts understanding and appreciation which had for years been the exquisite rights of art scholars, thus making the visual artists the producers and consumers of their own merchandise. This should be reversed. 

Having stated the above, it is imperative to mention that artists also have some role to play in effective coverage of their activities. They are not expected to sit in their studios and expect Nigerians to know about them through the print media published and financed by others. They should be able to contribute their own quota by advertising their studios and their latest artistic projects or programmes as it is the case in the foreign nations where artists place advertisement for themselves and their studios and programmes for the year. This will go a long way to keep the art column alive. 

Since newspapers are objects of information dissemination, visual art, which has been rarely appreciated by Nigerians, need the print media to get to the heart and conscience of the people. This will enhance art appreciation, preservation and patronage. It is equally important to mention that the online writing idea shouldn’t be discouraged. It should continue as it would help everyone remain current regarding event unfold on art worldwide.

Paul Ewurum is a post graduate student of University of Lagos