As part of the activities marking the 89th birthday of Professor Wole Soyinka, The Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange, WSICE, is creating opportunities for school children with special skills in cultural drawings and paintings.

At the unveiling of an art gallery in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, WSICE, displayed about 84 visual artworks done by pupils from various schools in the state.

The art studio, it was learnt, also accommodates works of both local and international artists, promoting the rich cultural heritage of Nigeria and Africa as a continent.

The idea was to develop the artistic abilities of the younger ones and letting them know that they can communicate and pass across powerful messages with drawings, paintings, sculptures among others.

The essence of this according to the organizers, is to prepare the students for what lies ahead as they would one day be tasked to shoulder the responsibilities of working for the overall national interest of lifting their country and their society to greater height in terms of human and material development.

Addressing pupils of different primary and secondary schools who were at the event, the Producer of this year's Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange, Joy Nweye, stated that the gallery was the artistry part of the WSICE, saying it has a collection of works received from pupils at previous events where school children displayed their artistic skills.

“We compiled those works to unveil the gallery. Majority of what you see here are from students who have participated in WSICE events years ago,” Nweye said.

She explained that the main idea behind the Wole Soyinka art gallery was to explore the visual artistry embedded in school children.

The main idea, she added, is the unification of the visual artistry embedded in individuals from different backgrounds, national and international, so as to be able to express themselves using works of art.

“Each artwork means something. They mean different things to different people, depending on your mindset, geographical location and others. These artworks speak something to you, and compiling them artistically in a gallery speaks volume,” she submitted.

In his words, Gabriel Emmanuel, German artist, said the gallery was to extend the cultural programme from just essay writing, so as to display artworks.

Emmanuel disclosed that the focus of the WSICE is on education and to develop talents in children.

“So many children have talents in painting and drawing. That's what we are encouraging, that's why we are inviting different schools and children to let them see what artists do, to let them have the feeling of artist works and to spark their interest in creating artworks.

“I want children to be bold, to be brave and to embrace that certain talent they have within themselves. We are going to support them, encourage them to bring their talents out,” the German explained.

A lecturer of Theatre Arts at the University of Ibadan, Tunde Awosanmi, said a gallery signifies symbolically, the memory bank of a nation.

Awosanmi regretted that government does not have the political will to institute the consciousness of a gallery in the sense of its memory bank.

He said budgetary allocation for art and culture in the annual budget is always very low, asking the government to do more in promoting art and culture.

Awosanmi, who was Soyinka’s Personal Assistant till 2010, maintained that there are specialised galleries all over the world, clarifying that the Soyinka gallery is distinct because it is dedicated to children.

He added that about 95 percent of the artworks were produced by secondary school children.

He said the project was tied to the life vision of Soyinka, “whose weakest point is his love for children.”

He noted that the WSICE Art gallery is a specialized gallery that resonates with the vision of Professor Wole Soyinka.

He added that all over the world, there are specialized art galleries for specific reasons but with the singular purpose of sustaining and rebuilding cultural values.

He said, “This particular Art gallery is distinct in the sense that it is dedicated to children and if you look around, you will discover that Ninety-five percent of the works of art on exhibition here are products of secondary school children which the WSICE has accumulated over the period of fourteen years and was tied to the vision and life mission of Professor Wole Soyinka because of his love for the younger generations and the desire to see them attain greater heights”.

Mentoring the students on the significance of arts and the uniqueness of the paintings on display, Art Exhibitor, Lanre Tejuoso said Art is pervasive, stressing the need for the younger generations to have a robust understanding of African history.

This, Tejuoso said, would also equip themselves with the necessary leadership skills art can provide in order to face the task of Nation building.

While calling on the students to take advantage of their exposure to creative works of arts, to widen their horizons, Tejuoso noted that the shift to a more innovation-driven economy has been abrupt with competition turning into a game of who can generate the best and greatest number of ideas and creativity, an opportunity he said Arts can provide.

Speaking with journalists, Kolade Khaleedah and Dada Victor of the African Church Grammar School, Abeokuta, said with what they have learnt at the Art gallery which revolves around the life of the celebrant, they are better equipped to face whatever challenges life may throw at them in future.

The theme for the 14th edition of Wole Soyinka international cultural exchange was tagged: Nation Building, Good Governance and National Development.