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| President Jonathan |
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| Prof. Onobrakpeya |
By ADA DIKE
His Excellency, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, has
commended the honour conferred on one of Nigeria’s most renowned artists, Prof.
Bruce Onobrakpeya, by the Smithsonian National Museum of African Arts in
Washington DC on Friday.
A press release
made available by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President
Jonathan revealed that Mr. President sent a congratulatory letter to the
world-famous 82 years old sculptor, painter and print-maker who was named the
Artist Honouree on the occasion of the Museum’s 50th Anniversary
celebrations.
According to
release, President Jonathan said that Prof. Onobrakpeya’s outstanding and
remarkable portfolio of works over several decades made him very worthy of the
recognition by one of the most distinguished art institutions in the world.
"You
are indeed a Living Treasure of Nigeria. From your first, decisive intervention
as a member of the Zaria Art Society when you and your colleagues fused
colonial art practice with traditional art-forms and philosophy, you have been
the consummate artist.
“Indeed,
there is hardly any individual more deserving of recognition at the
Smithsonian’s celebration of 50 years of African art and culture. You have
been a catalyst as well as a mentor and inspiration to generations of artists.
“I note that
the Washington programme at which you were honoured included an event
tagged, ‘Conversations: African and African American
Artworks in Dialogue’. This too is apt, for you continue to be at
the forefront of dialogue between artistic traditions in Nigeria and around the
world.
“Closer to
home, your works in the State House Art Collection have given me many moments
of meaningful reflection, as I am sure they have done for many visitors to the
Presidential Villa,” President Jonathan wrote to Prof. Onobrakpeya who received
the UNESCO Living Human Treasure Award in 2006.
Declaring
that the celebrated artist’s works have been “a high point of beauty and
dignity” in the lives of Nigerians, the President prayed that Prof. Onobrakpeya
will continue to ennoble the country’s cultural space for many more years.
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