The Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has assured creative art practitioners in the state of his administration’s commitment to the growth of the sector.
The governor said this on Tuesday during the 2022 ‘Greater Lagos’ art exhibition, themed, ‘Art in and for transformations,’ held on Victoria Island.
Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by his deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, noted that the potential of the entertainment sector, especially creative arts has largely remained untapped.
He said, “Over three years of the implementation of our development agenda, we have left no one in doubt about our desire to fully harness the largely untapped potential in the entertainment sector, especially the creative arts component.
“This exhibition is quite instructive as there is a need to utilise different words and media to effectively communicate messages and ideas, particularly those meant to change the orientation of the public, societal ills and their effects on the general well-being of society.”
In her remarks, the wife of the Governor, Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, urged art practitioners to utilise arts to stamp out gender-based violence in society.
“As great influencers of thought, they should be deeply involved and commit themselves to support the present administration in stamping out the menace of gender-based violence in society using artworks as a form of campaign against domestic and gender-based violence and other societal vices,” she said.
On her part, the state Commissioner for Tourism, Art and Culture, Mrs Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf, said the exhibition was part of the state government’s intervention to give visibility to artists and their artworks to further deepen the creative industry.
