Sculptor wants government to assist student-artists with loans

A sculptor, Demola Tukuru, has appealed to government and private investors to help student-artists market their works of arts and grant them soft loans to encourage them.

Tukuru told the Naijaroyaltyculture.blogspot.com in Lagos that such scheme would boost the development of the sector and enhance the nation’s tourism business.

He said that most of the student-artists’ works were lying fallow and not getting patronage because the students lacked the financial wherewithal to promote them.

Government should also help the up-and-coming artists to sell their works so that they could make some money to further their education, he said.

I pity many of these students; they are still in school and do not have the means of selling their works.

They have beautiful and unique pieces and assisting them will also curb the crime rate in the society and solve insecurity in the country.

With right assistance from government and the private sector, the student- artists will be able to improve on their works and use the proceeds to further their education and promote versatility in arts,’’ Tukuru said.

According to him, renowned artists, who operate art galleries, can help to display the art works of student-artists in their galleries for sale.

Through this, they can also gain popularity.

Government’s assistance has not been felt in the arts sector.

We need the government to assist us as we pave way for ourselves.’’

Tukuru also appealed to the Federal Government to create a special loan scheme for established artists in order to grow the art sector.

He noted that if the arts sub-sector was well groomed, “it will boost tourism and generate more revenue for government’’.

Naijaroyaltyculture.blogspot.com reports that the arts and entertainment industry contributed N54 billion to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2016.

The National Bureau of Statistics report for the year indicated that the industry experienced a growth of between 1.86 per cent and 12.81 per cent in the third quarter of 2016.