The Concept of Art for Intercultural Dialogue

Mr. Tochukwu Ike
December 25, 2023

The British colonial powers lost her largest colony in 1776 when the United States gained her independence. In view of the competition among European economic powers at the time, there was need for another large colony similarly blessed with both human and natural resources. Consequently the British had to merge more than 300 ethnic nationalities into a British colony which we now know today as Nigeria. The fact that her boundaries were drawn by the British and the inhabitants were not consulted before the merger, coupled with the fact that the union was so sudden, there was serious doubts that Nigeria will last as a political entity.

In view of the real and perceived disparateness of the constituent group, Western experts soon started predicting her disintegration. But against all odds, Nigeria is still together after a 100 years and even survived a civil war. But she is still battling with the challenges associated with her diversity. What many totally overlooked was the possibility of an unseen bond existing before colonialism. Have we really looked deep enough into the past? How is Nigeria managing the challenges associated with her diversity?

ART AS A TOOL TO ENHANCE CULTURAL DIVERSITY

If we understand the nature of traditional Nigerian art, we can then understand how it is possible for Museum in Nigeria to deploy Art as a medium to promote intercultural dialogue. To expand our knowledge on the use of Art as a tool to enhance cultural diversity, we must look at the idea behind the establishment of Unity Museums in Nigeria. After the Nigerian civil war, Museum managers made a deft move in 1972 by collecting thousands of artworks produced by Artists of the past. Some of these Art works are more than 800 years old and some dates back to the 9^th century.

In establishing Unity Museum, What the Museum basically did was to juxtapose Art works of Artists of extinct population from different ethnic groups in Nigeria and display them in Unity Museums. In visual art, juxtaposition is used to highlight the relationship between two or more elements. The final composition helps the audience to see the composition as one thing instead of two separate entities, thereby influencing the perception and opinion of the audience.

A first time visitor to these museums will be amazed how the art works so juxtaposed revealed how interconnected we all are. And even more surprised to see that they have almost the same names for some objects, for example in National Museum of Unity Enugu, Ikenga among the Igbos, are also called Ikengabo among the Binis. The same Ikenga, among the Igala is known as Okega, and among the Urhobos as Okiga.

These “Unity Art works” gave Nigerians the opportunity to interact with the Art and Artists of our extinct population and have a better understanding of our history.

NATURE OF INDIGENOUS NIGERIA ART

We can appreciate this concept more if we understand the nature of indigenous Nigerian art. Unlike the classical European art which was largely for aesthetics and prestige indigenous Nigerian Artists for centuries used their art to document events and people in didactic form, sometimes using pictograms. According Professor Okpoko, A.I (2006), of Archaeology Department University of Nigeria, “the history of African civilization was not documented in the form of writing but was embedded in artworks, monumental architecture, iron technology and other skills”. This knowledge offered a watershed into our understanding of pre-colonial Nigeria. Ekpo Violeta (2003) in a lecture organized for Museum education officers at National Museum Benin described these Art objects as, “silent witnesses to the past; they help to reconstruct history by revealing information about the people who produced and used them”. In traditional Nigerian Society, whatever they considered important to the history of the people, they composed songs around them and enshrined in their Art.

CONTEMPORARY EFFORT

The two pioneer Unity Museums in Nigeria were located in Enugu and Ibadan. Today, available records show that Enugu and Ibadan, are arguably the most peaceful cities in Nigeria. Though there is no research yet to link the peaceful nature of these cities to the presence of Unity Museums but Museum managers in Nigeria are expanding this notion by utilizing heritage resources in other Museums to similarly promote peace and national unity.

To expand this concept further, in 2018, a Museum Artist and Education officer, Tochukwu Ike initiated the idea of using contemporary art as a tool to knit cultures within and outside Nigeria. He brought together Artists and Museum Education officers who share similar ideas within and around National Museum of Unity Enugu. Through Art exhitions, workshops, skill acquisition programs etc., this group deploy artistic resources as tool to promote Intercultural Dialogue.

Art and creativity are deployed to enhance social cohesion, understanding and peace among people of diverse culture. Art for intercultural Dialogue is motivated by the words of UNESCO that, “Today, Peace requires ever more active investment, enlightened leadership, powerful educational values, extensive research in social innovation and a progressive media world”.

This is because Diversity, in the words of Ola Joseph is “not about how we differ, Diversity is about embracing one another uniqueness”

Art for intercultural Dialogue agree completely with Mahatma Gandhi that “no culture can live if it attempts to be exclusive”. Kofi Annan also pointed out that, “tolerance, intercultural dialogue and respect for diversity are more essential now than ever in a world where people are becoming more and more closely interconnected”

This website brought to the fore, Artistic endeavor, projects and innovative strategies deployed by Artists and Education officers of National Museum of Unity, Enugu to consolidate on efforts already initiated by Museum managers in Nigeria to promote understanding, social cohesion among different ethnic groups through Art. We embrace the concept of Intercultural dialogue applying artistic means to serve as a watershed for lasting Peace.