Reunion in Auchi Art School
By Chuka Nnabuife

NOTWITHSTANDING that modern education system has watered down the content art studies, what happened in Auchi, Edo State, penultimate Thursday, through last Friday proves that somehow, the conventional art school may still be alive.


Through the annual Auchi Artists Convention and Workshops series which ended its third edition last weekend, the authorities of School of Art and Design, Auchi Polytechnic has established that though art prowess cannot be taught effectively in the very generalist contemporary academic system it is possible to achieve something similar. As the cr?me de la cr?me of Nigerian art circle, custodians of traditional culture went to the institution to interact with its students, alumni and teachers hope increased that some art schools can still smartly evolve a way of nurturing their students along a path of quintessential studio-oriented art schools. Auchi used the event to show that institutions can retain their sanctity of their artistic traditions through the establishment of such regular reunions where past and present students meet and reinvigorate themselves with the ideologies of the parent school.

Originally, art schools are establishments where visionary studio masters and some of their outstanding colleagues, convene young artists to expose them to their preferred genres and chosen methods of practice. Often art works executed by products of such institutions are easily recognisable by their unique traits which are usually traceable to the founding masters of such schools. But from the second quarter of 20th century when avant-garde modernists punctured the idea the conventional art school began a journey to extinction, and gradually in became old-fashioned. With the growth of in number of art colleges the old model of art schools gave way to academic institutions that teach art within the model of academic researches that fit into the curriculum prescription of faculties in universities, colleges and similar institutions. One big casualty of this model of art teaching was the loss of unique traits in art school. As art teachers assumed the positions of studio masters the mode of orientation in the art institutions tilted towards producing artists that are groomed in general knowledge and theories of the profession. The graduates know a bit of every art style but are not highly dextrous in any particular studio skill.

In Nigeria the over three decade old art institution of Auchi Polytechnic, best know in culture circles as Auchi Art School was one of the faculties that worked with the general academic pattern of orientation. But over time the school acquired a popular social identity through the kind of works their early products exhibit in galleries. Given the impressionist use of colour and ambitious manipulation of metals in sculpture among other nuances such expressions as 'Auchi colourists' became general knowledge in Nigerain art circles notwithstanding that other approaches of art are equally being taught in Auchi. Soon, even students of the school began to publicly identify themselves proudly, with such legacies. And the good impressions made by the teeming Art graduates of the polytechnic gave Auchi strong attention.

In 2004 authorities of the institution evolved an idea of an annual reunion of its graduates. The initiative originally intended to be a novelty has turned out an annuity that brings the old and new breed of the art school together.

The 3rd Auchi Artists Convention and Workshop offered the school an opportunity to take count of their edge in the art sector. As the Acting Rector of the polytechnic, Sir Loius R. Akagbosu noted, it was a time for deserved chest beating.

"First, this occasion opens another opportunity for our school of art and design to further consolidate its name as an art institution. The Auchi school, as my lecturers now call it, portrays to the world a unique, proactive and contemporancous presentation of our life, our beliefs and ethos in such a manner that is distinct and easily traceable to Auchi. Thus, the Auchi school now represents a movement within the art community that is significant and distinct.

"Second, the theme of this conference which is Entrepeneurship in Art is relevant to the contemporary development in our country. Emphasis is now on education for self employment, not education for government job. The quality of training, the rich and vast curriculum and the facilities available for training artists in the Polytechnic are such hat students graduating from this institution should necessarily always be the best and capable of initiating and managing their own businesses.

"From one exhibition to another, students and staff of this Polytechnic have consistently proved that they are the best. Just last year, Patkairos consults in collaboration with the Lagos State Art Council organised the Nigeria Undergraduates Exhibition of Art (NUXART). Twenty seven universities, polytechnics and colleges of education participated in the exhibition which featured over 200 works.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to report that at the end of the exhibition, our students came first; came second and came fourth. This shows that works of distinction will create a market to which art collectors will flock and in the process open opportunities for self employment and the employment of others.

"The economic situation in the country today encourages self employment. Our curriculum is rich enough that artists trained in this school can become entrepreneurs even owning galleries in future. The graduates of clothing and fashion; of graphics; of textiles, painting, ceramics can set up cottage factories with the support of micro-credit facilities that many banks are now willing to give. I believe that given their training and the reputation of their training institution, their products will be accepted in the market."

The presence of a delegation of high chiefs delegated to the occasion by seldom public, Oba of Benin as well as notable artists and critics from around the country including septuagenarian, Dr. Bruce Onobrakpeya who spent four days and painter Olu Ajayi, one of the early stars of the Auchi colourists era (mid 1980s -early 1990s), further underscored the high ranking of the institution. Noting how proud their history has been Dean of the School of Art and Design, Helen N. Uhunmwangho beamed more light on this year's theme and equally rubbed in that the idea behind event is a reunion as well as an opportunity let people who are closely attached the school know their current problems.

"Enterepreneurship in Art is in line with our vision of empowering participants to become artists entrepreneurs. , Since the inception of the school of Art and Design Auchi polytechnic in 1975 as a department in the school of business studies, we have experienced steady growth while other schools of Art are experiencing a decline in students enrolment, we have continued to strive to have the number we need. Today we have become a school with our departments with potentials for further growth as we have in the offing plans to start a Printing Department, Theatre Arts Department and a lot more with the intentions of introducing new courses like Fashion Accessories, Costuming and Cosmetology, Although we have produced some of the greatest artists in Nigeria who are making waves all over the world, we have been faced with numerous incapacitating problems such as obsolete machines/equipment, non-availability of alternative power source, resulting in our not having electricity to power even the obsolete equipment most part of the semester. This makes it impossible for the full semester work to be covered. Sponsorship which is received from foreign bodies do not get to us due to our rural setting, even the Nigerian art oriented government parastatals with the exception of the National Gallery of Art do not consider us in the tide of artistic activities. We have a lot of intelligent academics in our midst who can do the nations proud in so many ways if given the opportunity.

We have been trying to purchase the Onobrak Printing machine which cost only N400,000.00 for the past two years to no avail. Up till now we do not have a computer lab, yet we have a graphic department where the students are supposed to be authorities in computer aided designs. We are glad that ETF has just given us a lot of equipment for the young fashion/clothing technology department which have no studio space to lodge them. It is not my wish to bore you with our problems, but we will be pleased to receive some solace from every quarter in the name of equipment and infrastructures."

The 10-day forum went with workshops on painting (facilitated by Chika Idu), leather works (by Obi Leather), Printmaking (by Bode Olaniran for Bruce Onobrakpeya Studios), as well as photography and stone carving. Works produced at the workshop exercise were exhibited in the school's new gallery. There were equally conferences where scholars presented papers as well as mid session lectures in which Onobrakpeya, Ajayi and Chuka Nnabuife presented papers on The Artists as an Entrepreneur; Living as a Studio Artist in Nigeria; and Art Merchandising: The Artist, The Art and The Nigerian Visual Art Market respectively.

In his keynote address, Onobrakpeya noted how the event and its theme capture the main issues facing Nigerian artists. For an artist to succeed as an entrepreneur, he noted he has to go beyond mere art school training.

"Entrepreneurship in art is about creativity. Creativity, not in the artistic sense, but in the problem solving sense. How many artists have the ability to come up with as may alternatives as possible within a given time in the face of a problem, or give life and form to what has already been pronounced dead?

"The artist's role for today therefore, is to embark on a lifelong self development program for himself."

Ms Uhunmwangho said that was actually the essence of the yearly exercise, "To expose the artist to the challenges outside the four walls of the art school, is the main objective."

The schedule also covered an excursion to the Ikao land in Owan East local council, Edo State where the delegation from Auchi joined the community in their yearly manhood festival and received orientation on the native cultures and traditional rites of the land.