Gerald Chukwuma, a celebrated Nigerian visual artist, sculptor and painter, has commended the Art X Lagos for stablising art prices in Nigeria, making them internationally competitive amid huge impact on local artists and the Lagos economy.
Chukwuma’s commendation comes as the foremost West African art expo is set to open in Lagos on Thursday, November 4, 2021, at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island.
Speaking ahead of the expo, Chukwuma, who is also a furniture designer with an enthusiastic local and international following, noted that since inception in 2016, Art X Lagos has exposed Nigerian artists and their works to international galleries, collectors and art bodies, who now appreciate their creative ingenuity and are paying handsomely for artworks from Nigeria.
“Art X Lagos has made artworks internationally competitive and stablised prices because it is now an international market and no longer local. Most artists are now pricing in dollars. I can sell my work here with the same price I will sell it in New York, this is a feat because it did not happen before now”, he explained.
The artist noted that Art X is an international platform, which confers international status on participating artists from across Africa, hence helping participating artists to raise the quality of their works to international standard, and international pricing.
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“If I am showing at Art X and I know that someone is coming from Germany to buy the works, the price has to be stable and internationally competitive.
“Again, that raises the quality of the work because I know that I am not going to show to the same people, there are people who are going to be coming from across the world to see my works here in Lagos”, he said.
Again, with more than 30,000 visitors, including international and regional art collectors, patrons of the arts, scholars, and critics visiting the art expo in the last six years, Chukwuma stated that the huge number of visitors each year has impacted Lagos economy positively as hotels, car hire services, restaurants, tour operators, galleries are booming with activities across the period the art expo lasts.
“Art X has become an economy of its own. It has generated a kind of money that is almost neglected, hotel business is booming for the period Art X, especially those within Victoria Island, restaurants are selling more, there are diners here and there, businesses are booming”, Chukwuma said.
He also noted that the fair has become fertile ground for breeding and discovering artists, especially by international galleries.
Citing instance with himself, Chukwuma noted that he debuted at Art X for the first time under SMO Contemporary Lagos, later with Gallery 1957, an Accra Ghana-based gallery which furthered the relationship with an exhibition of his works in Europe in collaboration with Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery.
