Nike Art Centre Marks Cultural Day

Rebecca Ejifoma The Nike Art Centre hosted friends and art enthusiasts from all over the world at its Cultural Day held recently at its gallery at Lekki.

The event featured indigenous lifestyles ranging from songs to dance and from attire to the vast culture of people from all over the world. These electrifying performances were garnished with a group of colourful Nigerian dancers coupled with the art pieces displayed in and out of the premises.They brought back the jigs and twists of traditional music from Edo, Anambra, and Oyo and of course Lagos States. There were production and sales of adire, beads, Kampala, royal hats and regalia. There were also displays of images and art works that tell the tales of million years even without words.

Among visitors from afar was the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Lagos, Michael Derus. He enthused that each time he visited the centre he learned something new, noted, “A lot of events take place here. It helps me discover more about Nigeria."

Derus hailed the Nigerian’s culture, noting, “It is so rich because of the different ethnic groups and traditions. “It represents something that Europeans are striving at; to bring together a certain blend of cultural identity, which nevertheless is not just a mixture, but a whole identity of different ethnic groups in the country.” Adding, he said that it has had a large impact not only in the country but the entire African continent as a whole. According to the Gallery Manager, Lagos, Tunji Akinsehinwa, it is not unusual for the centre to organise such a programme because it is more of a cultural centre than a gallery.