In Lagos, Art Intervention for climate change

WHEN art teachers and students gathered to mark the World Environmental Day 2012, it was a consciousness for the creative sector to contribute to the challenges of climate change.Organised as an initiative of Tunde Olanipekun's Baffles Gallery and the Visual Art Teachers Association of Nigeria, (VATAN), the event was designed to explore the need to use visual appeal and the power of art to fight environmental degradation in the country.Held at Ajumoni Secondary School, Okota, Lagos, with over 50 schools in attendance, it had the theme Art Intervention on Climate Change. It helped to instill in the young ones how to be environmental friendly using art.Visual appeal and the power of art, it was agreed, could be used to fight environmental degradation and arouse people's consciousness on the need to care for the earth.While harping on the need to achieve an aesthetically pleasing environment, the guest speaker, Lagos State Secretary of VATAN, Adisa Kazim, said it was important to rekindle the youths' desire in create art forms, particularly in line with cultural traditional and cultural values. He argued such is better expressed through the transformation of wastes to beautiful art forms.He stated, 'In using art to achieve a good environment, the use of symbols cannot be over-emphasised. For instance, if you pick up a piece of pure water sachet, you will see in the body of the sachet a drawing (symbol) of a trash can be drawn on it. So, the idea is to use art in creating an aesthetic environment. Apart from that, you can also use a good landscape, a place that is beautified with flower plants and structures, which in turn checks erosion'.Apart from symbols, Kazim noted that art could also intervene in environmental management through exhibition. Such shows, he explained, should be focused towards highlighting climate change in the country, the use of signs to encourage keeping one's environment clean, and the use of drama presentations to draw attention to the environment, usually called e-educate, amongst others.The high point of the seminar featured planting of trees by the students, which would serve as a catalyst to good and aesthetic communities.Meanwhile, Olanipekun said Baffles Gallery has over time drawn the attention of students in primary and secondary schools to the environment.The effect of the visual commentary, he maintained, was to rekindle their interests in re-echoing the imminent danger the environment faced sundry abuses from man.
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