United States Consul General in Nigeria Jeffrey Hawkins is a committed promoter of the arts. He may not be an arts expert but he is a lover of arts. Hawkins believes it is a good thing to invest in the arts. His only regret he says is not meeting the late literary icon, Prof Chinua Achebe. He shares how US partners Nigeria through the arts in this chat with Evelyn Osagie.
When you walk into a room and you see artworks adorning the walls, what impression does it give you?
Obviously, it says so much about the person. And there are all kinds of art. I mean if you go into an office and there is a corporate art that can say, “We are sleek or we are sophisticated”. And if you go into a room and you find an artwork, it says a lot about the individual(s) too. We have some friends who collect Nigerian art and in fact their houses are filled with them. And it says a lot about them that they appreciate the aesthetics and that Nigerian culture means a lot to them. That is the idea we are trying to promote here: Nigerian culture, particularly Nigerian culture with an American element means a lot to us.
We held an art salon recently in my house involving some young Nigerian artists and had a visiting American artist and founder of the Mbari Institute for Contemporary African Art Mimi Wolford under the U.S Department of State’s Travelling Speaker programme. She is from a well-established tradition of artists: her parents, Richard Wolford and Jean Kennedy having graduated from the Cleveland School of Art were involved in the world of art from an early age. We’ve done a number of such exhibitions like this in the past.
How potent is art in shaping the society?
There is so much that you can say; it is like the cliché that “a picture is worth a thousand words”. Art can provide a conscience to the society; art can provide excitement, upliftment and education. Art is very powerful things that can help right the ills and wrong that are in society. Art can also say very powerful things about higher aspirations, even the spiritual. So, it is huge. Most importantly, as a diplomat, my job is building bridges; and I don’t think there is any better way to build bridges between people and cultures than promoting the arts. Aside exhibitions, we also had folks back to the United States and people like Mimi for all sorts of events. For example, we also had a Nigeria-American artist and professor from Chicago come out; and she worked at UNILAG and had a couple of shows of her artworks. They also show our country’s support for growth of the arts sector, as part of capacity building, job creation, skill acquisition and confidence building in the youth of Nigeria. The goal is to foster the development of the arts in the community. They not only serve as platform where future artists can get publicity but also present tremendous opportunity for ignorant Americans as myself to gain more comprehensive understanding and greater appreciation of the Nigerian arts and culture. It was really wonderful having the artists showcase their talents. We also intend to recognise artists and applaud them for their creativity and their courage in portraying their sentiments and their views and aesthetic. And in a wider sense, we are celebrating the tie of cultures between Nigeria and United States.
What inspired the building of bridges through the arts?
The genesis was when I met an artist recently at an art show who has just come back from the United States and was talking about the influence that the experience had on him, artistically. And so we were very interested in replicating it on a wider scale and that led to Mimi’s visit who has a lot of history with arts and Nigeria and bridging that cultural gap.
So, what is your scorecard like in your attempt at bridging cultural gap particularly through the promotion of the arts?
The arts is a hard thing to quantify but there are other ways of quantifying: we also have a lot of exchange-type programmes: for example, the number of exchange educational programmes that we’ve have such as the Fulbright, which is one of the premier educational programmes. And there is something like 7000 Nigerian students studying in the United States – there are more Nigerians studying in the US than from any other African country. And when you talk about work, there is a huge number of Nigerian-Americans and Nigerian citizens living and working in the US. And when you talk about the arts: one of Nigeria’s great novelists, the late Prof Chinua Achebe, was teaching in the US. And these are all some kind of scorecard. And we are very happy to do what we can to encourage them from our side.
Did you meet Achebe when he was alive?
You know, it is my greatest regret that I did not – something I really wanted very badly to, and because I was in Nigeria and he was in America, it is regrettable that it didn’t happen and I am really sorry about that.
Would we see more of the promotion of young talents?
Absolutely! Actually, we did an event recently where we did have a poet come up and recite Nigerian poetry.
Some say art lovers and promoters are mostly of the elite class, what say you?
There unpopular art and other forms of art. And those who collect art because they love it; others collect art as an investment. There are some who collect art because they recognise something before anyone does. That is where you really want to be. And you can choose what group you really want to be in; and you don’t have to belong to the elite to appreciate art.
Which group do you belong to?
I am certainly part of the “Wannabes”. There was an art auction recently that my wife and I bid on four pieces and we didn’t get a single one. This goes to show how popular Nigerian art is. We have to wait until next time and bid a little higher.
On the popularity of the Nigerian art: is it internationally acclaimed and perhaps highly priced?
I’m certainly not an art expert. But my general sense is that in the US and other art markets, I think West African art, particularly Nigerian art is very hot right now. And I think people are really interested in it. And although the price is not as high as others, it is a good place to get in because the prices look like they are about to go up.
What kind of art lover are you?
I do not make any claims to be a good one but I am a musician; I play the guitar. And as a matter of fact, my wife and I had a little deal that I am going to lose weight and she is going to take piano lessons.
Where would you regard your favourite places in Nigeria?
Osogbo is actually one of my favourite places in Nigeria.
