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  • Fine art not demonic, says Shyllon

    Fine art not demonic, says Shyllon

    Foremost Nigerian art collector Omooba Yemisi Shyllon has dismissed the insinuations by some Nigerians that artworks constitute elements of idols and should be avoided. He described such belief as wrong perception and a misrepresentation of what artworks are and their values to the nation’s economy. This, he said, is ‘no thanks to misinterpretation of the Holy Bible in Exodus chapter 20, verses 4-6.  And no thanks to the misinterpretation of the Quran in Chapter 21, verses 52 to 54.’

    He stated that those holding such belief misrepresented or misunderstood the provisions in the Holy Bible in Exodus Chapter 20, verses 4-6.which states that ‘thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.’

    Shyllon who is grand patron of Society of Nigerian Artists Ogun State Chapter, spoke recently at a two-day outdoor painting and exhibition tagged August Visitors in Kuto, Abeokuta Ogun state capital organised by the Society of Nigerian Artists, Ogun State chapter.  It featured no fewer than 30 artists.

    Shyllon commended the artists for holding the outdoor event saying it would give the ordinary man who is passing by to see what Nigerian artists are doing.  “It will also show that there is nothing demonic in art. And that it helps to engage the young minds and provide employment.  Not only does it provide employment, it provides tourism inputs.  Art is a very, important and veritable part of tourism. I’ve been a professional member of the Louvre in Paris. And I know how many people are welcomed at the Louvre. From records, about ten million people visit the Louvre every year.

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    “And if you look at the average cost of visiting the Louvre from whatever countries you are, it is good money. That shows that on average, a tourist spends about $8,000 per year on visiting world tourism sites, locations of museums, galleries and so on.  So, if we can develop these talents and market it to other people, not only will it encourage domestic tourism, it will also encourage international tourism,” he said.  

    He stressed that international tourism will provide a credible window through which Nigeria can regenerate its economy, adding that from a structured model of economy to a more regenerative model of economy, domestic tourism will be enhanced. “Artists will come all the way from the North, the East, and so on and so forth.  And people will come from different parts of the zones to see what people in the Southwest or vice versa are doing in terms of production of artworks.  So, in general, I think it’s good for Nigeria and Nigeria’s economy,” he added.

    Chairman, SNA, Ogun State Chapter, Mr. Oladimeji Oluwagbemiga said the choice of the venue of the event, which is Kuto under bridge in Abeokuta, was deliberate to draw attention of public to the existence of the society and its activities.

    He noted that until now, ‘it is as if the society does not exist. And then we looked at what we can use as awareness tool to draw people to us. So, we shifted our base from indoor exhibition to outdoor for the public to see without hindrance.’ Last year, the society collaborated with Lagos State on October Rain, and consecutively had exhibitions in two galleries in Lagos.

    Dr. Doyin Labode, a lecturer at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, said the event provided opportunity for people to interact with artistes and be more aware of the benefits of art.  

    “The challenge we face is that of the few numbers of collectors as they are not enough. Also the private firms are not. We still need more of them to identify with us. We drag some, we even wrote invitation letters. Unfortunately, we can have a two weeks exhibition without a single representative of a firm in attendance. So that’s part of challenges. However, we are moving gradually,” he added.

  • Onobrakpeya, Shyllon, Okundaye headline Beniniconography.com

    As part of the buildup of activities to the travel exhibition, Beniniconography.com, holding in Benin City, Edo State in October 26 at the Crowne Gallery, the organisers will be holding an art discourse at Thought Pyramid, Ikoyi, Lagos.

    The discourse, powered by GreenHouse Art Empowerment Centre and Thought Pyramid, is scheduled to hold on Wednesday, June 12.

    The event, which has the theme, Renaissance of Imagery and Symbolism in Benin Iconography: Iyase-Odozi’s Art appropriations in Focus will be headlined by Prof Bruce Onobrakpeya, Omooba Yemisi Shyllon and Chief Nike Okundaye.

    It will also feature Dr Kunle Filani, Dr Mike Omoighe, Dr Sella Awoh, Kehinde Adepegba and Princess Theresa Oghogho Iyase-Odozi as panelists. It has as moderator, The Nation Assistant Art Editor, Mr Ozolua Uhakheme.

  • Onobrakpeya, Shyllon lead guests to LIMCAF 2018

    With the 2018 Grand Finale events narrowing down to a matter of weeks and days, the indications are that this year’s edition will hit a higher note than ever. Among other things it will be attended by an impressive list of who is who in the art and corporate worlds.

    The Board of Trustees in a statement signed by the Executive Director of the Festival Mr Kevin Ejiofor has proudly announced that Dr. Bruce Onobrakpeya, a UNESCO Living Human Person Award recipient will chair the Award Night while Omooba Dr. Yemisi Shyllon, one of Nigeria’s most outstanding and internationally recognised art collectors, will be Special Guest of Honour.

    The Enugu State Governor,  Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, will receive them as Chief Host, with the Patrons of the Festival, Igwe Nnaemaka Achebe CFR, Obi of Onitsha and Professor Emeritus El Anatsui in attendance.

    Many other prominent personalities in the corporate world and in the field of art are expected at the Enugu event

    The statement explained that the exhibitions in the seven zones of the LIMCAF Festival have ended with the Lagos event as this year’s climax.

    Lagos was declared open by the Chairman of Sterling Bank of Nigeria, Mr Asue Igbodalo of Bamwo and Ighodalo a prominent Lagos Law Partners firm while the Abuja Exhibition was opened by Ms Anne Okigbo a former World Manager and sponsor of the Pius Okigbo Prize. The Thought Pyramid Art Centre in both cities hosted the exhibitions.

    The Guest of Honour Mr Asue Ighodalo had noted and strongly commended the high quality of the works on display and commended the organisers for sustaining the project for 12 long years which was unrivalled in the field of art in Nigeria.

    Over four hundred entries were received nationwide with the highest numbers coming from Abuja, Ibadan, Lagos and Enugu. The best of the best 100 new works by the youth of Nigeria will feature in the Grand Finale Exhibition opening on Monday 22 October 2018.

  • Meet Yemisi Shyllon, Nigerian with largest art collection

    Meet Yemisi Shyllon, Nigerian with largest art collection

    Art collector extraordinaire, Omoba Yemisi Shyllon takes Udemma Chukwuma, through his huge collection of artworks famed to be the largest private collection in the country

    Standing like guards from the gate of Omoba Yemisi Shyllon’s house to his inner chambers, courtyard, right to the roof of his house is a massive collection of sculptures. His passion for art, he said, made him build the house, as he was beginning to run out of space for the works.

    “This house was built for art,” he said matter-of-factly.

    Omoba Shyllon’s home, located in Maryland, Lagos, houses priceless Nigerian treasures as well as works from African artists. By virtue of his exceptional collection, his home has become a destination for tourists, as visitor immediately fancied himself in an art museum. But the approach to his immaculate home offers no clue at what lay behind the walls.

    Shyllon said he started collecting artworks right from his university days. He bought his first artwork in 1975. He disclosed that that was how he acquired artworks of the 1930s.

    In the course of collecting artworks, Shyllon revealed that he was obsessed with sculptures, especially the wooden ones. He later found himself collecting traditional African art. “That was when I discovered that I wanted to be a collector. I went into collecting paintings heavily and later all the genres of art,” he said.

    It takes a whole day to explore the works in Omoba Shyllon’s house. Every bedroom, toilet, bathroom, as well as his living rooms and kitchen has a sizable collection of artworks on the walls. The works range from traditional, modern and contemporary art. A visitor is likely to be fascinated by a large room build for his Benin collection; with its walls decorated with large canvases of paintings. There is also a room filled with Igbo art collection, which consists predominantly of masquerades and masks.

    The gardens are decorated with bronze sculptures, metal works and animals. Often times, he lends his works to museums for exhibitions. At the Freedom Park on Broad Street, Lagos, are some of his collections, on display.

    As a precaution, Omoba Shyllon says one could take as many photographs as one pleases outside the house, but not inside. The main living room is replete with paintings of beautiful colours. Happily, the host takes visitors around the house on the occasion of this, regaling them with the various stories behind each piece and why he acquired it. His passion for the works is also evident from the way he talked about them and cracked jokes.

    With the number of works dedicated to Bruce Onobrakpeya’s collection in a particular room, you could easily tell that Shyllon is a keen lover of the octogenarian’s works.

    Even his kitchen is a statement of art, as clay pots laid on his cooking gas. To him, “Every society has its own identity. Civilisation has come to modify but it should not replace our culture. This is my own culture, this is how my forefathers cooked their food.” he said, pointing at the pots.

    The chartered engineer, marketer, stock-broker and legal practitioner, who is now retired said he promised himself a few years ago that he was going to promote the Nigerian art and culture on retirement. For him, it is one way of keeping himself busy as well as enjoying life.

    “I looked around me, saw so much artwork and decided to set up a foundation called Omoba Yemisi Adedoyin Shyllon Art Foundation (OYASAF), in 2008. I decided to devote the rest of my life to promoting Nigerian art and culture.”

    “I set up this foundation because I noticed a lacuna in this environment. Nigeria is not promoting her cultural life and heritage. And since I live with art, I decided to open a foundation, so that people can come to my place and enjoy what I am enjoying, and to have a peep into the heritage and history of Nigeria.”

    Shyllon indeed is surrounded by artworks. He literally eats art, drinks art and breaths artworks.

    In his collection are 55,000 photographic shots of Nigeria’s cultural festivals and over 7,000 artworks. The artworks are of numerous collections, mostly of African continent, (though not limited to Africa) gathered for the purpose of contributing to the preservation of African history and culture. He said “I don’t buy photographs; I create photographs to document Nigeria’s fast disappearing culture at large.”

    The oldest artwork in the foundation’s collection is a Nok terracotta. The oldest modern Nigerian art in the foundation is a 1932 charcoal drawing titled Awaiting Trial by Aina Onabolu. He said OYASAF is widely acknowledged as the largest private art collection in Nigeria and emphasised that, “We don’t sell artworks here. I have collected the works over the years for people to come and enjoy with me and my family. The foundation is set up to share the joy, beauty of Nigerian art and culture with the world, through well-sponsored arts and culture workshops.

    Has the collectors taste changed over the years? We asked. “No, I am still a collector. But I have stopped collecting traditional art. My trip to America changed me. When I went to Harvard University in the United States to talk about my collection, I met Prof Sunna Blair, she said ‘Yemisi, this traditional African art you want to talk about here…you are wasting your time.’ She urged me to go into contemporary African art. When I came back to Nigeria, I stopped buying traditional African art but I still keep my traditional African art, which are the glory of my collection.  My taste changes, depending on the dynamism of the environment and culture.”

    One thing Shyllon doesn’t however talk about is the price of the works, as he is of the opinion that art is priceless. “When people ask me the price of a piece, I don’t answer them because they are beginning to monetise my value, which I don’t like.”

    “OYASAF,” he said, “is a family sponsored foundation, dedicated to promoting Nigerian art and culture. We have the largest private art collection in Nigeria.”

    Lecture series, workshops, research programmes and art competitions are part of the activities which are organised by the foundation. Among the plans on OYASAF’s list is to build a privately-founded museum in Nigeria, which is currently ongoing at the Pan African University at Lekki, Lagos. “We have artworks spread over the history of Nigerian art, which will be in this museum.”

  • Shyllon donates over N2.2b artworks, seed money to museum

    Shyllon donates over N2.2b artworks, seed money to museum

    The founder of Omooba Yemisi Adedja Shyllon Foundation, Prince Yemisi Shyllon, has donated 1,200 artworks and cash worth over N2.2billion to the Pan Atlantic University, Lagos. It is part of his donations towards the establishment of the Yemisi Shyllon Museum.

    Shyllon, who made the donations at an agreement signing ceremony in Lagos yesterday said: “The money I pledged is what the family has contributed to make the difference. It is no small money but we are very happy doing that. I want to leave this world with a legacy. I want to live a meaningful and purposeful life… I am contributing four members to the nine-member museum supervisory council that will manage, supervise and formulate policies for the museum. The design and construction of the museum will take two years from today before it then opens for enjoyment of Nigerian public and the world at large.”

    The Vice-Chancellor, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos, Prof Juan M. Elegido, expressed the university’s gratitude for the donation, saying that the “donation of the museum is significant for many reasons: first it provides an effective way of preserving Prince Shyllon’s collection for posterity while making it available to the public. Secondly, it will greatly enhance the research and educational resource of the university as well as the general public”.

  • Shyllon to build multi-billion naira museum

    Shyllon to build multi-billion naira museum

    History will be made today as Omooba Yemisi Adedoyin Shyllon Art Foundation (OYASAF) founder, Yemisi Shyllon, an engineer, and the Pan Atlantic University (PAU) Governing Council, sign an agreement establishing Nigeria’s first multi-billion naira privately funded public museum, Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME reports.

    •Engineer donates 15-foot bronze statue to Unilag Law Faculty

    It could not have come at a better time than now when Nigeria does not have any functioning national art exhibition edifice. From today, Omooba Yemisi Shyllon will begin the funding of a multi-billion-naira museum of art that will house all genres of Nigerian art and photographs.

    Shyllon, who began collecting art as an undergraduate, using savings from his scholarship, has over 6,000 pieces of African antiquities, traditional and neo-traditional pieces and contemporary Nigerian art in his collection. It is the largest private collection in Nigeria comprising music, traditional dance, drama, opera, tribes, paintings, sculptures, photography, folklore, oral tradition, poetry, literature, architecture, performing arts, general arts, embroidery, documentaries and weaving.

    The facility, Yemisi Shyllon Museum – Pan Atlantic University, that will be on Pan Atlantic University campus in Lekki, is one of the steps taken by Shyllon to fill the lacuna in the nation’s art space.

    Shyllon said the project was a selfless effort by his family to establish a one-stop reference point of all the genres of art, including photography, traditional, modern and conceptual art. He said the museum set up for promoting Nigerian art. “It will be Nigeria’s first functioning privately funded, but public exhibition space that will contain all genres of visual art and antiques from part of my collection for the benefit of our country and the world,” he said. He disclosed that other major collectors of Nigerian art will be allowed to exhibit their collections in sections within and forming part of the museum.

    According to him, the agreement includes, among others, granting the museum his art collections, funding of the seed money, providing 15 years of yearly funding of the running cost of the museum and electing some of the members of the museum management. He disclosed that the University Council and himself would agree on the design of the museum architecture, which will be undertaken by an international architect.

    Shyllon has been worried by what will become of his treasured collections. Even after trips to renowned museums and galleries across the globe, seeking knowledge on how to run a museum, he discovered that it required more than erecting a building to run a viable museum. “It is an expensive venture as it involves insurance of collections, preservation of works, management of operating staff and logistics among others. Given all this, I was in a quagmire on how to preserve all my collections and what will happen to my works. I did not want my sweat to go the way of other collectors,” he said.

    Shyllon recalled that for many years he had been thinking of what to do with his art collections, which he started as an undergraduate. “In my working career, I kept satisfying my passion by collecting art. But, when I started to work for myself, I decided to take art collection serious. This led to the incorporation of OYASAF in 2007. The foundation held its first two art exhibitions: History of Nigerian art and Drums and Totems in partnership with Omoba Oladele Odimayo at the National Museum, Lagos. These shows caught the attention of the United StateS Embassy in Lagos and facilitated my selection for US-sponsored International Visitors Leadership Programme to 22 institutions in the US in 2009.

    “My question all through the trip was how viable is running a museum? When I returned I was better informed and learnt that gate taking was only 5 per cent of museum income,” he added, noting that his search on who to partner with led him to Pan Atlantic University, which has foreign partners in Spain.

    On why he chooses to initiate all this project, he said: “One thing that drives me is legacy. You can make all the money in this world, but if there is no legacy you left behind, when you die, people will forget everything about you. Whatever I want to do must be legacy inspired. These projects have no profit motive behind them but to contribute to the society in my chosen passion.”

     

    Donation of a 15-foot

    bronze statue to Unilag

    Similarly, on Friday  a 15-foot bronze statue donated by Shyllon to Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, will be unveiled. Considering the concept of the new statue of justice, it is to revolutionise the design concept of the universal symbol of justice. It is expected to project the different ethnic nationalities of Nigeria and redirect the representation of the symbol of justice as a people towards ‘promoting our culture and traditions.’ It took the artist Adeola Balogun, who was supported by a bronze-caster Paul Omorodion three months to complete the sculpture.

    The sculpture is a maiden holding the Eben of the Oba of Benin and the horse whip of Yoruba Kings. She is also adorned with the Jigida of the Efik culture around her waist and wears the famous Fura do Nunu attire of the Hausa/Fulani culture. The Ileke of the Yoruba culture adorns her waist. The beads on her neck and the Udu on her two feet represent the Igbo culture. Her hairdo (Shuku) and the bracelets on her hands are of the Yoruba culture. She is of the Negro (Nigeria) identity and blindfolded in tandem with the universal representation of the symbol of justice.

     

    Online journal of art:The OYASAF Journal of Art (TOJA)

    The third part of Shyllon’s intervention on art this month is the establishment of an online international journal of art, The OYASAF Journal of Art, under his endowed professorial chair at the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), which he has committed funds. The journal is expected to make its debut by the end of July.  He said: “I decided to set up this quality of journal because of the dearth of such journals in our academic space in Nigeria. What we usually have in Nigeria are stop gap journals published merely to get promotions after which the journals are often jettisoned. This is one of the projects initiated to enhance the appreciation and development of Nigerian arts and culture and to position us in the global art space. It will also give Nigerian art stakeholders something to be proud of.

    It will be edited by the Chair of the Prince Yemisi Shyllon Professorial Chair of Art and Design of UNIPORT, Prof Frank Ugiomoh. There will be three professors from the US, two from South Africa, one each from Germany and the UK and four from Nigeria. The chair of the board of trustees is a Vice Chair of the UNESCO 1970 Convention, assisted by seven professors of international repute. The journal is expected to be published thrice year ly with a maximum of six and minimum of four papers per publication.

    TOJA is an online journal for critical debate on African art  and will publish  articles, reviews, critical discourse based on studio experiences of artists and products such as product/industrial design, architecture, sculpture, painting and printmaking, photography and installations, exhibitions, curatorial practice.    The journal will provide an on-line platform for documenting the arts of Africa, and similar cultural practices around the world.  It will be published annually, every four months (March, July & November) as an on line publication with a maximum of six (6) and a minimum of four (4) annual outings. It will include global features on book reviews, review of art exhibitions, scholars’ forum, review of art fairs and others.

    TOJA is set to occupy the position of a vanguard online forum that provides commensurate knowledge in art practice, discourse and related engagements in Africa. It vision includes to contribute to an appreciation of visual literacy through discourse alternatives that engage practice, history, criticism and interpretation; to encourage discourse options that privilege diverse ideological perspectives and to create an enabling medium for the free expression and exchange of ideas.

    Shyllon’s philanthropic gestures know no bound. He restored a failed Ben Enwonwu’s 1952 artwork for the University of Ibadan, donated a 25-feet sculpture Towards Distinction to the University of Ibadan, contributed to the redesigning of the University of Ibadan zoo, contributed to the refurbishment of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife campus (during the tenure of Prof Rogers Makanjuola), endowed a professorial chair at the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, sponsored school competition in arts, sponsored the annual creative art workshop at the University of Lagos, donated sculptures to the Freedom Park, Lagos and runs residency programmes for arts scholars among others through his foundation.