“So many artists have the talent, but they do not know about scaling their art into mainstream acceptance.” Ganiyat Sani told me during one of our recent conversations. We spoke about Lady Kwali, the potter on the 20 naira note, a skilled potter from the Gwari region of northern Nigeria. For years, she made beautiful pottery, but she was limited to her local community. Her story changed when, in 1950, Michael Cardew discovered her work and resolved to expose her to mainstream opportunities. The rest, as they say, is history as we have it today.
While we cannot neglect the importance of talent in the creative industry, there is a need for a suite of other knowledge that contributes to an artist’s success. Skills like writing, researching, pitching, communication, networking, and even digital skills. An artist serious about thriving in the contemporary marketplace needs to be well equipped with skills beyond painting, shading or stroking.
Having worked with various artists and fashion designers in Northern Nigeria through the annual Kaduna Fashion and Art Exhibition, Ganiyat noticed a deficit of transformative knowledge in many talented northern artists. She later realized that this is not just a northern Nigeria problem; it is a global problem. A lot of creatives all over the world do not know the intricacies of pushing their works to a global audience.
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