One major community project we have been involved with is the U.S. State Department Hillary Clinton Smartpower project grant, which hosted a Californ… - Peju Layiwola

My interest in art derived from the great influences that Benin art, culture, festivals and history presented growing up in the city. My mother also had a strong influence on me. I not only learnt art from her at home, she was also my art teacher at the Federal Government Girls’ College, Benin. My principal, Josephine Ifueko Omigie, was an art graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. The cultural events organised by the school helped stimulate interest in arts and culture. We had an annual week-long competition on cultural activities that engaged every student in one creative activity or the other. I was also a member of the school choir and played the piano.

But this is also a privilege I have enjoyed from others. I have had great mentors-Professor Irein Wangboje who employed me at the University of Benin; Professor Cornelius Adepegba, who was my doctoral supervisor at the University of Ibadan. Both of them died early in my career. God provided others who stood in the gap.

The decline in the intake of students into University art schools nationally, stems from the dearth of art teachers and adequate facilities in primary and Secondary schools. This invariably leads to improper art and ultimately excludes art from the curriculum at the foundational level. These teaching materials assist in filling this gap.