Art for the Earth

The U.S. Embassy Abuja held an art exhibition to celebrate this year’s Earth Day.  The four day event held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel featured 30 pieces produced by ten up and coming Nigerian artists.

The artwork was unusual because most of them were produced using recycled materials like bottle tops,  straws, beads, broken CDs, feathers,  pieces of cloth, empty juice cans, and wood-logs.  This was done to demonstrate the 3Rs strategy in preserving the environment.  The 3Rs stand for Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.   Essentially what the artists have done is to reduce waste by reusing the items mentioned and recycling them as useful things.  This is a simple enough strategy that everyone can apply to help preserve our environment.

The U.S. Mission's Chargé, Mr. James McAnulty, who opened the exhibition, said it was organized to demonstrate the U.S. Mission's commitment to safeguarding the environment and to create opportunities for Nigerian artists to use their talents to address social issues through the arts.

About twenty students and pupils from schools in Suleja participated in the exhibition with winning entries for the recycled arts poster contest organized by African School of Excellence, Suleja displayed.  The posters were produced using recycled materials to highlight the environment and the little actions people can take to preserve it.

 
The Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Mission in Nigeria organized the exhibition in collaboration with the International Institute for Creative Development, Transcorp Hilton Hotel and the Africa School of Excellence, Suleja.