Mrs Nike Okundaye, the founder, Nike Art Gallery, better known as Mama Nike, said her art training in Italy changed the story of 3,000 Nigerian professional sex workers. Okundaye made the announcement on Thursday at the Destination Marketing Strategy in Cultural Tourism organised by the National Council for Arts and Culture, Abuja.
She said she was passionate about educating trainers’ programme aimed at using her artwork to reduce poverty, unemployment and crime in society.
“My love is to train and people. I was in Italy training Nigerian prostitutes, 5,000 of them. We used artwork to change 3,000 to become artists.
“These paintings you are seeing here are from the ones that started in 1995. A lot of those prostitutes are now engaged and they are no more prostitutes.
“I was born into art; I am a fifth generation artist from my family and the way they passed education to the kids in those days, you teach your child what you do.
“When I completed Primary Six and I did not have money to attend secondary school, the weaving of adire and the painting that I learnt from my father and mother are what I am doing today.
“I started this because of poverty, but from poverty, I was able to become an icon in the society,” she said.
In his remarks, the Director-General of NCAC, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, said he supported Nike Art Gallery to make it a destination market for Nigeria.
Runsewe described the arts and culture sector as public-private driven.
cc: Punch Ng
