BENIN CITY- Edo State Governor Mr. Godwin Obaseki has said Art is assuming a wider national importance and the possibility of being develop as a self sustaining alternative to oil revenue is now being appreciated across the country.

He said this yesterday during the opening of national museum Benin exhibition gallery in collaboration with Edo State Government, National Commission for Museum and Monuments (NCMM) and the Smithsonian Institute.

Obaseki said he accepted to be Nigerian first commissioner in the art Biennale which is like the Olympic for the art, and accepted to represent Nigeria. He said this was to draw the link between art, Nigeria and Benin City.

Obaseki said this is the first time the Smithsonian National Musuem of Africa Art United State of America (USA) is hosting and housing an exhibition on the continent. He said the exhibition will add value to the quest to develop the cultural and tourist site in the state to a national and international prominence.

“The role of a museum as a tourist centre can not be over emphasis especially as a state known for its artistic and cultural heritage. We have good international image in the area of art as state following centuries of creative work of excellence”.

The Director General of NCMM Yusuf Abdallah Usman commended the governor of Edo State Godwin Obaseki for his support for the laudable project of this nature stressing that this is a departure from the experience with the state government in the recent past.

He said the national museum is now a standard modern faculty for education, entertainment and research. “We hope the governor of Edo State will continue to assist the museum in this regard especially by allowing it to collect ground rent without prejudice to existing tax collection system in the state”.

“We are here to witness this historic day that holds promise of ushering the much awaited era of a new beginning, era of understanding that will fashion a new order in heritage preservation, management and presentation”.

The United State Ambassador to Nigeria William Stuart Symington said this is an extra-ordinary moment because it is the first time in the history of the America’s great national museum Smithsonian Institute that we have ever brought an exhibition to the continent of Africa. “We are not bringing here today images created but this is not someone art or inspiration but Benin art and images captured and brought back home”.

The Oba of Benin Ewure 11 said Benin art work is are largely ritual, some are used for recoding history, used to place on record event that happened in different period in Benin History.

Representing the Oba the Iyase of Benin Kingdom Chief Sam Igbe said the Benin art work gain prominence in Europein 1897 after the Kingdom was attacked by the British soldiers who later took the Benin art work to Europe.

The high point of the event is was a book lunch “Fragile Legacies” the photographs of Solomon Osagie Alonge and the governor was taken on exhibition tour of the museum.