Kpodoh, Others Lament Poor Appreciation Of Arts In Port Harcourt

Art Choreographer, Dan Kpodoh and other art enthusiasts in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, have lamented the poor appreciation of the art industry in the city and indeed, the entire Rivers State.
Kpodoh, who recently hosted Bolobolo, a stage performance in Port Harcourt, said on his social media handle, that it was disappointing that despite having a rich reservoir of players in the arts, entertainment and film industry, recognition of the arts was embarrassingly low in Port Harcourt.
He said compared to Lagos and Abuja, big arts events in Port Harcourt do not attract much money to encourage entertainers and artists doing their art in Port Harcourt.
“In a country where appreciation of the arts is big and the entertainment industry creates massive revenue, with big events, competitions and carnivals happening in Lagos, Abuja, Calabar and other places, in a world where artistes organise single shows and pull down huge income, enabling them to have long vacations in the most exotic parts of the world, Port Harcourt and Rivers State as a whole shows a tremendously low recognition for the arts,” Kpodoh said.
Kpodoh led a cultural troupe from Port Harcourt to the Enina Arts Festival, Benin City, Edo State and won the best performing troupe award.
He said the poor appreciation of the arts in Port Harcourt was ironical considering the number of talents in the arts produced in the city.
“So many great dancers, musicians, actors, stand-up-comedians, choreographers, film-makers, etc. But always, these talents and shows are taken out of the state to receive the recognition they deserve. So many persons are doing things but receive little to no commendation in the state they call home, not from the people, their colleagues, or the government, which so far, has given very negligible support,” the University of Port Harcourt theatre arts lecturer said.
However, he stated that a lot of the problem is due to the lack of unity among entertainers in Rivers State.
He said, “To push the entertainment industry in Rivers State forward, we need to be more united and put a halt to the malice, jealousy and tendency to pull the other down that seems to permeate the industry. We need to learn to appreciate the efforts of our peers and colleagues. Working together, promoting each other’s works and directing our energies towards building an increase in the appreciating of Arts in the state, the sky will be our limit.”
Reacting to Kpodoh’s lamentation, Mr. Victor Ekeji said the focus on science and technology because of the oil economy of the state, was chiefly responsible for the relegation of the arts in the state. “Most creative minds and investors believe Rivers State has more focus or places more importance on science related activities and products and do not want to risk putting their efforts in driving the arts here.
“It is believed that even the government can hardly give out scholarships or incentives to art undergraduates and practitioners, hence the latter prefer studying or practicing the Arts elsewhere. For more proofs, check out the delayed Jim Rex Lawson Arts Council building awaiting commissioning and the moribund Tourist Beach wasting away,” Ekeji said.
He said the state is endowed with potential wealth lying in its rich artistic and cultural endowments. “Rivers State should be hub of theatri-cultural spectacles. With the presence of an institution like University of Port Harcourt which has birthed several artistic geniuses (from its illustrious Theatre Arts Department) and planted same (department) in universities in other states, the enterprising and worthwhile place of the Arts and its practice should no longer be overemphasized.”
Lexy Mueka however said there was need to first sort out those who were genuine entertainers and keep out the pretenders before talking about uniting the people in the industry. “Let the unity and togetherness of the practitioners not be a problem for now because that will never happen. Who do you even refer to as entertainers? Certainly not all that are jumping around are entertainers. A lot are just occupying the space because of lack of better jobs,” he said.
Mueka said it was unfortunate that the government of Rivers State has not shown any interest in the arts. “They have clearly told us it is a government of consolidation, meaning starting from where the previous one stopped. That’s a big problem.”
He recalled that the immediate past governor turned himself into an entertainer “and killed the others who are supposed to be the real entertainers.”
He said arts cannot grow in a state where art graduates have to do menial jobs to eke out a living and where local governments empower POS operators (cash vendors) to the detriment of creative entertainers.
“Rivers State with the state-of-the-art Cultural Centre under lock and key for reasons unexplainable is a clear indication that these people truly do not care about us,” Mueka said.
For Johnson Uwadinma, the state of the arts industry in Port Harcourt is directly related to the economic situation in the state, where investors have been leaving in droves. “To discuss this would even take an overview of the financial sector of the state. The number of businesses that have left the state from the inception of militancy to date is mind-boggling. Trans Amadi could serve as a study scope. And there is a direct correlation to how this affects the financial muscle to drive artistic programmes as well as its appreciation,” Uwadinma said.
Abaa Christopher suggested that government should take the lead in mobilizing the private sector to support the art industry in Port Harcourt so that it can thrive the way it is in Lagos and Abuja. “We need the government to play a major role here,” he said.