By: Kemo Kanyi
The Mayor of Kanifing Municipality, Talib Bensouda, has inspired the students of the Gambia College Arts department to endure all hardships that skills training is fraught with to be able to leverage the benefits of skills for decent livelihoods.
The mayor of the country’s most densely populated local government area pledged to render D50,000 support to the department.
Speaking recently at an art exhibition held at the college, the youthful mayor said: “Arts is interesting and requires a lot of energy but definitely, we are very inspired and happy to be here.”
According to Mayor Bensouda, he received all the artworks sent to him as gifts by the college students.
“The one, who painted the two wrestlers that are actually in my office… I look at it every day. We also received some other very interesting gifts. At the time I was receiving the gifts, we had the EU Ambassador in my office and he loved one of them so much that he asked for it and it’s in his office as we speak,” he stated.
“So, it just shows that your artistic expression is interpreted differently by whosoever looks at it and it evokes emotions, depending on what the art piece is. It can bring memories to you and it can even make you closer to your heritage and culture and ancestry, and it’s something we have to promote as Gambians,” he added.
The KM mayor enjoined the art students to be steadfast as, according to him, arts is a lucrative venture, citing an instance in which a Gambian artist was able to sell an artwork in Ghana for US$100,000.
He pointed out that his burning desire for the preservation of Gambia’s heritages is the driving force behind the establishment of a 500-seater theatre at the municipal library expected to be inaugurated in July.
The Vice Principal of the Gambia College, Madam Isatou Ndow, expressed delight in receiving the mayor at the college, saying the institution would not limit its reach in seeking moral and financial support.
Senior Lecturer and Head of the Arts Department of the Gambia College, Mr. Malang Jarju, called on students to join the Art Department to hone their skills in sculpture, architecture, music, and other artistic expressions, highlighting that arts can easily create jobs as skills are nurtured for utilization.
