Positioning the Nigerian Virtual Artists for 'Glocal' Relevance: Issues and Prospects

Abstract

This paper investigates the effects of globalization on the Nigerian cultural and creative industries from the prism of the Nigerian virtual arts and assesses how well the virtual arts sector of the creative industries is doing in the global market. The heightened interest in artworks emanating from the country has been attributed, to a large extent, to globalization driven by the emergence of new media technologies. This has made it possible for practitioners and creative workers to access markets hitherto inaccessible to them. Leveraging document analysis and a critical review of extant literature, this paper makes a critical appraisal of the activities in the virtual arts subsector of the cultural and creative industry. While virtual arts have done well in terms of global market penetration and development within the past decade, its' contributory potential to the Nigerian economy is far from fully tapped. The incidence of illicit trade, issues with valuation, and lack of requisite infrastructure and legislation are all factors that have been identified as impinging on the growth of this sub-sector.

Keywords: Cultural Industry; Creative Industry; Creative Economy; Visual Arts; Creative Arts; Nigerian Arts

DOI: 10.7176/ADS/102-03

Publication date:October 31^st 2022