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An Art gallery known as ‘Atmosphere Gallery’ has been opened in Bayelsa, situated opposite Nigeria Airforce, Mobility Command, in Okaka, Yenagoa.
Immediate past Commissioner of Agriculture and Natural Resources in the state, Chief David Alagoa, a lover of Arts, now the Chairman of Nembe Local Government Area, extolled the passion and dexterity of Tombara Agalapele Samson as a young artist and urged him not to relent, but to keep improving.
“He deserves our support, that is why l honoured his invitation,” Alagoa said.
In a chat with journalists, Tombara Agalapele Samson said the official launch of the ‘Atmosphere Gallery’ is an open expression for people to see and know that Art still lives in Bayelsa State.
“Today is my official launch, a gallery launch of the ‘Atmosphere Gallery.’ It’s an open space for art expression, for people to see and know and this is an open call for art lovers, art enthusiasts, art critics too and art buyers too, to come buy and appreciate the beauty of art, yes! That is the reason why we are here today for the official opening of the art gallery”.
The Odi-born Banking and Finance graduate turned artist said there are activities lined up, apart from commissions and other kinds of works, that will be going on.
“We plan on launching a project soon, titled ‘Paint your Art,’ which will give everyone, not just artists, opportunity to leverage themselves visibly on a plain platform, to ease the tension of what is really happening in the country today.”
He added that the essence of that, is to enable people to for once abandon the stress they are going through and then appreciate the effects and the advantages of art.
Reacting to the large turn out of artists at the event, Samson said, the exercise is called ‘Sip and Paint’. “It’s just a way of engaging people’s mind, you know like you are walking on the street, a lot of people have a lot on their mind, they can’t share with people, but the converge happens to be a platform where they pour out their emotions. So it’s more or less like an interactive platform where people come together, converge to be able to express themselves freely without any form of guidance, just to express themselves freely on the converge, that’s what they are doing.
“It’s called ‘Sip and Paint.’ While they are drinking they are also having fun.
“First of all, passion is very good but you should not undermine the rule of hard work, because what ever you are consistent with will not depart from you and it’s only the gift of a man that makes a way for him. That is if you stay in it, because the power of staying. So I will advise everyone, the gift is not just enough, it comes with sacrifice, so you have to sacrifice a whole lot of things.”
He reiterated that it has been years of sacrifice and hard work and also his belief in God, adding that with “belief in yourself, you have the ability and the capacity to achieve whatsoever height that you dream of in life.”
He advised budding artists to “just believe in themselves and believe in their dreams, believe in God and always be humble and respect humans.”
On the presence of government officials at the ceremony, he posited that the invitation was opened to everyone, adding that “it was graced by the former commissioner of Agriculture, who is now the chairman of the Nembe Local Government Area. He was here with his aides and it was wonderful, he was wowed and thrilled with the work after going round the gallery. That alone will do justice by spreading the word outside state.”
