THE OSHOGBO ART WORKSHOPS: A CASE STUDY OF NON-FORMAL ART EDUCATION IN NIGERIA.

摘要

This is a case study of local art phenomena examined in the context of non-formal education applicable to contemporary Nigerian art education. The rationale for this study is the fact that much of the education in any society takes place casually through various informal means outside the formal education structure. Art education has taken divergent paths in Nigeria. Two major forms of Nigerian art education exist today: (1) Formal art education which is patterned after the British system, and (2) informal types that have developed from diverse forms of indigenous culture. The problem facing the Nigerian art education today is that of attempting to create a meaningful alignment between tradition and contemporary forms of education. The artistic heritage and the hidden talents of Nigerians acquired through the existing pattern of informal education may compliment the formal school system. Hence, this study investigated the Oshogbo art workshops as an example of non-formal art education phenomena.;Specific focus of the study centered on three areas: (1) description of workshop participants; (2) aesthetic socialization of the participants; and (3) the social functions performed by the art workshops. In addition to developing an ethnographic perspective, relevant literature was reviewed in three areas: (1) non-formal education; (2) development of artistic skills; and (3) development of a conceptual framework. The examination of these materials provided a suitable context for data collection. Drawing from these theoretical issues, an appropriate research instrument, The Development Research Sequence (D.R.S.) Method as developed by Spradley (1980) was used. Ethnographic data was obtained on: artists' background, artists' initiation into art, and the social functions served by the workshops.;The findings of this study indicate that there are two categories of artists opening in Oshogbo: (1) the new sacred artists, and (2) the studio artists. The artists, coming from diverse backgrounds demonstrate a broad connotation of art as anything well done including the work of masons, carpenters, dyers, blacksmiths, and others. The family and the local environment played significant roles in supporting and participating in the apprenticeship system. This system utilizing non-formal education processes is considered to be an important instrument in skill development and transmission of values and norms by the Oshogbo community. Considerable evidence exists that development of artistic skills could be attributed to both heritage and socio-cultural environment as exemplified by the experiences of workshop members. The art workshops also performed significant social functions within the Oshogbo community. Art as the field of expressive symbolism functioned in several social settings. Through their various media--sculpture, painting, dyeing, brass casting, mosaics--the master artists contributed to religious, political, economic, educational, social and cultural activities of their environment. The Oshogbo artists were not separate and alienated from their community; rather, they are effectively "bound together in a sort of infernal triangle," as Pelles (1963) indicated.;The functioning of the Oshogbo art workshops within the local community suggested several directions with implications for Nigerian art education, vocational and adult education. Several suggestions are offered for the integration of the (traditional) non-formal art education principles into the contemporary art education programs in Nigeria.