Department of Fine and Applied Arts, University of Jos: The Axiom, Nexus and Historiology.

Abstract

The establishment of the Department of Fine and Applied Arts in 2013 also known as the Jos Art School, bears credence to a long-standing historical antecedence in Plateau State. From earlier traditions of the establishments of art academies across the globe and Nigeria in particular, art sages stand on given philosophies on which they propagate and build their academies on. The Zaria Art Society and Nsukka Art School are some cases in view of the natural synthesis of indigenous forms with Western ideas (Dike & Oyelola, 1998) and the adaptation of Uli traditions respectively. The Jos Art School draws from the rich Nok culture and unique landscapes which started with the slogan “avant-gardes in creativity” on a philosophy geared to prepare staff and students to be creative and critical thinkers, artists, and patrons in the visual arts through dedicated teaching and practical demonstrations. This is achieved through fostering creativity and the dissemination of information through exhibitions, art-historical documentation, cultural displays, and all-around aesthetic engagements. One of the projections of the pioneering staff of the department is to have a department in today’s bustling, marketable world, the need for art programmes in the University of Jos to create compelling forms for objects seen in almost anything visual and engage in academic dialogues (Undergraduate Student Handbook, 2019). The department has had three Heads of the department from inception till date with landmark aesthetic visual culture showing in the various tenures and ongoing. This article views the axiom of Jos as a creative hub, the nexus between what was and now, and a historiology of the trends from inception till date. Projections and recommendations were also gleaned from the article to fill the lacuna of the art practice of Nigerian art space.