Cameroonian artists in the diaspora say that they draw on their homeland for inspiration, but it is more profitable to produce and sell their work abroad. Still, living and working in a foreign country brings its own challenges, leading them to seek more support at home. The government and various cultural centers in Cameroon offer opportunities to artists, but officials and directors agree that the art industry needs more support in Cameroon.
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by Irene Zih Fon, Reporter, Wednesday - March 28, 2012
DOUALA, CAMEROON – Cameroonian artist Shiri Achu says her homeland inspires all her art. But abroad is where she has found success as a painter.
Achu was born in Cameroon’s Northwest region and raised in its Southwest region. She then moved with her family to the United Kingdom when she was 9. She says this is where her painting career began.
“My elder brother recalls there being a storage yard at the back of the house, which had some abandoned artist’s tools,” she says. “Apparently, I had found the materials, paints and paintbrushes and knew what I had to do with them and just had the passion to paint and draw.”
Currently based in the United States, Achu says she has earned the most recognition and tallied the most sales abroad. In London, she won her first award, Best Artist in Brent, in 2010 and was invited to exhibit her original paintings in Parliament and the Commonwealth Secretariat at the end of 2011.
She says she’s been fortunate that her oil and acrylic paintings have been recognized and bought worldwide. She works hard to sell them and promote her brand, Shiri Achu Art.
“To date, I have sold over 300 Shiri Achu Art signed, limited prints,” Achu says.
She says her signed and limited prints are popular abroad because people like having art that is unique. Her customers span the globe, from South Africa to Australia to the Czech Republic to the United States.
“They won’t like to know that the whole world has the exact same thing, especially when it comes to art,” she says.
She had her first solo exhibition at the end of 2011 in Douala, Cameroon’s economic capital. She says her work was well-received at the exhibit held at the French Cultural Center, now the French Institute. But there were few sales.
“Many complained that the price of my work was high but that they would love to own a piece,” Achu says.
She says that if she had a representative in Cameroon to make cost-effective limited prints and promote them to galleries, friends and art lovers, her work would sell here quite well. She hopes to hire one soon.
Although Cameroonian artists in the diaspora rely on their native country for inspiration, they say the purchasing power and ease of doing business abroad has enabled them to succeed in their creative careers. They voice gratitude for this success but say they wish there were a more supportive environment for artists in Cameroon so that they could move their operations home. Government officials and directors of cultural centers in Cameroon cite various opportunities for artists to develop and display their work but admit that more needs to be done.
In Cameroon, 40 percent of the population lives below the national poverty line, according to the World Bank. It cites stimulating growth and evenly distributing the dividends of this growth in order to reduce poverty as the country’s main development challenge.
Previously part of the Ministry of Information and Culture, the Ministry of Culture was created as a separate entity in 1992 in order to promote and develop the country’s broad national cultural identity as well as its international influence, according to the ministry website.
From creating beautiful paintings to haute couture, Cameroonian artists are promoting the country’s cultural glamour to the world. Yet, the home-based resources are not sufficient to support their projects or buy their work.
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