The Gambia is set to attend the second edition of the African Regional  Summit and exhibition on visual arts, scheduled to take place from 19th to 21st November 2009 at the International Conference Centre in Abuja Nigeria.

Isha Fofana, a Gambian artist, and the  proprietor and coordinator of Mama Africa Arts Gallery has been selected to represent The Gambia at the summit and arts exhibition under the auspices of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) and  the Africa Union (AU).

The event is organised and coordinated by the National Gallery of Art, a parastatal within the Federal Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation with the mandate to oversee the entire Visual Arts sub-sector of the Nigerian economy. The theme of this year’s event is based on the impact of the Visual Arts Sub-sector on African economies. The event is meant to facilitae promotion of visual arts as a strategy towards achieving rapid economic development in the African region as envisioned in the overall aims and  objectives of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD).

The programme is also designed to bring together leaders in business, politics, media, government and creative industries in Africa to discuss some of the key issues shaping the sector. The programme is expected to be characterise by presentation of papers by different eminent personalities and will also feature a symposium, networking among participants as well as a workshop for artists and an exhibition.

According to the information relayed to Arts and Culture, the symposium is geared towards exposing African artists to opportunities across the globe and will feature international speakers and curators from across the length and breadth of the world. Isha Fofan, in a chat with the Arts and Culture desk shortly before her departure for Abuja, Nigeria, expressed a deep sense of gratitude to organisers for according her the opportunity to represent The Gambia at the regional summit and arts exhibition. “I hope to raise the Gambian flag high in the Republic of Nigeria,” she said.