Organisers of Banjul Fine Arts Festival last Wednesday paid a courtesy call to the Director General, National Council for Arts and Culture, Mr Modou Joof, at his office in Banjul to discuss ways and means for the Banjul Fine Arts Festival which is scheduled to take place in January of next year.

In his presentation, Yusupha Kala, Coordinator of the festival, expressed his appreciation for meeting Ministry staff and the Director of National Council for Arts and Culture. He told the director that the organisers of the festival needs the support from the authorities concerned. Yusupha Kala said the reason for the festival is to bring young Gambian artists together noting that this cannot happen without the participation and support from the Ministry of Arts and Culture.
According to him, the Banjul Fine Arts Festival has grown from a small, local art show to a nationally recognized fine arts festival attracting more than 150,000 art lovers and collectors. Yusupha Kala added that the festival would start from 4 to 17 January next year and it was going to be held at the Alliance Franco Gambienne.

In his welcoming remarks, Mr Modou Joof, Director of NCAC thanked Yusupha Kala and his delegation for putting the Ministry of Arts and Culture in the picture. Mr Joof welcomed the initiative and called on the organisers to keep it up. He assured the organisers that his office through the Ministry of Arts and Culture would give them their full support. Director Joof added that his department holds regular annual art exhibitions to give the opportunity to artists and the public to share knowledge and experience in the world of art. He called for unity among the organisers, noting that without unity it would be difficult to achieve its objective. The NCAC boss made an extensive reference to the lack of unity among the country’s artists, noting that it was extremely difficult to bring them together to form a strong viable union.
The Banjul Arts Festival is a sub-regional event scheduled to take place from 4 to 17 January next year. Mr Joof made mention of the difficulty encountered in the formation of The Gambia Music Union and outlined a detailed account of numerous art associations that have closed down owing to circumstances including lack of unity.
Other speakers during the presentation included Mr Musa Jobarteh, Vice President of Banjul Fine Arts Festival who expressed similar views. The logo of Banjul Fine Arts Festival was handed over to the Minister of Arts and Culture through the Director National Councils for Arts and Culture.