Jemi Ekunkunbor Over the years, the place of Nigerian female artists have dominated discourse in the visual art circle. But in this paper presented by Bolanle Awe, Professor of history during the eighth edition of the annual lecture series organized by the National Gallery of Art which held recently in Abuja, she discussed the valued contributions made by female artists in Nigeria towards the artistic development of the nation. This is the concluding part of the contribution BUT there is now an explosion of women artists - painters, sculptors, writers, etc. and many more are coming on stage, not only within Nigeria, but also in the diaspora - Sokari Douglas-Camp who works with ferrous metals; Chinwe Chukwuogo-Roy, who started with painting and has now gone into print making and sculpture. Within Nigeria itself are many more - the mother and daughter artists, Elizabeth Olowu and Peju Layiwola, sculptors, with Layiwola going into print making; Ndidi Dike, sculptor and artist; and Lara Ige Jacks, artist. How have these women artists affected our culture? They are questioning the role which the patriarchal society of our culture has allotted to them. For instance, even in the practice of their art, they have challenged this patriarchal structure; Elizabeth Olowu was able to overcome the myth in Benin which allowed only men, the guild of bronze casters in Igun Street, to work in bronze. Ara, a young artist has now taken to the art of drumming which was, among the Yorubá, a male art. Even young women are now working on the horizontal loom which was formerly the exclusive preserve of men. It is not only in their new techniques and use of new materials, but also in their works, that there is a new boldness, a defiance of the patriarchal structure. Earlier writers painted the situation of second-class citizenship in which women found themselves; the new generation writers are questioning it and asking that it should be no more. In 2003, Chichi Layor, one of the new crop of female poets wrote 66 poems titled, Break Every Rule, all bearing an injunction to break certain traditions that put womanhood in a straitjacket, in a perpetual state of submission. It is in the tradition of Buchi Emecheta's novels which portray women's enslavement in marriage and society at different stages; they analyse the conditions and prescribe a change. Nike Davies, who did not attend a formal art school but who was influenced by the workshops of the Mbari Mbayo school in Osogbo, said she was committed to womanhood, "they have suffered too long with too little encouragement in their artistic endeavour. (Vanguard, March 2, 1994). In the same vein, Peju Layiwola's Arise O Women calls upon 21st century women to question the status quo of patriarchal society. She, however, says she is not a feminist, but that she is only recognizing the female condition through her works; she depicts issues of poverty and discrimination against women and seeks a better deal for them. These artists have their constraints; the keeping of the home - the husband and children, poor supportive infrastructures within which to work, non-availability of some of their materials. But they are devoted to bringing up new crops of artists. Many of them have taught and are still teaching in art schools; there are pioneers like Mrs Ngu and Mrs Theresa Luck-Akinwale; some like the late Zulu Sofola, until her death, taught at university level, and Fidelma Okwesa and Peju Layiwola, who are still teaching in the universities. Even those who had become well-known but did not have formal education have tried to train others. In 1984, Nike took on her first four students and by 1991, she had over 105 students. Ladi Kwali, the famous potter became a trainer of the apprentices in the pottery centre which Michael Cardew started in 1958, after she had been trained and became established virtually all over the world as the most famous Nigerian potter. Another area in which these artists, particularly the visual artists, need support is in the area of patronage, the mounting of exhibitions and the provision of necessary infrastructures..This problem has been well highlighted in CSS Akran's M.A. thesis on 'the National Gallery of Modern Art: A critical approach to its acquisitions on display'. Galleries are specialized and indispensable cultural centres for the effective dissemination of Nigerian art, both nationally and internationally. Most of the art galleries are owned by men, but some women have tried to venture into this field. Afi Ekong has been a pioneer in this field with LABAC, a bronze gallery, and the new gallery which she has opened in Calabar in 1999. Emily Imoukhuede also ran the Gong Gallery in Lagos. Nike Davies had a gallery in Oshogbo; she has opened one in Lekki, and another in Abuja. There are, of course, new developments in this field. Mrs. Remi Amona, a collector of art works, has opened the Scholmark Art Gallery in Lagos, and has sponsored exhibitions there. The promotion of the arts has also got a new fillip with the development of societies of women artists for this purpose. There is an Association of Women Artists which has had four annual exhibitions so far to show the works of women artists, which are often swallowed up in the midst of the large number Of male exhibits. The women writers have also formed their own organization. Their first forum in 1999 paid tribute to six Nigerian pioneer writers, while the second forum in 2000 had as its theme "Writing to Right Women". They claimed that only certain types of women are portrayed in the literature, and these are often generalized into stereotypes. Many of these works were written by men, so they were calling on the women to put this right. There are still many areas of the arts which need to be recognized; film making and fashion designing are gradually coming into their own; so also are modern female artiste musicians like Onyeka Onwenu, Christie Essien, Batihi Alake and others, who portray different aspects of our culture; some, like Onyeka Onwenu, from a feminist perspective. In the cultural development of modern Nigeria, the sky is the limit. They seem to be responding to Peju Layiwola's sculpture, 'Women Arise'- it is not a call to rebellion, but a challenge to prove their mettle. The National Gallery of Art (NGA) has set the pace by what it has done so far, but more still needs to be done. There are places abroad where they have International Museums for Women to explore the history of women and contemporary gender issues and through education to serve as a catalyst for continued social, cultural, economic and political change. There are women's libraries celebrating and recording women's lives. Our women organizations can work with the National Gallery of Art to establish some structures along these lines. However, the most urgent need is for the NGA to commission a study on Nigerian women in the arts. Corporate bodies might regard this type of publication as one of its corporate social responsibilities to Nigeria, and indeed to Nigerian women. It will look at women in all parts of Nigeria; it will fill in the gaps created by our lack of knowledge of our earlier women artists; it will examine the area of art administration; it will educate and enlighten both men and women about women's contribution to our culture and development in the field of art. Nigerian women deserve nothing less than this.