Subsisting on Popular Art and Design: A Nigerian Context

Abstract According World Poverty Clock online, Nigeria's population of extreme poverty is currently 50% of the entire nation. Hence, a good part of the population is below poverty line and so lacks the means of living following several undulating problems of economy. Graduate and non-graduate youths are among many seeking means of subsistence. Yet it is clear how practical skills are highly relevant in securing a lucrative career towards earning a living. We have explored the potentials that popular art can provide in making subsistence possible even to those who do not hold degrees in the field of art and yet desire to survive therefrom. In this qualitative paper, we have underscored certain creative skills and today’s digital technology available for the production of popular design making. By taking case studies of selected popular artists in Nsukka Metropolis, this study has employed strategic methodology of interviews and images as visual data, and have analyzed them technically and functionally to foreground the imperative of harnessing the huge possibilities that exists in the popular arts industry.