FOREWORD
The Maiduguri Journal of Arts and Design (MAIDJAD), was first published in March 2017. In the maiden issue, 30 papers were published. Volume 1 was published in October of the same year with 27 papers. Volume 2 published also in October 2017, had 31 papers while Volume 3, published in May 2018, had 44 papers. This present volume, Volume 4, has 33 papers. It is an indication that MAIDJAD has remained consistent in the past three years and has continued to attract interest from many art and design scholars. This interest is further enriched by the variety of papers and the national spread of their contributors. Readers, who had ever been engaged in journal publication, would appreciate the trouble it takes to maintain consistency. I recall when our National Gallery of Art first published its journal, Uso, in 1995, in the euphoria of a new publication, it made it a point to state in its editorial comment that it was never going to publish in “gasps and spasms” as The Eye Society did. Despite its privileged position at the time, it could not escape puffing and panting into its present comatose state.
In this edition of MAIDJAD, it is exciting to see contributors strutting their specializations. Those in the studio, report on their experiences and experiments while others in the theories, set out to debunk or reestablish existing canons, concepts and theories. The desire to document African dance through the development of comprehensible notations, seems to me groundbreaking. Would the reader like to be called “Mama Actor” or “Papa Dramatist”? Be guided by the paper on the misconception about Theatre scholarship. A particularly topical issue is raised by the paper, which laments the drawbacks encountered in the practice of Art History in Nigeria. It reads like a motivational speech to secondary school kids but it provokes excitement nonetheless. What qualifies one as a professional Art Historian? I remember being warned by a senior colleague, despite my two degrees in Art History, a Master’s and a PhD, not to pander to the profession of Art History! I suppose it is the type of issue which led to the sudden departure of the legendary Kojo Fosu from the Department of Fine Art, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in the 1980s. The issue is definitely not limited to Art History.
There is always room for improvement in journal publication. Only one or two Professors, for instance, published in this edition and it appears that their names were added by their co-authors. Regrettably, only those seeking promotion continue to agitate to publish. The editors of MAIDJAD should therefore, strive to encourage submission of papers not only from members of institutions of higher learning but also from established artists and designers elsewhere in order to further improve the quality of the journal.
Professor Jacob Jari
January, 2019