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Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Scrap Art Museum, Dotun Popoola, discusses his passion for art and reusing waste to create wealth in society with BIODUN BUSARI How did you get into repurposing waste to make wealth with the collection of scraps? First, I studied Sculpture at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, and did my Master’s in painting. After that, I travelled to the United States to learn how to weld professionally. So, I did hybrid sculpting and I learnt Metal Inert Gas Welding, Tungsten Inert Gas Welding, Plasma Cutting, and all sorts of sophisticated approaches to creating a hybrid kind of art. Following that, I returned to Nigeria in 2015, and I started picking up different scraps from various junkyards. Essentially, it’s more about transitioning from formal training to informal training, then back to full-time studio practice. That’s how I came into the concept of collecting scraps to make sculptures. Did you do the collection of scraps yourself or engage people to achieve that? When I started, I was just visiting different junkyards and mechanic shops without any support from anybody. I didn’t have any partnerships with anyone. I was just doing my thing the way I thought I could do it. It has been me alone. However, recently, I began to receive a lot of support from young creatives who come to my studio for training, such as National Youth Service Corps members and industrial training students from different universities. So, when I started, it was just me. Did you face any obstacles in collecting scraps for your projects? One of the major challenges I face in creating my works is not even collecting the scraps, but getting constant electricity to work. Getting reliable electricity is a big challenge, and even paying the high tariffs when the light is available. These are significant challenges that any young entrepreneur faces. It’s a common challenge for all of us. But it’s particularly challenging for me because 100 per cent of what I do involves welding. If there’s no constant electricity, I have to rely on a generator, and you know the cost of buying fuel in this country. So, the biggest challenge is not in picking up waste materials, but in securing resources and getting the works welded together with consistent electricity. Are your designs inspired by real or imagined elements? Most of the time, I would describe my work as spontaneous. There are some works where I get concepts from my imagination, while others are inspired by things that exist within my environment. For instance, some people might ask me to make a dog, while others might request a lion, but for the composition itself, I let the material I use inspire me to create those works. So, in between being inspired by materials and choosing a subject matter, this is where the dynamism of my work lies. Sometimes I just explore whatever comes to my mind. Other times, I work based on requests or specifications from clients. If I wanted to be a bit scholarly about it, I would say that my work focuses more on environmental degradation and the need to repurpose the vast amount of waste that threatens the ecosystem. When I create anything, my focus is more on solving environmental problems. This means I try to create a sustainable environment with my materials. So, it is more about material exploration combined with creative inspiration or ideas that people want to see in their spaces. What defines and dictates the works put in museums, exhibitions, and public places? I receive many commissions from various individuals and government organisations. I haven’t really created any work that I would just place in a public space unless it has been requested. Most of the works you see in public spaces are either commissioned or done for individuals who decide to place them in public areas. The works you see indoors are probably part of an art exhibition, or maybe the collector requested them to be indoor pieces. I don’t just create a piece and place it somewhere, hoping someone will buy it. In fact, if someone books my work now, they will have to wait about two to three years before receiving it. So, I don’t have the time to create a piece and place it somewhere, simply searching for someone to buy it. That time is not available to me. Most of my works are commissioned, and some are permanent exhibitions. What is your workmanship or staff strength like? Right now, in my studio, I have about 15 staff members. Five of them are employed professional sculptors, five are National Youth Service Corps members currently serving the government, and the remaining five are industrial training students from universities and polytechnics. So, everyone contributes at least one or two things to my studio practice. For any work I’m going to sign, I do no less than 70 per cent of the work, while the remaining 30 per cent involves cutting and grinding. I don’t want to lose the originality of my work. Some artists believe in creating a sketch and giving it to someone to finish, but I don’t believe in that. I believe in doing the work myself. So, if I tell you that you’re getting one piece from me, that it’s a masterpiece from my studio, and it will take me three years to complete, it means I don’t want someone else to mess it up. I want the originality. I want my spirit to be in each piece that I produce. But that doesn’t mean the 30 per cent of the work done by others is insignificant. It’s still a lot of work. The 70 per cent is more about my brain work and critical study, which comes with the experience I’ve had over the years. So, I don’t collaborate much with others. Speaking of repurposing and reusing materials, what kind of materials do you work with If you look at my works, I would say that they focus on discarded solid metal. When I say discarded solid metal, I mean discarded automobile parts, bike parts, stainless steel, and anything iron that is thrown away. That is what I mainly use in my work. This doesn’t mean I don’t use other materials, but 95 per cent of the materials I work with are metal. Do you mean all the materials you use for your work are scraps? No. The remaining five per cent of materials are a mix of automobile pigment (which is paint), some industrially fabricated metal, plasma-cut mild steel, and possibly galvanised pipes or some iron that I might purchase from the iron market. But 95 per cent of the materials are recycled materials from the junkyard. For example, if I’m making a horse now, I need to support the legs with a pipe. So, I need to buy the pipe, as I can’t find it in the junkyard because a normal pipe is not an automobile material. Who are your clients? If I were to critically assess my clients, they are neither the poor nor the rich. My clients are the select few who believe in sustainability. They believe in waste-to-wealth, in turning rubbish into rubies. These are not conventional art collectors. They are special people who believe in what I do. Additionally, some of my clients are institutions such as museums, creative centres, innovative hubs, galleries that appreciate scrap art, and some government agencies. Were there times you felt overwhelmed by the job and thought of doing something else? I think in every person’s life, there will always be those downtimes when you feel like leaving what you do. There have been several times when I felt like quitting, when I was tired and burnt out. But during those times, I would leave the studio and perhaps travel abroad. I might go to a beach in Lagos or Miami to relax. After two weeks, I would return to work, and everything would fall into place again. Even as I speak to you now, there are pressures that could naturally make someone want to quit. But when you look at it as a whole, it’s better to have a good problem than a bad one. What was your biggest artwork challenge? Every artwork I create is always a huge challenge. None of my pieces come easily or cheaply. Every moment since 2017 has been full of challenges. There are always difficulties that I constantly find ways to solve. For instance, I recently exhibited works at the United Nations Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, where I showcased 20 sculptures and 10 drawings. It took me between 2020 and 2024 to create those works. There were challenges in shipping them to Azerbaijan for one of the exhibitions, and it wasn’t easy at all. I had a setback due to shipping logistics and other factors. But at the end of it all, the pressure was worth it. The life of an artist is always up and down, so when we’re down, we just know it’s time to relax. When you mentioned 2017, was it the year you officially started? Professionally, I started 25 years ago. However, I began creating art at the age of nine. I was painting, drawing, sign-writing, making banners, stencilling, and doing all sorts. I was earning money from these activities, and my parents were supportive. They provided me with the best materials as a child. They didn’t have formal education, but they recognised that their child had creative ability. So, they supported me from a young age, in fact, from the age of five. But it was when I was nine years old that they started giving me their full support. Then, I went to Auchi Polytechnic to study Fine and Applied Arts from 2000 to 2003. From 2004 to 2005, I gained admission to Obafemi Awolowo University and graduated in 2008. But if you want to be logical about it, you could say I started practising professionally in 2008. What are the places your works have been, both within and outside the country? I have participated in over 40 group exhibitions worldwide. I have been part of 30 joint exhibitions and held seven solo exhibitions. I may not be able to count all the countries, but I can say with certainty that my works are in the collections of seven museums, including the Legacy Museum in Alabama, US; Heydar Aliyev Museum in Baku, Azerbaijan; Grand River Museum in Lemmon, South Dakota, US; Souq Waqif Art Centre in Doha, Qatar; and my works are also in Bahrain. In Nigeria, my works are housed at the John Randle Centre in Lagos and the Scrap Art Museum in Ile-Ife, Osun State, among others. What other things are you involved in? I founded the Scrap Art Museum in Ile-Ife. I’m the founder and CEO of the Scrap Art Museum. I also served as a curator for the National Gallery of Arts for eight years before I resigned. This means I curate art exhibitions, hold children’s workshops, and more. Additionally, I paint and sculpt.

The All Progressives Grand Alliance has assured aspirants vying for the November 8, 2025, governorship election of a free, fair, and transparent primary, providing a level playing field devoid of bias or favouritism. Speaking with our correspondent in Awka on Friday, Tony Olisa-Mbeki, the media aide to the National Chairman of APGA, Sly Ezeokenwa, stated that the party has released the primary election timetable detailing the activities and dates of the exercise. Olisa-Mbeki affirmed that aspirants who believe they have what it takes to challenge the incumbent governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, for the party’s ticket would have an equal opportunity to participate in the primaries, adding that it would be the most transparent ever witnessed in the history of party politics. He noted that while it is a universally accepted practice for an incumbent governor, as the national leader of the party, to have the right of first refusal, APGA has chosen to set a new democratic standard by keeping the process open. He said, “The All Progressives Grand Alliance has once again demonstrated its commitment to transparency and internal democracy by making the process of expression of interest and nomination open in an unprecedented manner. “Unlike any other political party contesting the same election, APGA has ensured that every aspirant has a fair and equal opportunity to participate in the primaries, which will be the most transparent ever witnessed in the history of party politics. “While it is a universally accepted practice that an incumbent governor, as the national leader of the party, has the right of first refusal, APGA has chosen to set a new democratic standard by keeping the process open. “The party has thrown the race open for aspirants who believe they have what it takes to challenge for the ticket. However, it remains the responsibility of interested individuals to step forward and take up the challenge. “With the expression of interest and nomination forms now pegged at N30 million, the stage is set for a free and fair contest. The party’s decision to proceed this way speaks volumes about its commitment to internal democracy, setting it apart from other political parties where such processes are often shrouded in secrecy.” Meanwhile, the National Organising Secretary of APGA, Ifeanyi Mbaeri, in a statement on Thursday, announced that interested aspirants would be required to pay N30 million to obtain the nomination and expression of interest forms. Mbaeri, who also released the primary election timetable, stated that the party’s special state congress and governorship primary election would be held on April 5. He further revealed that the party approved a five per cent discount on the nomination form for female aspirants and physically challenged persons.

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