— As Government of Liberia intensifies efforts to deepen stakeholders’ understanding of IP concepts.
The Liberia Intellectual Property Office (LIPO), in partnership with Hallie Art Gallery, has trained a cohort of visual artists on intellectual property rights and advanced artistic techniques to address limited awareness and uptake of IP protections among stakeholders in the creative industries.
The training, held under the theme ‘Your Art, Your Rights,’ brought together several veteran and emerging visual artists for sessions covering IP rights acquisition, abstract and representational artwork techniques, and the legal frameworks governing creative work in Liberia.
According to a LIPO press release, the initiative directly responds to the limited uptake of IP protections among visual artists, despite a measurable rise in their output across the sector.
“Visual artists are producing remarkable work, but too many of them are doing so without the legal safeguards that protect their creations and their livelihoods,” said Hon. Garmai Koboi, Director General of LIPO. “This training is about ensuring that every visual artist in Liberia understands that their creativity is an asset, one that the law can and must protect. Knowing your rights is the first step toward benefiting from your talent.”
The March 20 event forms part of LIPO’s ongoing national capacity-building program, which seeks to deepen stakeholders’ understanding of Liberia’s IP administration system, including the legal and institutional processes governing protection, enforcement mechanisms, and commercialization pathways for creative works.
The training also carries broader policy significance. It aligns with Pillar I, Intervention 7 of the ARREST Agenda, with a focus on developing a robust IP ecosystem as a foundation for sustainable economic growth.
In remarks, the founder of the Hallie Art Gallery, Hallie Ndorley, noted that the working relationship with the Government through LIPO reflects a shared commitment to the growth and development of Liberia’s visual art sector.
Ndorley added that many visual artists are self-taught and deeply talented, but without structured development in technique and IP knowledge, they remain vulnerable to exploitation; as such, the training was a “worthy undertaking.”
“You cannot separate the craft from the rights,” Ndorley said. “When an artist learns a new technique, they must simultaneously learn how to own what they create. That is the full picture of artistic development.”
The Hallie Gallery, the co-organizer of the training, is a creative platform working at the intersection of arts education, skills development, and social inclusion in Liberia.
The Gallery founder is an award-winning Liberian-Canadian visual artist who is known for his “mystic flowing colors” and is a pioneering figure in Ontario’s contemporary art scene.
He has, among other works, created a mural titled ‘Curiosity’ for the City of Pickering and its Cultural Advisory Committee as part of the city’s programme celebrating Black culture and artists.
In October 2023, he was honoured by the Regional Municipality of Durham, a region comprising seven municipalities in southern Ontario, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to arts and culture.
