And so it begins! Amidst a dire economic crisis, a barely functioning Lagos has been roused just in time for its annual burst of artistic energy. From the just concluded Lagos Fashion Week, regarded as Africa’s largest fashion event, to the African International Film Festival (AFRIFF) and Art X Lagos, one of West Africa’s leading art fairs, the city’s creative calendar is abuzz with a host of noteworthy art exhibitions on view or opening in October/November.
Here are 10 exhibitions you should check out during Lagos Art Week.
Alara Lagos
29 October – 3 November, 2024
Curated by Faridah Folawiyo, the third iteration of Manifold, the exhibition centres the practices of Black female-identifying and non-binary artists from all over the world. Taking up a week-long residence at the Alara Lagos, this is Manifold’s first time on the African continent after the successes of the London editions, first independently produced in Soho and then at Frieze’s Cork Street space. The exhibition will feature Kesewa Aboah, Anne Adams, Turiya Adkins, Oluwatobiloba Ajayi, Ayoade Bamgboye, Maya Beverly, Eva Diallo, Shanique Emelife, Clémence Gbonon, Braden Hollis, Daëna Ladéesse, Amanda Iheme, Olukemi Lijadu, Emmanuelle Loca-Gisquet, Rachel Marsil, Selome Muleta, Fadekemi Ogunsanya, Isabel Okoro, Ada M. Patterson, Anika Roach, Unyimeabasi Udoh, and Agnes Waruguru. There will also be a screening of The Fist (2022) by Ayo Akingbade, and an interactive truth circle with Eloghosa Osunde.
- Chigozie Obi, In Stillness of Being
Yenwa Gallery
26 October – 23 November, 2024
The 2021 winner of the Access Bank ‘Art X Prize, Chigozie Obi is showing a new body of work in a solo show titled – In Stillness of Being at Yenwa Gallery. Curated by Nneoma llogu, this is Obi’s second solo show. In Stillness of Being is an exploration of Black womanhood, memory, and community through an intimate lens. Featuring nine paintings on canvas and six portrait works on paper, accompanied by an audio-visual installation, the exhibition reclaims the everyday as a space of reflection, joy, and connection. The exhibition is a tribute to Obi’s late mother, whose passing sparked the artist’s drive to document and archive personal experiences. Through vibrant colours, layered brushwork, and sensitive portrayals, Obi insists that the everyday lives of Black women are worthy of representation and celebration.
- Collecting Now: Perspectives on Contemporary Art Collecting in Nigeria
Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art
26 October, 2024 – 28 February, 2025
Collecting Now explores the world of art collecting in Nigeria by bringing together works from six prominent Nigerian collectors, each with a distinct perspective and emphasis on contemporary expressions. The six collectors are Prince Yemisi Shyllon, Kola Aina, Aisha & Gbenga Oyebode, Dotun Sulaiman, Niyi Adenubi, and Eyamba Dafinone. With about 100 works from these collector’s collections, spanning diverse mediums, styles, and themes, the pioneering exhibition explores WHAT, WHY and HOW these collectors collect.
- BIG Sculpture: An Anthology of Contemporary Sculpture in Nigeria
AMG Projects
29 October – 20 November, 2024
On view at AMG projects, this group exhibition brings together established, mid-career, and emerging sculptors with the intention of shifting some focus back to sculptures placed in Nigerian artistic practice. Highlighting the intergenerational dialogue that exists within Nigeria’s sculptural community, the exhibition features Adeola Balogun, Adeoti Azeez Afeez, Boma Joe Jim, Bruce Onobrakpeya, Bunmi Babatunde, Djakou Kassi Nathalie, Fidelis Odogwu, Reuben Ugbine, Fiyin Koko, Olumide Onadipe, Olu Atere, Ozuma Patrick, Olu Amoda, Sabastine Ugwuoke, Taiwo Owoyemi, Ugo Ahiakwo, and Lanre Tejuoso. Curated by Jide Ogunsanya and Mathew Oyedele, the show foregrounds the transmission of material knowledge—whether in metal, wood, bronze, or found objects across generations, underscoring how younger sculptors reinterpret and innovate upon the foundations laid by their predecessors.
- Taiye Idahor, I See (Wo)men As Trees
O’DA Art
26 October – 30 November, 2024
O’DA gallery presents Taiye Idahor’s first solo exhibition in Nigeria in a decade. The exhibition is a multifaceted exploration of ownership, freedom, identity, and the rich legacies women inherit across generations. By portraying women as both individual and collective figures, Taiye highlights their role as living embodiments of history, continually branching out yet firmly grounded in the soil of their ancestry. The exhibition is composed of four distinct series, Wade in the Water, I See (Wo)men As Trees, Emancipated but Not Free, and Hairhythm. Each series draws on Taiye’s personal reflections and broader cultural narratives, forming a cohesive yet complex narrative centred around the metaphors of trees, water, and hair. These natural elements symbolise continuity, growth, and the cyclical nature of life, as well as the intricate bonds women share with the land and their ancestral legacies.
- Edozie Anedu, Eternal Life
Wunika Mukan Gallery
26 October – 18 November, 2024
Self-taught artist Edozie Anedu is exploring the concept of eternity, blending influences from traditional stained glass windows with contemporary abstract techniques to explore humanity’s age-old quest to understand life beyond the physical in his new works. On view at Wunika Mukan gallery, the exhibition marks a significant shift toward introspection and spiritual reflection, adding a new dimension to Anedu’s evolving body of work. Inspired by his Catholic background, he reflects on the dichotomy between good and evil, pleasure and sin, youth and experience, using a technique that combines layers of oil and acrylic to create an ethereal, almost translucent, finish.
- Uniting Forms
Bloom Art
26 October – 25 November, 2024
Uniting Forms is an exhibition showcasing diverse sculptural expressions focusing on the work of Boma Joe-Jim, and also featuring works from Adeyinka Akingbade, Angela Isiuwe, Dare Adenuga, Olumide Onadipe, Peter Adelaja, Richardson Ovbiebo, and Uchay Joel Chima. This exhibition is investigating the harmony and tension between distinct forms, materials, and artistic visions, fostering a dialogue on shape, space, physicality and unity.
- Dig Where You Stand – from Coast to Coast
Alliance Française de Lagos
26 October – 3 November, 2024
This is a series of exhibitions, offering a new model of engagement with questions of decolonization, restitution, and repatriation through art, emphasising local collaboration, reversing extractive practices, and fostering sustainable economic and cultural exchanges across African coastal cities. Curated by the African Artists Foundation, in collaboration with Alliance Française de Lagos, the activation exhibition in Lagos features works by Tola Wewe, Raquel Van Haver, Caleb Prah, Adeju Thompson, and Yusuf Aina. These artists use their practice to reflect on identity, heritage, and cultural renewal, presenting works that offer new perspectives on shared histories and contemporary experiences.
- In the mix
Soto Gallery
3 November – 7 December, 2024
Showcasing Admire Kamudzengerere, Lilian Magodi, Mercy Moyo, Nyashadzashe Marovatsanga, Sky Salanje, Wycliffe Mundopa, and Musekiwa Terrence, Soto Gallery presents In The Mix , a collection of artworks exploring the complexities of navigating the postcolonial landscape in Africa. The exhibition intends to offer unique insights into identity, history, and modernity through their powerful figuration and abstraction. This is an invitation for viewers to explore the layers of cultural identity and the tension between order and chaos. Amidst the complexities of contemporary life, this exhibition serves as a space to reflect on the evolving intersections of tradition and modernity.
- Tolu Aliki, The Rebirth
Aina Lagos,
26 October – 2 November, 2024
Aina Gallery presents “The Rebirth” , an art salon by Tolu Aliki. He is known for his stylised childlike, innocent colourful style. The series shown in the exhibition features sculptures and paintings which highlights the depth and beauty of his new direction.
Iyanuoluwa Adenle is a Nigerian art writer, essayist, and poet based in Lagos. She is currently the head writer at Omenai. Adenle has contributed to a number of art publications, including Tender Photo, Art News Africa, Pavillon 54, and Omenai.
