A-ARTs: Wake-up call to Nigerian visual arts stakeholders

Peter K. DaSilva

By Peter K. DaSilva,

This brief essay is to all stakeholders in the Visual Arts sector in Nigeria, starting from the artists, to the galleries, art schools and the policy makers in the federal and state governments. More importantly, the essay is addressed to the National Gallery of Art, being the main government agency responsible for the promotion and preservation of the Visual Arts in the country. The agency has a great role to play in properly positioning Nigerian art not only in Nigeria but also in the world.

Visual arts have transited from the mere objects of fancy hung on the wall or displayed on the shelf. Today, art has become a serious business globally and the industry in the United Kingdom, being one of the visual art capitals in the world could be worth about £5 billion. Increasingly, art has become like traded commodities and here in the UK there are trading houses that trade in art just like stock brokers trade in stocks. Investors now trade in art just as shares, stocks, and commodities are traded.

There are tens and scores of galleries and museums all over the UK doing business in art, and exhibitions are all-year-round. These galleries give direct employment to a significant percentage of the labour and skills available in the country, employing all shades of professionals from IT, technicians, art transporters, artists, curators, art historians, and art specialists, security personnel, among others, to promote the trade. There are support industries like highly specialised art courier/ transport companies, art restorers, valuers, financiers, insurers, etc. There are art fairs organised all - year - round. Here in the UK, as in all the West, art is serious business.

Being a lover of art and having participated in the informal training of artists in workshops in Nigeria, I have the advantage of comparing what obtains in both countries. The UK has a rich history in art. Many galleries and art institutions have been open without closure for over 200 years and are still waxing strong. Sotheby's 1744, Christie's 1766, Bonhams 1793, Royal Academy in 1768 by King George III, Tate Britain 1897, Tate Modern 2000, National Gallery 1824, the British Museum in 1753 thus making it the first public museum in the world, and the Government Art Collection ( GAC ), which I will say a few things about later.

Visit any of these galleries and you would find members of the public including children, the aged and the disabled, strolling in and out of them. Here, people just enjoy visiting galleries and museums, even if they are not going to buy what is on display. The level of art awareness/ literacy among people in the UK and by extension, the West is high.

Among several galleries and museums visited, my experience at the 'Nigerian Modernism' exhibition held at the Tate Modern stood different. Between October 2025 when it opened and May 2026 when it ended, I visited the exhibition twice. On both occasions, the throng of visitors was amazing, if not exhilarating! As a Nigerian, you cannot visit the exhibition and not be proud to be a Nigerian. What better way to project the image of the country to the world!

This brings us to Nigeria, a country with a great number of talented artists who are mostly unknown to the outside art world. To be sure, there are Nigerian artists doing well here. Two immediately come to mind - Yinka Shonibare and Njideka Akunruli ( in the United States ) who is Dora Akunruli's daughter. But none of them can point to Nigeria as having contributed a jot to their success. I often compare artists in Nigeria to the several talented footballers in the country who have no hope of attaining success in their chosen career until they reach Europe. And I am proud that all over Europe Nigerian footballers are proving their mettle, doing great. Even during the recently concluded 2026 FIFA World Cup, four Nigerians were in the England team that has been described as England's best outing at the tournament since 1966 when they won the World Cup. It was the penalising of a Nigerian footballer that played for the United States team, by the name Folarin Balogun that made President Trump angry at the officiating. Altogether, it will not be an exaggeration to say close to 20 players of Nigerian nationality or descent played for different countries during the 2026 World Cup.

I believe Nigerian artists can similarly command global attention given the opportunity.

And this is where the National Gallery of Art ( NGA ) comes in. The NGA was " established for the purpose of the preservation and promoting the country's creative identity. It aspires to become a world-class Gallery and global tourist destination that showcases the very best of Nigerian artistic excellence". That is what is stated on the NGA website. Whether or not it is pulling its weight in that area is a matter for debate. I remember, it happened that I attended one or two seminars/ conferences organised by the NGA in those days and I know they give support in various forms to artists and institutions that support the informal development of artists. But in other areas they are active in I don't know even though I'm sure they are in a lot more. But it's not about being active or being busy with activities that counts. It is about planning, which I'm sure they are doing, and making measurable progress which I am not sure of. If there has been progress, then they are not visible to all.

For instance, over the years the Gallery has acquired works from artist, but how often do they collect and exhibit these works? Are catalogues from past exhibitions available? Can the public view these collections online or is it-by visiting their galleries only? Presently there is no befitting structure that houses the national collection. The exhibition space in Aina Onabolu Building at the National Theater Complex (now Wole Soyinka Center) Iganmu, Lagos is to all intents and purposes very small and cannot house such a collection. It is even doubtful that there is enough storage space. A proper museum or art gallery space for a national collection ought to have at least double the exhibition space for storage, so that works that are not on display can be stored away, and kept in good condition. The British Museum for example has two stories underground of storage space, while the building itself has roughly 65,752 square meters of exhibition space and gallery space distributed across more than 90 to 100 public rooms. An institution like the National Gallery ought to have a year round calender of programmes to engage stakeholders like the Society of Nigerian Artists, the private galleries, museums and the general public.

They ought to be organising art workshops and residencies. They also should be giving out grants as well as organizing art exchanges, so that art specialists from outside can interact with Nigerians to learn new things and exchange ideas and vise versa.

What concrete plans have they in place for Nigerian art and artists to be on the world stage of art? Some of these the Indians and Chinese are already doing that here in the UK. The NGA has the responsibility of promoting Nigeria’s modern and contemporary art internationally. Art has the potential to turn around the fortune of the country and the practitioners. There should be no more complacency.

I believe it is time for the stakeholders in this potentially great sector mount sustained pressure on the policy makers responsible for art. They need the Nigerian press on their side. And one expects that the Society of Nigerian Artists should be in the forefront of this sustained campaign. The usual alibi that the government cannot afford to promote art should be rejected. A government that earmarked close to 20 billion naira ( about £12 million ) for a project in religion in the 2026 appropriation budget should be able to invest such amount, if not more for the development of art if they know their priorities.

Private galleries are allies of the NGA. They should be sensitised, involved and carried along by the NGA. It is not only about selling art. Private galleries should be able to reach where NGA cannot reach while courting businesses to become art patrons. They are able to bring in new art collectors and retain them. Collectors could be individual, corporate or government. Corporations in the western world are great collectors. They collect art not only because of the aesthetic values but also because of the boost art makes to corporations networth. Art, like property, always appreciates in value.

Even in diplomacy, art can be a potent tool. The UK has an organisation known as the Government Art Collection ( GAC ). Established in 1899 for the " acquisition of works of art for government buildings", according to Art, Power, Diplomacy; Government Art Collection, The Untold Story, the GAC is "to all intents and purposes, a museum, acquiring, researching, conserving, interpreting and displaying over 13, 500 works of art. The GAC has a unique distinction of placing art in non - museum environments within the UK and around the world, thereby contributing to the country's cultural diplomacy, presenting art to people who might never have made the conscious decision to look at art in a museum". The NGA in the absence of an organisation like the GAC in Nigeria can fill that void.

The cultural policy, that was launched since 1988 needs to be reviewed adopted by the National Assembly. If this policy is adopted a lot of the things I am talking about could be realised. My hope is that Nigerian art may flourish not only in Nigeria but around the world. Nigeria has what it takes, the NGA has what it takes, all the stakeholders have what it takes. What is required is a sustained effort at achieving that.