Art X Lagos, the art fair founded by Tokini Peterside-Schwebig in 2016, opens for its tenth edition from November 6-9, anchoring Lagos Art Week. The fair features a group show at Kó Art Space spotlighting artists inspired by the Oshogbo School, a 1960s Nigerian movement, and Tiwani Contemporary presents sculptural works by Lagos-based designer Nifemi Marcus-Bello, his first exhibition in Nigeria. The Guest Artists Space (GAS) Foundation, established by British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare, adds talks, workshops, and cultural exchange programs, contributing to a vibrant, sprawling art week across the city.
This moment matters because it highlights the deep roots of Nigerian art, which extend far beyond recent market attention. The article traces a lineage from ancient Nok sculptures and Igbo-Ukwu bronzes through the Nigerian Modernist movement of the Zaria Art Society and the Mbari Artists and Writers Club, whose figures like Uche Okeke, Bruce Onobrakpeya, and Demas Nwoko are now being recognized at Tate Modern. The emergence of a younger generation, rooted in local context yet globally attuned, signals that Lagos is not a sudden discovery but a sustained cultural force redefining contemporary art and design.