Ugoma Chinelo Ebilah, an economist-turned-curator who founded Bloom Art Lagos in 2010 and the Mbari Kola Arts and Culture Foundation in 2019, is opening Mbari Kola, a private art society and members club in Lagos. Located in the affluent Ikoyi district, the 800 sq. m space will include a public gallery, shop, and garden, along with a private lounge, terrace, library, and multifunctional rooms for members. The venue will host exhibitions, residencies, film screenings, concerts, performances, and readings, focusing on pan-African art and culture. A soft launch for founding members is set for Africa Day (25 May), with further phases after summer and during Lagos Art Week in November. The club is part-funded by Ebilah and crowdfunded through around 50 founding patrons and members.
This initiative matters because it addresses a gap in Nigeria's art ecosystem, which has grown largely through individual efforts due to a lack of government support. By separating her commercial activities at Bloom Art Lagos from this social venture, Ebilah aims to foster cross-disciplinary exchange and intellectual dialogue free from market pressures. Inspired by the Mbari artists' and writers' clubs of 1960s Africa, Mbari Kola seeks to bring together art makers and consumers in a space for reflection and argument. As artist and curator Oliver Enwonwu notes, Lagos already has commercial galleries but needs environments for serious cultural conversation, making the club's long-term impact dependent on its intellectual substance.