Nigerian artist Omolola Coker has won the inaugural Myma Art Prize, a new award supporting early to mid-career artists from Ghana and Nigeria. Coker, who is based in Lagos and born in London, works with batik fabric painting to explore themes of heritage and home. The prize includes $5,000, a three-month residency at Nosona Studios in Benin City, and mentorship. Other finalists include Vincent Frimpong, Emmanuel Nana Frimpong Ellis, and Edward Prah. The prize was founded in 2024 by the children of Myma Belo-Osagie as a birthday gift and is supported by Metis Capital Partners and Yenwa Gallery founder Ugonna Ibe-Ejiogu.
The Myma Art Prize matters because it provides long-term, sustainable support for artists from West Africa, a region often underrepresented in global art funding. By combining a cash award, residency, mentorship, and exhibition opportunities, the prize addresses the structural challenges artists face in building careers. The involvement of prominent figures like Myma Belo-Osagie, a collector and board member of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art, signals growing institutional interest in nurturing emerging talent from Ghana and Nigeria. The prize also highlights the role of family philanthropy in shaping the art ecosystem.