Kurating

In early 2026, Tobiloba Fasalejo exhibited a new body of work titled, “Neither Absence, Nor End”, at Rele Gallery. The artworks were the fruits of the time spent at the bootcamp and  residency program organised by the gallery’s art foundation. He was a part of the 3 resident artists chosen for the 2026 edition of Rele Young Contemporaries. His works stood out in their warm dark brown hues and dimly-lit interiors. Painted like vignettes, the artworks draw you in like something  familiar.

Nigerian artists have long used their medium to confront power by calling out the government. In 1958, the Zaria Rebels opposed the absence of Nigerian traditional art from the university curriculum. A year before independence, Demas Nwoko painted Nigeria in 1959 — three colonial officers with long, drawn faces while barely visible Black figures occupy the background.

Ray Darlington paints subjective worlds with lustrous pastel crayons. His sweet spot is making graphite sketches and brushing them over with acrylic paint, so they capture both hardiness and vulnerability, like nature. Afrorealism, he calls it, for his preoccupation with sentiments that mark the contemporary African experience. Hyperrealism is how his clients describe his style in light of the Instagram tradition popularized by algorithmic shockvertising.

The Lagos art audience is no stranger to archival projects or conversations on the same. In April 2026, the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) and Guest Artists Space Foundation played host to cultural practitioners and institutions exchanging knowledge about archives and material conservation.

Two years before Nigerian independence from colonial rule, the Yoruba religion had been significantly suppressed by the rise of colonialism and the introduction of Christianity. It was in this quandary that the Head Priestess of Osun sent a call for help to Susanne Wenger, an Austrian artist: the shrines needed to be refurbished.

Art is often described as a space of openness and experimentation. In practice, it rarely exists without expectations. Certain themes and styles have become familiar and easier to recognise as serious work. Over time, these expectations begin to shape how new or unusual work is received.

Mark Twain said, “There is no such thing as a new idea. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope.” Every new or original idea is a rearrangement of older ones seen differently. Every art period or movement has been a testament to these words. Nigerian Modern Art was a period of evolutionary development during colonial and post-colonial times.

Growing up in Ipetu Modu, a small town in Osun State, Nigeria, artist Hezekiah Obidare lived surrounded by a cultural richness he once paid no attention to. The town, known for its vast natural deposits of clay, holds a sacred place in Yoruba mythology as the site where Obatala, a messenger from God in charge of creation, moulded not only human heads, but destinies. For most of his life, this story meant little to Hezekiah.

Nigeria’s film industry has long thrived on scale and improvisation. Nollywood grew from low-budget shoots distributed on VHS and VCD, sold in street markets (remember Iweka Road, Onitsha? Ebinpejo Lane, Idumota, Lagos?) and broadcast on DSTV. Today, cinemas deliver the blockbusters. Streamers like Netflix and Prime Video do prestige but have selectivity. And YouTube has its endless selection of dramas and comedies watched by millions, many made with little concern for polish.