Nigeria plays a lead role in rising popularity of African arts

Onyinye Anyaegbu remembers when, as a young girl, she visited an uncle who had an artwork on his wall by the Nigerian artist, designer and architect Demas Nwoko. She greatly admired it, though recalls no one putting a value on it. Last month, Nwoko — now in his late 80s — received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement award at the Venice Architecture Biennale.

Such cultural honours indicate the growing appreciation of African art, with works by the likes of Nwoko and the late Nigerian painter Ben Enwonwu in the vanguard. In 2019, Enwonwu’s “Christine” fetched $1.4mn at Sotheby’s; Bonham’s sold his portrait “Tutu” for $1.7mn in 2018.

Anyaegbu, now the founder of Artsplit — a UK-based online trading platform for African art — says she had not fully appreciated the value of the continent’s artists until she set up her company last year. Artsplit operates a fractional ownership investment model to make art accessible to people who might not be able to afford to buy a piece on their own.

“There’s such an emotional connection to art,” Anyaegbu says, “because, for people, it is part of their heritage”.

Keturah Ovio, a director at Lagos-based art dealers Patrons MCAA, says art in Nigeria used to be seen as the preserve of hobbyists. But, over the past 20 years or so, there has been a shift in people’s view of art and in the opportunities available to artists.

This was largely triggered by Nigeria’s transition from military dictatorship to democracy in 1999. With the growth of the middle class, prices of African art have risen. “The number of high- and ultra-high-net-worth individuals has been growing rapidly,” Ovio notes. “This new money actively seeks tangible assets to diversify their wealth, and art has shown a steady return on investment in portfolio performance.”

Recently, she adds, “there has been a significant rise in the number of African art dealers and auction houses, which has made it easier for collectors and investors to buy and sell.”

Christophe Person, owner of the eponymous Paris gallery which specialises in African art, says Nigerian art’s rise was marked by two events: the 2013 launch in London of the 1-54 international fair of contemporary African art; and the curation by the late writer and art historian Okwui Enwezor of 2015’s Venice Biennale. “They [really were] game changers . . . many artists were shown in these huge events.”

“Our people are super-creative and we are sitting on a trove of inspiration,” says Kola Aina, general partner at venture capital fund Ventures Platform and an art investor. “Since we have had a democratic government, that has driven a steady rise of local patronage.”

In a country of more than 250 ethnic groups, the art scene has multiple strands. Two key influences are the 1960s Oshogbo Movement in southwestern Nigeria, whose members were active in painting, sculpture, music and theatre; and the Zaria Art Society, which was formed in the north in 1958 — two years before independence — and sought to explore the roots of the country’s art outside of western influence.

Aina, who also invests in film, notes that Nollywood, Nigeria’s film industry, is likewise thriving. Since the early 2000s, it has moved from low-budget to higher-quality productions that enjoy global reach, with recent offerings including Battle on Buka Street, Brotherhood and Gangs of Lagos. “Nigerians all over the world,” says Aina, “consume Nollywood productions.” Nigeria’s diaspora (some estimates put it at 15mn-17mn, with the largest number in the US and UK) “have carried those films with them . . . that has definitely helped movies become items of export”.

We believe investment opportunities in the Nigerian film industry will continue to grow

Jonathan Haynes, an expert on African film and professor emeritus at Long Island University, says of Nollywood that, while the country has suffered a brain drain over the decades, “there’s an immense amount of talent and creativity in Nigeria which, against all odds, have made it the . . . dominant film and television industry in Africa.”

“We believe investment opportunities in the Nigerian film industry will continue to grow,” says Dayo Adeniji, associate director at KPMG Nigeria, “particularly considering that Nigeria has a largely youthful population — about 70 per cent of Nigeria’s population is under 30 years old.”

Tola Odunsi (pictured below), producer of Nigeria’s popular online television series The Men’s Club, says that, as well as investments from international streaming platforms, the biggest investor in Nollywood has been the sub-Saharan African direct broadcast satellite service DStv.

Owned by South African media giant MultiChoice, it filled the gap left by Nigeria’s poorly performing terrestrial TV to create channels like Africa Magic, a leading distributor of Nigerian films.

Music is flourishing, too, with Afrobeats, the west African genre that has gone global, overwhelmingly represented by Nigerian artists, among them Tiwa Savage, Davido and Burna Boy. Odunsi, a former director of the parent company of music label Storm Records, credits music streaming platforms and live sponsored events as big drivers of Nigeria’s music industry. “The situation of local labels partnering with international labels has really driven investment,” he says. Big record companies know they can “focus on the distribution”, leaving the local labels to understand the culture, artists and repertoire.

In literature, Lola Shoneyin, founder of Lagos publisher Ouida Books, points to Nigerian writers’ rising popularity abroad. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is among those winning wide acclaim since her first novel Purple Hibiscus appeared in 2003. More recently, Adichie wrote the preface to Pope Francis’ book, Hands Off Africa!, a critique of continuing exploitation of the continent by western powers, published in May.