Exhibition charting development of Nigerian Modernism opens at London's Tate Modern

A new exhibition at London’s Tate Modern museum charts the development of Nigerian modernism.  

Covering around 50 years, from the 1940s to the 1990s, through colonial rule to independence and civil war, there are more than 300 works of art by about 60 artists.  

The aim is to reflect just how broad the rich the artistic output of Nigerian artists has been, says Bilal Akkouche, assistant curator of International Art at Tate.

"I think the show is so broad and so diverse. We really wanted to capture all the different mediums that artists were using from textile, sculpture, painting, ceramics, the kind of internationalism of some of the cities, so Lagos as a centre, in the same way that we would see Paris or Munich, or London, for example. There isn't really a kind of defined Nigerian modernism. We really wanted to play with the title, to open it up and show our audiences how diverse and how incredible the artistic production and the cultural production was."

It's the first UK exhibition to address the development of this 20th century art movement.

Many artists during this period took European techniques and combined them with their own Indigenous traditions.

Tate wants to show that artists like this deserve their place alongside the Picassos and Matisses of the day.

"We feel confident enough to tell this story. Tate Modern's an international museum, we want to break down ideas of Western modernity being the only interesting or only thing worth looking at and this show really shows that countries such as Nigeria deserve an in-depth study and an in depth look and we're really excited for our public to see the amazing works," says Akkouche.

One of the artists on display is Muraina Oyelami.

Born in 1940, his paintings often feature landscapes and earthy tones inspired by his hometown of Iragbiji, to the north of Ibadan.

"I'm a simple man, and so also my works portray simplicity. And I don't tell stories. I'm not a talented storyteller. I expect the viewers of my works to know what I have, instead of asking me for the title,” he says.

“I think people should be able to I see what I see. People should be able to be able to understand what I understand."

And while this exhibition could be seen as groundbreaking for Nigerian art in Europe, he is not convinced that it should have a separate platform of its own.

"Nigeria is part and parcel of the planet Earth. So it may happen that it comes from there. And I may tomorrow be in California. And it's the same planet, it's the same Earth,” he says.

“I come from Nigeria, but I cannot say this is typical, this is how Nigeria works should look like, no. It's a work of art which is universal."

Nigerian Modernism runs at the Tate Modern in London until 10 May 2026.