Tate Modern has launched the UK’s first exhibition featuring more than 250 works from Nigerian modernist artists this month.
The exhibition – which traces Nigeria’s development from independence to the present day – spotlights over 50 artists from Nigeria and its British and American diaspora.
As the first of its kind, the Nigerian Modernism exhibition highlights artists responding to the country’s evolving political and social landscape by challenging assumptions and reclaiming indigenous traditions.
One of the featured artists, Olu Oguibe, worked in Southwark from 1989 to 1992 when it was rare to have an international exhibition dedicated to Nigerian artists.
Oguibe said: “The very idea of an African being employed by the Tate and rising to the position of being able to put together exhibitions as a curator was not imaginable.
“It’s important for people to tell their own stories. Until the animals can tell their own story, it’s always going to be told by the hunter and the hunter is going to tell a different story to the animals.”
The Tate Modern’s Nigerian Modernism will run until 10th May 2026.
Featured Image Credit: Maxine Brigue
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