Nigeria’s Museum of West African Art to Open in November
134July 4, 2025
TheMuseum of West African Art(MOWAA) in Benin City, Nigeria, will officially welcome the public to its campus on November 11, the same day it unveils its MOWAA Institute. Designed by Adjaye Associates, the roughly 48,000-square-foot institution will house MOWAA’s collections and include space for storage as well as facilities for conservation, research, and archaeological endeavors.
The institute is just one part of the MOWAA campus, which has been in the works since 2020. The fifteen-acre campus complex is set to additionally encompass the Rainforest Gallery, hosting exhibitions of contemporary art; the Rainforest Gardens, featuring over two thousand indigenous trees and hosting site-specific art; the Art Guesthouse, a boutique hotel; and the Artisans’ Hall, a dedicated performance space. As well, a colonial structure is being repurposed to house artists’ studios and a café. The campus is slated to fully open in 2028.
Those attending the November 11 opening of the MOWAA Institute will be greeted by its inaugural exhibition, “Nigeria Imaginary Homecoming.” On view through April 26, 2026, the exhibition will be spread across multiple buildings on the campus. The show is curated by art historian Aindrea Emelife, curator of modern and contemporary art at MOWAA, and reprises to an extent “Nigeria Imaginary,” the widely lauded Nigerian pavilion from the 2024 Venice Biennale, featuring work by Tunji Adeniyi-jones, Ndidi Dike, Onyeka Igwe, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Abraham Onoriode Oghobase, Precious Okoyomon, Fatimah Tuggar, and Yinka Shonibare CBE RA. Work by four new artists—Kelani Abass, Modupeola Fadugba, Ngozi-Omeje Ezema, and Isaac Emokpae—will be included.
Also on view will be the inaugural display of MOWAA’s historic collections, including works never before shown in Nigeria. A program of exhibition tours, talks, workshops, and film screenings at the MOWAA campus and in downtown Benin City is additionally planned.
“Globally, museums are increasingly being asked to justify their existence, whether it’s by way of funding cuts, restitution or falling visitor numbers,” said MOWAA Institute director Ore Disu in a statement. “What’s important for us at MOWAA is to be truly embedded in building contextually relevant practices, regenerating African cites and scholarship, and using art as a catalyst for real impact. . . . We are proud to continue to show that Africa can provide new ways of thinking and doing as we open our doors this November.”