Nigeria’s Museum of West African Art to Open This November

A new museum dedicated to West African art will see Nigeria boast a place to nurture contemporary practices while preserving heritage when it opens later this year after a five-year build.

Conceived at a time of infrastructural deficits taking the blame for delayed artefact repatriation initiatives from Western museums to Nigeria, the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) will open to the public in Benin City on 11 November 2025. 

Dedicated to regional art and scholarship, the 48,000-square-foot institution will house MOWAA’s collections of archeological finds and West African artefacts alongside facilities for conservation, research, and archaeological endeavours.

The six-hectare campus will also include the Rainforest Gallery for contemporary art exhibition, gardens with over 2,000 native trees, a performance hall, artist studios, and a boutique hotel. Facilities are set to fully open in 2028.

MOWAA director Ore Disu spoke of the institution’s priorities in a world where museums are ‘increasingly being asked to justify their existence’.

‘What’s important for us at MOWAA is to be truly embedded in building contextually relevant practices, regenerating African cities and scholarship, and using art as a catalyst for real impact.’

Shadreck Chirikure, professor of archaeological science and MOWAA adviser, highlighted the institution’s importance for the continent to The Guardian.

‘It used to be argued that Africa has no space and capacity to look after its heritage,’ Chirikure said. ‘If there were those who did not believe in the vision or that Africans can do it, the opening of The Institute demonstrates that MOWAA is now a reality.’

The first stage will see the unveiling of MOWAA Institute for research and education. A reprise of the 2024 Nigerian Pavilion, Nigeria Imaginary, curated by art historian and MOWAA modern and contemporary art curator Aindrea Emelife will also be on view (until April 2026).

Nigeria Imaginary Homecoming will feature works by the original pavilion artists, including Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Precious Okoyomon, and Yinka Shonibare, alongside new artists Kelani Abass, Modupeola Fadugba, Ngozi-Omeje Ezema, and Isaac Emokpae. —[O]

Main image: MOWAA Institute, designed by Adjaye Associates. Photo: Tolulope Sanusi