Just before 2018 wrapped up for us, we decided to check Nike Art Gallery box off our bucket list of ‘places to visit in Lagos’. We decided on a convenient date and time for the visit.

So on Saturday 15th December 2018, we set out from our various locations on the mainland to meet up at the CMS bus stop. When the three of us had gotten there, we boarded a bus to Lekki and about 18 minutes later, we arrived at our bus stop where the gallery is located (Ikate 3rd roundabout, lekki-epe expressway).

Looking towards the right on the other side of the express was the Nike art gallery road where the building stood out, a white storey building which looks like a typical Santorini, Greece architecture. We walked down to the gallery which took less than 3 minutes. Right from the exterior of the building, we were greeted with several art works which extended further inside and around the gallery’s premises.

On getting inside main gallery, we were stunned by the glory of numerous art displayed there.
Right from the ground floor up to the last fourth floor of the building (which is visible from the design of the gallery) was art and the sight was overwhelming ❤️

The lady at the reception welcomed us and gave us a very short information about the gallery and rules to abide by while inside, which included:

–Entry is free

–Gallery is open everyday of the week (7/7) from 10am-6pm

–The gallery boasts of 8000+ art works, making it the biggest in West Africa.

–No professional camera

–Every piece of artwork displayed is for sale

–Taking pictures of the art displays isn’t permitted unless one is in the picture.

–Feel free and have fun 😊

Confused on which floor or where to begin with, we initially went different ways, walking around to view displays that appealed to our eyes lol. We rejoined after our individual sojourns to take pictures and view the rest of the gallery together.

There was breathtaking art everywhere, literally everywhere !

The collection in the gallery is so massive (8000+) that they can’t all be displayed in the big four storey building. This makes some works stacked and stored away in some rooms or open spaces.

The display boasts of various forms of paintings such as water color, pencil and ink on paper, acrylic painting, etc.

We also spotted a couple display of realism, constructivism Impressionism, surrealism and a host of other forms of art we couldn’t accurately identify. And it’s a proud thing to say they’re all 100% original works by Nigerian artists 🇳🇬.

To reiterate how rich the gallery is in terms of collections, various works on display are regularly replaced by the ones stored/new ones to give visitors a different experience of the sanctuary everytime they visit.

Nike Art gallery is owned by the incredibly talented chief Mrs Nike Davies Okundaye, a 68 year old renowned artist and fashion designer who has dedicated her life to telling the African story through her works. Mrs Okundaye didn’t receive much formal art education growing up after she dropped out of school due to lack of funds to support her education. She still defied all odds to carve a niche for herself and today she is globally recognised for her efforts. She has been featured on several documentaries on CNN, CNBC, Al-Jazeera, etc and even lectured in the prestigious Harvard University.

Going through the gallery and admiring the incredible displays, we thought these works won’t go for cheap so we went on the official website Here to confirm our guess.

You now have the link, check it yaself 😂

Since we couldn’t afford the works (yet), we decided to at least have fun and take pishures.

And guess who we stumbled on in the gallery ?! 🤔

We weren’t able to take enough pictures because almost every art we saw held our gaze, speaking the rich African lifestyle and culture to our minds.

The gallery pays alot of homage to Lagos through various arts depicting the typical daily life of Lagosians.

We were so fascinated by the place that we didn’t realise we’ve been inside the gallery for over four hours (lol). And it was time to go 😔.

Reluctantly, we had to leave the haven with a mutually agreed plan of a revisit. But before we left the premises, we couldn’t resist taking a few more shots outside the gallery where the café is situated with a couple of interesting displays.

We departed and took a returning bus back to CMS and from there, boarded different buses back to our various destinations.

Visiting the Nike Art Gallery promises an unforgettable experience for any art lover. For us, the visit made us appreciate art more and feel proud of being Africans.
There are a couple of other galleries on the Lagos island and we intend to visit some of them in the near future.

That’s it on our visit to Nike Art Gallery 😊 and we hope you enjoyed it. Have you been there before or planning to? Let us know what you think in the comment section below.

–Nonye 👣