Since its establishment in 2017, the Lagos Biennial has held four editions at three monumental venues across the city, namely the Nigerian Railway Corporation (2017), Independence House (2019), and Tafawa Balewa Square (2021 & 2024). The Lagos Biennial is now set to create its own permanent pavilion and collection, which will reference design and ideological elements from all past venues while addressing the spatial needs of an art space that speaks to the present and the future. Over the last four editions, the Lagos Biennial has featured over 200 artists from across the world, building an incredible collection of some of the most intriguing art pieces from leading artists.
The sheer scale of many of these pieces is a testament to the monumentality of the venues we have been able to access through tough negotiations with authorities. Giving public access to these post-independence architectural monuments has been the pride of the Lagos Biennial. Now, we are taking our commitment to the next level by consolidating these efforts to create a sustainable space that will respond to the more present conversations on culture, heritage, community, and politics within our society.
The Àkéte Collection will consist of outstanding pieces from the last four editions of the biennial and donations and loans of artworks from international museums, private collections, and individuals. The collection is poised to be the first significant international collection of modern and contemporary art in Africa. Our goal is to establish a versatile space that will cement Lagos’s status as an international art hub and create an artistic landmark. The Àkéte Collection, a pivotal component of the Lagos Biennial, will be unveiled to the public by October 2026. This unveiling will mark the first major exhibition of the collection within the framework of the Lagos Biennial’s 5th edition, “The Museum of Things Unseen”.
