MOWAA to Open New Museum Campus in Benin City

The Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) will officially open its new museum campus in Benin City, Nigeria, to the public on Tuesday, 11 November 2025. The opening marks a major milestone in the institution’s vision to build world-class infrastructure for the research, preservation, and presentation of West African art and heritage.

At the heart of the launch is the unveiling of the MOWAA Institute, a 4,500-square-metre, state-of-the-art facility dedicated to collections storage, conservation, archaeology, and research. It is one of the first purpose-built cultural facilities of its kind in West Africa, designed to support both the care of historic material and the development of contemporary curatorial and scholarly practice.

MOWAA Institute | Courtesy of MOWAA

The campus opening will be accompanied by MOWAA’s inaugural exhibition, Nigeria Imaginary: Homecoming — an expanded iteration of the Nigeria Pavilion presented earlier in the year at the 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. Curated by Aindrea Emelife, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at MOWAA, Nigeria Imaginary invites artists to challenge fixed narratives about nationhood, identity, and belonging, offering instead a constellation of voices that reflect Nigeria’s complexity and multiplicity.

Originally featuring artists such as Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, Ndidi Dike, Onyeka Igwe, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Abraham Onoriode Oghobase, Precious Okoyomon, Fatimah Tuggar, and Yinka Shonibare CBE RA, the exhibition will now include four additional artists whose practices are deeply embedded in Nigeria’s contemporary realities: Kelani Abass, Modupeola Fadugba, Ngozi-Omeje Ezema, and Isaac Emokpae.

Alongside the exhibition, MOWAA will debut its first display of historic collections, including artworks that have never before been exhibited in Nigeria. This marks a significant step in the institution’s efforts to build and care for collections that speak to the region’s diverse material histories and the evolving discourse on restitution and conservation.

Venice Biennale | Nigerian Pavillion - Courtesy MOWAA

Programming throughout November will include exhibition tours, artist talks, panel discussions, workshops, and film screenings across the MOWAA Campus and downtown Benin City. The opening signals not only the launch of a museum but the establishment of a long-term cultural platform designed to serve local, regional, and international audiences.

“This moment brings together years of curatorial research, infrastructural development, and institutional planning,” said Emelife. “With the expanded Nigeria Imaginary and the opening of the MOWAA Institute, we are creating space for critical engagement with both contemporary practice and historical legacies—rooted in West Africa, but globally resonant.”

Further details about opening week events and future programming will be announced in the coming months.

Generated image of MOWAA Entrance from street view Credit: MOWAA