Art X Lagos, West Africa’s leading international art fair, has released a 10-year Impact Report celebrating its role in amplifying African art and creativity on the global stage.
The report, unveiled ahead of the 10th edition of the fair, highlights Art X Lagos’ remarkable growth from a local exhibition in 2016 to a major international platform attracting global attention.
According to a statement by the organisers, the fair has welcomed more than 700,000 visitors from 170 countries and showcased over 500 of Africa’s leading artists within a decade.
Chairman and Founder of Art X Lagos, Tokini Peterside-Schwebig, said the report reflects both the fair’s achievements and its future vision.
“To deepen our role as a catalyst for Africa’s creative future, and to amplify the global presence of African voices,” she stated.
Peterside-Schwebig described Art X Lagos as the cultural heartbeat of Nigeria’s art scene, driving the city’s annual art week and positioning Lagos among the world’s most vibrant creative capitals.
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“The Impact Report captures how Art X Lagos has transformed the global conversation around African creativity,” she added, acknowledging the contributions of artists, curators, collectors, and audiences over the past decade.
Founder of the GAS Foundation, Yinka Shonibare, said the fair had played a pivotal role in transforming the futures of both artists and collectors.
“It has had an unmeasurable economic regenerative effect and has increased exponentially the cultural capital of Lagos,” he said.
Wale Lawal, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Republic, noted that Art X Lagos had reignited local and regional interest in Lagos as a key creative hub, while Maria Varnava, Founder and Director of Tiwani Contemporary, described the fair as “contemporary, rooted, and resolutely forward-looking.”
The 10th edition of Art X Lagos, scheduled for 6–9 November 2025, will hold under the theme “Imagining Otherwise, No Matter the Tide.”
This year’s fair will explore how imagination can inspire new possibilities for community, identity, and shared futures in urban centres like Lagos.
Highlights will include photographs by J.D. Okhai Ojeikere from the 1950s to 1970s, and new installations by Nigerian artists Nengi Omuku and Temitayo Ogunbiyi.
The event will also feature Art X Library, Art X Live, Art X Cinema, and Art X Talks — platforms celebrating exceptional African and diasporic talent.
