Nigerian Modernism Exhibition Unveiled at Tate Modern with Support from Access Holdings and Coronation Group

F- L: Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Chairman, Access Holdings Coronation Group; Karin Hindsbo, Director, Tate Modern; Ngozi Akinyele, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Coronation Group; and Amaechi Okobi, Chief Communications Officer, Access Holdings, at the Opening Reception for Nigerian Modernism Exhibition, sponsored by Access Holdings and Coronation Group, at Tate Modern, London, United Kingdom. recently. 

A new chapter in African art history has opened at Tate Modern, London, with the launch of Nigerian Modernism, a landmark exhibition celebrating Nigeria’s pivotal contribution to global modern art. The exhibition, made possible through a strategic partnership with Access Holdings Plc and Coronation Group, officially began with an opening reception and will run from October 2025 to May 2026.

The comprehensive exhibition features 50 artists and 250 works, tracing the evolution of Nigeria’s modern art movement from the 1940s to the 1980s. The collection spans the late colonial era through independence, showcasing a diverse range of mediums including paintings, sculptures, ceramics, textiles, and poetry that collectively helped shape global perceptions of African creativity.

A focal point of the exhibition is the display of seven wooden sculptures by the master artist, Ben Enwonwu. These specific pieces were commissioned in 1960 for the Daily Mirror in London but now form part of the Access Holdings Art Collection.

Their return to the UK is highly symbolic. Once serving as emblems of a newly independent nation asserting its identity, these sculptures now stand as powerful representations of cultural heritage and reclamation, being owned, curated, and championed by Nigerians. The exhibition is set to provide an essential international platform for this dynamic period in Nigerian artistic history.