Lagos Transformed into an Open-Air Gallery for Street Art Festival

Sat Dec 13 2025 21:50:19 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Lagos, Nigeria's bustling metropolis, has been converted into a lavish open-air gallery, celebrating creativity and public art through its inaugural street art festival. Artists from Nigeria and abroad showcase their works, aiming to inspire and engage the community.

The first street art festival in Lagos sees the city transformed into a vibrant open-air gallery, featuring works from local and international artists. Organized by graffiti artist Osa Seven and others, the festival emphasizes the importance of public art in daily life. It runs until December 15.

Parts of Nigeria's biggest city, Lagos, have been turned into an open-air gallery, in the words of the organisers of the city's first street art festival.

We believe art shouldn't be confined to galleries and museums, Osa Okunkpolor, a Nigerian graffiti artist known as Osa Seven, and one of the festival's founders, told Reuters news agency.

Public art allows people to interact with creativity in their everyday environment. It's about giving hope and showing what art can do to shape society.

The artwork is on display on Ozumba Mbadiwe Avenue, a busy street in Victoria Island in the heart of the city.

Although Lagos is known for its vibrant arts scene, nightlife, and creativity, street art is relatively unknown. The visibility is not too strong compared to other African nations, painter Ernest Ibe told AFP news agency. So, it's a challenge, but the country is evolving. We are beginning to understand the impact of social murals and how it affects us socially and in our environment in general.

This painting was done by Babalola Oluwafemi, a Nigerian artist who flew in from the British city of Manchester. I'm just telling how Lagos people love to party, love to go to parties, love to eat food. And they just love to be colourful, she told AFP.

The festival opened on Wednesday and continues until Monday, 15 December.