Lagos’ first street art festival turns city into ‘open-air gallery’

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.

One of the featured artists, Ashaolu Oluwafemi, told the BBC that the festival brings art “to the people and the community”.

“People don’t always have the opportunity to go to exhibitions, so they don’t have the opportunity to see art,” he said.

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

Oluwafemi, who was born and brought up in Lagos, said he and the other artists were telling the story of the city and its rise.

“You have to be wise and strong and brilliant to make it out of Lagos.”

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 peacock is often used to symbolise beauty and pride in Nigerian art, AFP reports.

“Everything in Lagos is different. A whole lot of cars, a whole lot of traffic – a whole lot of comments from people passing by [saying] ‘Nice work’,” said the 32-year-old.

“Lagos is a place where you can express yourself,” Ashaolu Oluwafemi told the BBC.

He said he painted the mural above to show the joy of the city.

“This woman is expressing herself. She’s so excited about her life in Lagos.”

He said that people were very happy to see the street art. “It really speaks to them.”

The festival opened on Wednesday and continues until Monday, 15 December but the murals will be left in place afterwards.

Most of the artists are Nigerian but Ottograph travelled from the Dutch city of Amsterdam to paint his mural.