When The Wheatbaker opened its doors to the public in October 2011, it committed to offering luxury boutique hotel experience to would-be guests. Staying true to that commitment, the 70-room hotel has overtime become a preferred destination for fortune 500 company executives, other business travelers, as well as, tourists in need of a quiet and exclusive address in the heart of vibrant, and boisterous Lagos.
But while its consistency in hospitality facility, product and service offerings is commendable, the hotel’s sustained support for the arts is laudable by both guests and lovers of art.
Since October 2011, The Wheatbaker has supported art exhibitions, film screenings, dance and poetry performances, fashion shows, music concerts and yearly art auctions in an effort to use its premium hospitality platform to make Lagos one of the hottest African art hubs.
Close to a decade and running, the boutique hotel has hosted over 20 visual art exhibitions that offered each artist between 8-12 weeks to showcase their works. During each of these over 20 past exhibitions, guests have always seen and appreciated the creative ingenuity of the artists through their works on display as part of the spices the hotel offers in addition to its core hospitality offerings.
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To enable the hotel live up to the dream of becoming an art destination, first, the hotel deliberately made its high-profile guests willing to see the arts, and secondly, it encouraged them to become art collectors by buying some of the artworks as souvenirs, especially during its yearly art auction sales at the hotel.
One of the remarkable art events was an exhibition entitled Freedom, which was hosted to mark the hotel’s 5th anniversary in October 2016. The hotel’s management gladly opened the exhibition, which featured 39 paintings and sculptures by Gbenga Offo, as well as, used the exhibition to complement the hotel’s growing art collection of works by leading Nigerian artists including; Peju Alatise, Rom Isichei, Olu Amoda, Mike Omoighe, Duke Asidere and Gerald Chukwuma.
While guests and art lovers alike were commending the hotel’s gallant support for the arts on its 5th anniversary, The Wheatbaker broke record the following year as the only hotel in Africa to house and showcase its permanent art collection to the guests and the public. A pioneer in strategically combining art and hospitality, The Wheatbaker opened its permanent art collection to the public for the first time from November 11, 2017, till the end of the month, showcasing 30 exceptional paintings, sculptures and mixed media works by leading and emerging artists. The works range from contemporary masters such as; Billy Omabegho, Tayo Adenaike and Obiora Anidi, to award-winning artists like; Olu Amoda and Peju Alatise, who represented Nigeria at the Venice Biennale to much acclaim.
“We have always seen art as an integral part of our corporate DNA, allowing our guests to find solace and inspiration from what is displayed on our walls. Before we completed the hotel, we had set aside significant resources for art, and continue to invest in providing an important regular platform for local and international artists through our quarterly exhibitions”, said Mosun Ogunbanjo, director of the Wheatbaker, at the opening of Freedom exhibition.
But on the rationale for promoting the hotel as an art destination, Sandra Obiago, curator of all the exhibitions at the hotel, said: “Through our art and hospitality focus, we have inspired other hotels in Lagos to embrace art as a viable means of bringing local and international visitors closer to the best of Nigerian art and culture”.
Also speaking at a special Art of Collecting event held at the hotel on November 11, 2017, where Okechukwu Enelamah, the then minister for Industry, Trade & Investment, was a special guest, Obiago, founder, SMO Contemporary Art, who has curated the Wheatbaker art events since inception, said, “We are delighted that many hotels are now using art and hospitality to strengthen creativity in Nigeria, and provide an important platform for art and innovation.”
Beyond staying as a guest, you can visit The Wheatbaker any day just to see the artworks or the opening of an exhibition to encounter the artists and ask all your questions. Just tell the guards at the entrance that you are an art connoisseur (that is the password) and the door will open because there is one exhibition going on almost every month.
As expected, towards The Light, a solo exhibition of recent works by Ibe Ananaba, a painter and philosopher, is ongoing at The Wheatbaker, and that is a good reason to visit the hotel.
As well, the exhibition, which features paintings and drawings is grounded in an avant-garde musical track, which encapsulates the rhythm of a generation seeking answers to fundamental questions about identity and equality, democracy, racism and the right to choose who leads us.
It lasts from November 3-December 4, 2020, as the hotel beckons for your visit to enjoy the best of stay and view breathtaking works by an art master.
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