Affinity art gallery, a new art gallery in Lagos, located at the centre of Victoria Island Lagos is set to reposition Nigeria’s creative sector as it launches with its inaugural group exhibition titled The Opening taking place from 6th December 2020-January 15 2021.
Committed to promoting and supporting artists from Africa through diverse exhibitions and education programs, the gallery offers itself as an exhibition, installation, and performance space, promoting cultural exchanges and global gallery partnerships, with a mission to create a space that introduces the works of artists to a wide audience, as well as make art accessible to everyone locally and internationally.
Visible inside the gallery’s two-story space, the exhibition will include paintings, sculptures, and mixed media works from its existing collection by modern and contemporary artists.
The participating artists are Sam Ovraiti, Rufus Ogundele, Tony Enebeli, Jimoh Buraimoh, Bruce Onobrakpeya, Muraina Oyelami, Tola Wewe, Yomi Momoh,
Ben Osawe, Bisi Fakeye, Amos Odion, Akachukwu Emeka, Segun Aiyesan, Toni Oshiame, Ebong Ekwere, Tega Akpokona, Emmanuel Ekefrey, Chike Obeagu, Tony Nsofor, Sokenu Abayomi, and Olaoluwa Qozeem Abdulrahman.
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According to the founder Olugbemiro Arinoso, “As a passionate collector of African art, I see the need to not only set up a gallery to spotlight artists who are bustling with life and creativity but also to render advisory services to new and existing collectors.
“There is a shortage of institutions and infrastructure to support the creatives on our continent and this pushed us towards this project which would enable us to show and educate more people on African art. The gallery also dedicates its programming to leading cultural exchanges between African artists and the rest of the world.”
Speaking during its inaugural group exhibition, Naomi Edobor, curator and gallery manager, Affinity art gallery said the gallery has works from about 21 artists from the contemporary period and modern arts.
“We hav e officially opened and we are inviting everyone to come and see the work. We are going to have a lot more exhibitions in the coming year. We have over 40 works already. We wanted to show the collections of the founder Olugbemiro Arinoso.
“We wanted to show what he has been able to collect and speak to work that we will be showing because we are a gallery of modern contemporary art. Our works are mainly going to be modern and contemporary art within Africa and artists who are outside Africa but of Africa descent as well,” Edobor said.
She hinted that art is an investment, adding that she has seen works that were collected years ago and now selling here in Nigeria at very high prices.
“Art is an investment. It is like going to the bank and putting your money in the bank. When you invest in arts, you invest in the artists, the works and yourself,” she added.
Toyin Crowther, a guest at the launch commended the gallery and exhibitions, explaining that a lot of detail had gone into the artwork and most of them are good.
“There is a differentiation between different types of work in the gallery. I would like to see more things like this. We have a lot when it comes to arts and culture and this is one of the ways to express it,” Crowther said.
