Events

Design Week Lagos 2025 Celebrates African Creativity

Published

10 months ago

November 5, 2025

Design Week Lagos 2025 celebrates African creativity under the theme “Made in Africa,” spotlighting innovation and positioning Lagos as a global design hub

Design Week Lagos 2025 has concluded its most ambitious edition yet, transforming Nigeria’s commercial capital into a vibrant, city-wide celebration of African creativity under the theme “Made in Africa: Shaping Industries, Shaping Futures.”

Also read: Eko Fiesta 2025 Set to Ignite Lagos with Culture

The six-day festival, held from October 23–28, 2025, showcased the continent’s design excellence while reinforcing Africa’s rising influence in the global creative economy.

Attracting an eclectic mix of designers, artists, architects, and policymakers, this year’s edition featured notable figures including Bibi Seck, Victoria Adesanmi, Myles Igwebuike, Yew Kee Cheong (President, AIA), and Astrid Hébert (3C Awards).

The festival’s flagship events — the Design + Innovation Exhibition and the Made by Design Show — were complemented by more than 100 citywide activations across Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Lekki, and Yaba. Highlights included Roots & Resilience at the Federal Palace Hotel, Design Intersect 2025 at Soto Gallery, and the launch of the Institute of Professional Interior Designers & Product Inventors (IPIDPI) at Alliance Française.

The unveiling of the Institute marks a historic milestone for Nigeria’s design industry, establishing a regulatory and licensing authority to standardise education and certify practitioners in interior design and product invention.

Students also took centre stage during the Student Design Competition, where young creatives reimagined maritime mobility in partnership with Caverton Marine.

The festival’s opening VIP viewing at The Nahous, Federal Palace Hotel, set the tone for an inspiring week of exhibitions, discussions, and collaborations.

Anchored by the Lagos State Government and supported by the Federal Ministry of Tourism, the event was officially opened by Mrs. Toke Benson-Awoyinka, Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, who emphasised that DWL aligns with the government’s vision to make Lagos a global destination for creativity and innovation.

Titi Ogufere, Founder of Design Week Lagos, described this year’s success as a defining moment for African design:

“It has been an extraordinary journey since our debut in 2019. This year reaffirmed our mission that design is a powerful language — one that tells our stories, shapes our economies, and connects Lagos to the global creative conversation.”

Ogufere added that the festival’s growing international visibility underscores the vast economic and cultural potential of Design Tourism across Africa.

Also read: Ciara Lagos Fashion Week Visit Thrills Fans in Nigeria

With its resounding success, Design Week Lagos 2025 firmly positioned Lagos as Africa’s creative capital, strengthening the continent’s emerging reputation as a vibrant hub for innovation, collaboration, and commercial opportunity in global design.

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Events

Rechael Okonkwo’s Carnival Brings Free Healthcare to 5,000 Residents

Published

5 days ago

September 2, 2026

Mariam Balogun

Rechael Okonkwo’s carnival provided free healthcare to over 5,000 Nsukka residents, alongside support for widows and children (more…)

Culture

WAKE UP! Art Exhibition Returns for a Second Act

Published

2 weeks ago

August 27, 2026

Mariam Balogun

The contemporary art and photography exhibition “Wake Up!” is back again for a second edition.

Curated by Awele Onwordi, Wake Up! 2 exhibition pays homage to the Nigerian youth and burgeoning street culture which many of its contributing artists reference in their works.

Also read: Five rising stars battle for 2026 Headies Next Rated

Titled “Young, Wild, Free”, the exhibition celebrates the creativity, resilience, freedom and cultural influence found in Nigerian youth.

Taking aim at societal issues and economic concerns, the exhibit reflects the youth and their refusal to compromise or bow despite all the challenges stacked against them while charting youth culture through art, music, fashion, skateboarding, photography and community.

The exhibition will be held, once again, at the Angel and Muse Gallery at 25 Sumbo Jibowu street off Ribadu Road off Awolowo Road in Ikoyi.

It will open on Saturday 5 September 2026 and will run until 11 September 2026
This second edition which focuses on celebrating, nurturing and exploring artistic practices rooted in youth and street culture will feature works from DENCITY and SUPERGLIDER HOUSE.

Exhibiting artists include Ajilore Kehinde – their work is deeply influenced by Nigerian street culture and works of other artists like Slawn, Peters Ejiro, etc, Chuka Onwordi – graphic designer who embodies themes of death, melancholy and beauty in his works, ZIDYEP – Abuja based creative whose works move between digital and physical spaces through art, graphic design and air brushing , Franklyn Okoye – graphic designer and artist whose works explore themes of identity and hyper-reality, Awele Onwordi – founder & curator of WAKE UP and multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans character art, creative logo design, album covers and more , Oluchi Kogolo – digital illustrator whose work explores street culture, personality and storytelling through a raw and playful visual style and Kozetuo Apeji – multidisciplinary artists who work explores experimental approaches to problem solving through both digital and traditional art forms.

Commenting on the exhibition in her curatorial statement, Awele noted that “despite economic instability, limited opportunities and socio-political challenges, Nigerian youth continue to shape culture through music, fashion, art, skateboarding, raves, photography and community.”

Also read: Five rising stars battle for 2026 Headies Next Rated

Continuing and harping on the raison d’etre of the exhibition she said, “Young, Wild and Free exists to celebrate Nigerian youth while also creating a platform that supports and amplifies them.”