Events

Design Week Lagos 2025 Celebrates African Creativity

Published

11 months ago

October 26, 2025

Design Week Lagos 2025 celebrates African creativity and innovation, linking design with commerce in a global showcase of art, culture, and craftsmanship

Design Week Lagos 2025 is set to ignite the continent’s creative scene as Africa’s leading festival of design, innovation, and culture returns for another groundbreaking edition.

Also read: Nigeria cultural superpower drive to lead Africa in tourism, creativity

Scheduled to run from October 23 to 28, the festival will transform Lagos into a city-wide hub of inspiration under the theme “Made in Africa: Shaping Industries, Shaping Futures.”

Since its debut in 2019, Design Week Lagos (DWL) has grown into a global platform spotlighting African design excellence and connecting creativity with commerce.

Founded by Titi Ogufere, DWL continues to position Lagos as Africa’s creative capital, where innovation drives industry, tourism, and transformation.

“Design Week Lagos exists to champion the ingenuity and ambition of Africa’s creative community,” Ogufere said. “Each edition reaffirms our belief that design is a powerful language — one that tells our stories, shapes our economies, and connects Lagos to the global conversation on creativity and innovation.”

Now in its seventh year, DWL 2025 will feature over 100 activations, 20,000 visitors, and more than 250 million media impressions. The festival will include exhibitions, installations, talks, and creative experiences across Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Lekki, and Yaba.

Among the highlights are the Made by Design Show, Nigeria’s largest interiors trade exhibition, featuring over 100 premium brands such as Woodstyles, Esorae Homes, ACTIU, Mimz Interiors, and IO Furniture.

The Design Innovation Exhibition will showcase groundbreaking concepts, while the Student Design Competition, organised in partnership with Caverton Marine, challenges young designers to rethink maritime mobility.

The event also includes DWL Talks & Dialogue in Design and Development, bringing together architects, developers, and policymakers.

Featured speakers include Bibi Seck, Victoria Adesanmi, Myles Igwebuike, Yew Kee Cheong (AIA President), and Astrid Hébert (3C Awards).

Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Toke Benson-Awoyinka, praised the initiative, saying it aligns with Lagos State’s goal of positioning itself as a global destination for creative enterprise.

“Design Week is one of the events that celebrate the hard work of young Nigerians doing great things,” she said.

Similarly, Tola Akerele, General Manager of the Wole Soyinka Centre (formerly National Theatre), commended the organisers for sustaining a platform that continues to showcase Nigerian designers pushing boundaries with materials and ideas.

Supported by the Lagos State Government and the Federal Ministry of Tourism, the festival reinforces the growing influence of design tourism in West Africa, where creativity fuels new industries and global recognition.

Also read: La Campagne Tropicana Beach Resort Is A BeaconOf Creativity, Ingenuity – Tourism Minister

With its blend of artistry, commerce, and cultural identity, Design Week Lagos 2025 is not just a festival — it’s a celebration of African design excellence shaping the continent’s creative future.

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Events

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

Published

1 week ago

September 2, 2026

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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.

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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.”

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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.”