Nike Art Center
The Nike Art Center is a privately operated contemporary art gallery in Lagos, Nigeria, founded by Nike Okundaye — one of Africa’s most celebrated textile artists — and widely regarded as the largest art gallery in West Africa. Spread across five floors in the Lekki area of Lagos, the centre houses an extraordinary collection of over 8,000 artworks including hand-woven textiles, batik, tie-dye, paintings and sculptures drawn from across Nigeria and the African continent. It functions simultaneously as a gallery, studio, training school and living archive of Nigerian visual culture.
At a glance
- Type
- Contemporary art gallery, textile studio and cultural centre
- Period
- Founded 1983; current Lagos building established 1990s
- Style
- Nigerian contemporary and traditional arts
- Location
- Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria
- Coordinates
- 6.4641° N, 3.4448° E
Overview
Nike Okundaye established her first art centre in Oshogbo in 1983 before relocating and expanding her operations to Lagos, where the Nike Art Center has become a landmark destination for art lovers, collectors and cultural tourists visiting Nigeria. The five-storey building in Lekki is filled floor to ceiling with paintings, adire (Yoruba resist-dyed textiles), weaving, beadwork and mixed-media works by both established and emerging Nigerian artists. The centre also runs free training programmes in traditional textile techniques, preserving crafts that might otherwise be lost.
History
Nike Okundaye — born in 1951 in Ogidi-Ijumu, Kogi State — learned adire and batik from her grandmother and went on to become internationally recognised for her textile art, with works in major collections worldwide. She opened her first centre to provide a space where young Nigerians, especially women, could learn traditional crafts and sell their work. The Lagos centre grew rapidly as her reputation expanded, attracting diplomatic visitors, foreign dignitaries and international collectors. Today the centre is a cornerstone of Lagos’s contemporary cultural scene and a regular stop on cultural tourism itineraries.
What you see
Visitors navigate five floors packed with art in every medium: large-scale textile hangings in indigo and earthy tones, figurative and abstract oil paintings, carved wooden sculptures, beaded ceremonial objects and photography. Nike Okundaye’s own signature batik and adire works are displayed throughout, alongside the output of artists she has trained and supported. Live demonstrations of weaving, batik and tie-dye techniques take place in the studios, and visitors may purchase original works directly from the centre.
Cultural significance
The Nike Art Center occupies a unique position at the intersection of traditional craft preservation and the contemporary African art market, providing a platform for Nigerian artists outside the gallery infrastructure of Europe and North America. As a model of artist-led cultural entrepreneurship, it has influenced a generation of creatives across West Africa. Nike Okundaye’s advocacy for indigenous textile arts has contributed to international recognition of Nigerian visual culture and to broader debates about craft, gender and economic empowerment in Africa.
Practical information
Address: 2 Elegushi Beach Road, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos, Nigeria. The centre is generally open daily; check current opening hours on the official Nike Art Center website or social media before visiting. Entry is free; purchases from the gallery support the artists and training programmes. Guided tours can be arranged in advance.
Getting there
The Nike Art Center is located in Lekki Phase 1, on the Lagos Island–Epe Expressway corridor. From central Lagos Island, it is approximately 20–40 minutes by ride-hailing service (Bolt, Uber) depending on traffic — Lagos traffic can be heavy, especially on Fridays. The Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge connects Lekki to Victoria Island. There is parking available at the centre.