Nigerian

Art

Is

Centre

Stage

in

London

This

Autumn

Frieze London and Frieze Masters coincide with the first UK exhibition to map the rise of modern art in Nigeria. ‘Nigerian Modernism’ (8 October 2025 – 10 May 2026) at Tate Modern highlights 50 trailblazing artists working across 50 years of political and social upheaval: from British colonial rule in the 1940s, the 1960s economic boom and civil war, to reflection on global Nigerian identity at the close of the 20th century.

El Anatsui, a prominent voice in Tate’s show, is celebrated across the city during Frieze Week London, with two concurrent solo exhibitions opening at Goodman Gallery in Mayfair and October Gallery in Bloomsbury. ‘El Anatsui: Go Back and Pick’, a collaboration between the two galleries, marks Anatsui’s return to the medium of wood in new sculptures made from lumber and salvaged timber sourced from the Nsukka Market in Nigeria, where the Ghanaian-born artist has worked for the last five decades. Scratches, burns and lines tessellate across the sculptures’ surfaces, continuing the sense of play and experimentation that has sustained the entirety of Anatsui’s career.