Ecobank Nigeria is taking steps to position Nigeria and local artists to explore opportunities in the global arts market worth $62 billion in revenue.
Speaking yesterday at the commencement of the second edition of the +234 Art Fair, in Lagos, Head of the bank’s SME, Partnerships and Collaboration, Omoboye Odu said aside the revenue benefits for the country and artists, investment in arts will promote Nigeria culture.
She explained that the event was curated by Soto Gallery, in partnership with Ecobank Nigeria Limited and Africa Finance Corporation (AFC).
He said the fair is aimed at pushing local artists on the global scene, noting that the partnership on the art fair which started last year had been a success.
Odu said that the global art market is estimated to be around $62 billion the bulk of that comes from America.
“As a pan African Bank, Ecobank Nigeria is focused on solving financial inclusion challenge in Africa and we are working to ensure that Africa has a key place in the global art market. We are looking at how do we ensure that Nigerian artists who are the most popular in Africa are well represented,” she said.
While noting that the bank is a financial institution, she said its role in promoting art “is to give financial and corporate governance guidance to ensure that they become big on the global scene.”
On her part, Founder of +234 Art Fair and Soto Gallery, Tola Akerele, explained that the fair is to allow the artists to know where they are, locally, regionally and internationally, and be able to understand the market.
Kicking off at the Ecobank Pan African Centre (EPAC), between March 27 and 31, 2025, she said the fair, themed “Championing Patronage in Nigerian Art” will include workshops, panel discussion and fireside chats with experts in industry who will help artists understand more about the business of art.
Stating that the goal is to get the emerging and un-galleried Nigerian artists “to be elevated and be able to contribute to the enjoy the economy. It is all about promoting Nigerian culture, heritage, creative economy, all these different things.
