The Badagry Young Contemporaries (BYC), an initiative of the Badagry Contemporary Art Foundation, has firmly established its mission to reshape the cultural and artistic narrative of its historic community. Their second annual group exhibition, a significant event within Nigeria's art ecosystem, served as a powerful reaffirmation of this commitment.
Gbeto: A Multifaceted Ode to Human Experience
Curated by Paul Ayihawu, the exhibition titled 'Gbeto: An ode to humanism' brought together nine talented artists at the Heritage Museum in Badagry, Lagos. The show ran from December 21, 2025, to January 10, 2026, offering a profound exploration of history, spirituality, and modern realities from deeply community-centered perspectives. The exhibiting artists were Muyideen Olayinka, Mariam Olubunmi, Andrew Nathan, Larry The Great, Gbolahan Shonibare, Sejiro Mesewaku, Muktar Mustafa, Emenandu Moses, and Ogunshola Clinton.
Each artist contributed a unique voice to the collective narrative. Muyideen Olayinka's work, rooted in observation, translates themes of memory and everyday labour into visual stories of resilience. Mariam Olubunmi employs a striking pyro-collage technique on mirrors, creating portraits that explore spirituality as an everyday practice deeply informed by Ogu philosophy and the concept of 'Mau'—the divine within.
Confronting History and Celebrating Tradition
The exhibition did not shy away from difficult histories. Andrew Nathan's paintings confront the trauma of the transatlantic slave trade with unflinching intensity, using expressive faces and recurring red hues to evoke pain and resistance. In contrast, Sejiro Mesewaku's work vibrantly translates the rhythm and movement of Badagry's performative traditions onto canvas, positioning cultural heritage as a dynamic, living archive essential to contemporary identity.
Adding a modern, urban dimension, pop graffiti artist Larry The Great infused the show with bold, vibrant visuals. His work, drawing from street culture, meditates on themes of patience and self-becoming, reflecting the adaptable nature of modern Ogu and Nigerian identities.
Expanding Reach and Institutional Recognition
The 2025 programming for BYC extended beyond Badagry. Prior to the December exhibition, the group held the BYC Art Salon at the British Council Nigeria in Lagos on November 22 and 23, 2025. This event, supported by the British Council, provided a platform for emerging artists and featured an artist talk on 'Art as a Tool for Community Building and Cultural Preservation.'
The main exhibition received significant backing from the Adegbola Art Project and the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture. This support underscores a growing institutional recognition of Badagry's immense cultural potential and marks a positive step toward decentralizing the often Lagos-centric narrative of Nigerian art.
In his statement, curator Paul Ayihawu emphasized the long-term vision: 'This second annual exhibition is about continuity—showing that Badagry has stories to tell, artists to nurture, and ideas that matter within national and global conversations.' Through painting, mixed media, and digital works, the BYC successfully positions Badagry not as a peripheral location, but as a vital and active site of contemporary cultural production and critical thought, where memory, community, and art intersect to imagine more inclusive futures.
