For travelers visiting London in the next several months, the city’s Tate Modern is running the first U.K. exhibition to trace the development of modern art in Nigeria. Spanning a period from indirect colonial rule to national independence and beyond, Nigerian Modernism celebrates an international network of artists who combine African and European traditions, creating a vibrant and colorful artistic legacy.

The exhibition presents the work of more than 50 artists across 50 years, from Ben Enwonwu to El Anatsui. They each responded to Nigeria’s evolving political and social landscape by challenging assumptions and imagining new futures, reclaiming Indigenous traditions to create a new African vision of modernism.

Featuring more than 250 works, including painting, sculpture, textile, ceramics and works on paper from institutions and private collections across Africa, Europe and the United States, Tate Modern offers a rare opportunity to encounter the creative forces who revolutionized modern art in Nigeria.

The exhibition begins in the 1940s with the Nigerian education system under British rule. At the time, many artists were working in Britain, adopting European artistic techniques and witnessing Western modernism’s fixation on African art. The balance between Nigeria’s Indigenous traditions, colonial realities and calls for independence is evident in the practices of these artists, many of whom become involved in arts education and reform.

Nigerian national independence in 1960 inspired a sense of optimism throughout the country, with artistic groups creating art for a new nation. The exhibition explores the legacy of The Zaria Arts Society, whose members included Uche Okeke, Demas Nwoko, Yusuf Grillo, Bruce Onobrakpeya and Jimo Akolo.

Encouraged by teachers, they developed independent, creative styles centered around a concept of “Natural Synthesis,” merging Indigenous forms with modern expression. In the 1960s, amid an economic boom, Lagos became a dynamic cultural hub, inspiring tropical modernist architecture, public art commissions and nightclubs filled with Highlife music.

The late 1950s saw the emergence of the New Sacred Art Movement, founded by Austrian born artist Susanne Wenger, who drew on Yoruba deities and beliefs to explore the ritual power of art. The outbreak of the Nigerian Civil War in 1967 caused a cultural and political crisis for many artists. The exhibition highlights the revival of ‘uli’ – linear Igbo designs, which can be decorative or represent natural elements and everyday objects.

The exhibition concludes with a spotlight on Uzo Egonu, exploring how artists toward the end of the 20th century respond to global Nigerian identities. Living in Britain since the 1940s, Egonu’s work was informed by his perspective as an expatriate, imbuing his work with childhood memories and feelings of nostalgia, as well as responses to current events observed from overseas.

The exhibition brings together Egonu’s Stateless People paintings, the first time these works have been reunited in 40 years. Begun in 1980, the series reflects on nationhood and cultural identity. Depicting a single figure in each painting — a musician, artist and writer — Egonu represents the growing visibility of Nigeria’s diaspora around the world. The series sums up the tension between national identity and artistic independence which shapes Nigeria’s story of modern art.

The Nigerian Modernism exhibit at Tate Modern will run through May 10, 2026.