By Chioma Obinagwam
Access Holdings Plc and Coronation Group hosted a private reception at Tate Modern in London to mark the enduring impact of the Nigerian Modernism exhibition, Confiance News has learned.
The event, held on July 1, 2026, brought together prominent voices from business, diplomacy, academia and the arts to reflect on what has been described as one of the most significant showcases of African art in the gallery’s recent history.
According to details obtained by Confiance News, the exhibition ran in partnership with Tate Modern from October 10, 2025 to May 8, 2026, and featured close to 300 works by more than 50 artists spanning five decades of Nigerian creative production. The collection, which spanned painting, sculpture, textiles, ceramics and works on paper, traced the trajectory of modern Nigerian art from the 1940s through the post-independence years.
Confiance News gathered that the exhibition attracted over 180,000 visitors during its run, with its influence extending further through global media coverage, digital engagement and educational programming that reached hundreds of millions worldwide.
Speaking at the reception, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, CFR, Chairman of Access Holdings and Coronation Group, highlighted the exhibition’s impact on young people as among its most lasting achievements. He noted that nearly 2,800 students, many of African heritage, had the opportunity to engage directly with the artworks at Tate Modern, an experience he said deepened their sense of identity and pride in their heritage.
Aig-Imoukhuede also pointed to the exhibition’s diplomatic weight, recalling that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu included a private tour of Nigerian Modernism during his state visit to London, an occasion he described as a demonstration of culture’s role in strengthening national identity and global engagement.
In remarks sighted by Confiance News, Karin Hinsbo, Interim Director of Tate Modern, described the exhibition as a story never before told in a UK gallery, calling it an international network of artists whose work bridged African and European traditions across five decades.
A standout feature of the exhibition, Confiance News confirmed, was the inclusion of seven historic wooden sculptures by renowned artist Ben Enwonwu, originally commissioned in 1960 for London’s Daily Mirror and now held in the Access Holdings Art Collection.
Although the exhibition has since closed, its organisers say its influence will continue to shape conversations on African creativity, cultural diplomacy and modern identity for years to come.
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