The +234 Art Fair just wrapped in Lagos. A MoMA curator came to see what Nigerians are making.

Four days. Fifteen states. Artists who've never had gallery access. A Senior Collection Specialist from the Museum of Modern Art in New York delivering the keynote.

The third edition of the +234 Art Fair ran March 5-8 at the Ecobank Pan-African Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos. Free entry. Paintings, sculpture, photography, digital art, children's work. The name comes from Nigeria's international dialling code — a statement of intent: Nigerian creativity calling the world, not petitioning it.

The keynote message was blunt. Nigerian art doesn't ask for global relevance. It participates.

The curatorial team spent months travelling across Nigeria finding artists outside established networks. The 2026 theme was inclusivity — not as branding, but as process. New geographies, overlooked voices, artists who wouldn't normally be in this room.

In the same week Boko Haram made slaves in Borno and fuel crossed ₦1,000, Nigerians in Lagos were selling paintings to international collectors and debating art theory with MoMA curators.

Both things are Nigeria. The second one deserves to be named.