Insecurity Won’t Stop Us’: Art Arising Festival Opens in Lagos Despite Global Tensions

The Art Arising Art Festival will go ahead at the National Museum, Onikan, Lagos, starting April 18, despite initial doubts caused by insecurity, fuel prices, and Middle East tensions, organisers say.

Juliet Pearce, Director of Events for Art Alliance 51 Group, said the festival faced major setbacks during planning. Insecurity made it difficult for participants outside Lagos to commit, while rising fuel costs and fears of a global conflict linked to tensions at the Straits of Hormuz led some artists to consider pulling out.

At the planning stage, insecurity was the major limiting factor preventing participants living outside Lagos to be actively involved,” Pearce said in a statement. “As tensions escalated at the Straits of Hormuz, they talked about pulling out of the festival. Global conflicts had impacted us at last. But we will be at National Museum, from April 18, exhibiting, performing and thanking God.

The group was encouraged by the World Bank’s projected 4.2% economic growth for Nigeria between 2026 and 2028, which motivated members to press on. Many prospective participants requested more time to prepare, prompting organisers to shift the festival date.

We resolved to present the Art Arising Art Festival not because we have the funds to do it but because we consider it our responsibility to maintain Nigeria’s one redeeming reputation — that of producing world-class art and artists,” Pearce explained.

She thanked Mr Adewale Maja Pearce, Prof Ebun Clark, and Madam Juliana Edewor for sponsoring some participants.

Art Alliance 51 Group initially planned to hold the festival biennially, with past editions in 2018 and 2021. Despite “socio-economic and political turbulence,” the group refused to cancel. Only three participants responded to the first call for the 2025 edition, but organisers chose to postpone rather than abandon the event.

At the risk of looking unreliable and inefficient, we resolved to postpone. It was a difficult decision,” Pearce said. “We settled for the superior argument that what we present is larger than a group exhibition, it is a festival. Therefore, we must give the performers time to be prepared. Thus, we waited for the artists to come on board.”