Africa is fast becoming a center of focus when it comes to creativity. In recent years, there has been a surge in the recognition of Nigerian creatives, most especially in the art world. With their talents backed by hard work, they have continued to challenge and redefine what being an African creative entails. This has caught the eyes of many, not only in Africa but globally. This piece will explore Nigerian creatives who have successfully worked their way into the global market, paving the way for other artists alike.

ART
Nigeria has grown recognizably for its creativity most especially in the art world. Ranging from painting to sculpting to woodwork and many more. There has been widespread recognition of Nigerian artists globally. Amongst them is Njideka Akunyili Crosby, a Nigerian visual artist who lives and works in Los Angeles, USA. She is well known for her mixed-media painting that features familiar domestic experiences that we see in our everyday life. 

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Her paintings are uniquely merged with cutouts from Nigerian magazines, her personal images, photographs and acrylic paint. This style emerged from her love for photographs and magazines. In an interview with Ikechukwu Onyewuenyi, Njideka affirms “I really do love collecting pictures and mapping the country through photographs, and mapping how fashion has altered.” With the help of photographs, she is constantly looking for, and trying to remember, such weighted things to use in her art.

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Njideka’s paintings give a familiar feel of home and with a better look into the detailing, we can see our everyday life. She was awarded Financial Times' Women of the Year, 2016, alongside being shortlisted for the Future Generation Art Prize, 2017. She is the beneficiary of the 2020 Carnegie Corporation “Great Immigrant, Great American” Award, the 2019 African Art Award, the 2016 Prix Canson Prize, the 2015 Foreign Policy's Leading 100 Global Thinkers of 2015 Prize, the 2015 Next Generation Prize, New Museum of Contemporary Art; the 2015 Joyce Alexander Wein Artist Prize, and the 2014 Smithsonian American Art Museum's James Dicke Contemporary Art Prize.
Her works are held in major museums including Yale University Art Gallery, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, The Studio Museum in Harlem, The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Tate, The Norton Museum of Art, Zeitz MOCAA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, MOMA, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Njideka’s success wasn't hers alone, it was a win for many other artists. It served as a source of hope and inspiration to emerging artists across Nigeria. 

FILM
Can growth in the film industry be spoken about without mentioning the name Akinola Davies Jr.? He is a Nigerian filmmaker who began his journey in filmmaking as early as 2017. He specializes majorly in telling stories on growth, Africanism and culture. In 2020, he was recognized as one of Screen Daily’s “Stars of Tomorrow” and was selected for Berlinale Talents in 2020. This was not just a win for him; it was a feat shared by other Nigerian creatives in the film industry.

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His short film Lizard (2020), co-written with his brother Wale Davies, won the Grand Jury Prize for Short Film at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. This was a first for any Nigerian production. It also earned a BAFTA nomination for Best British Short Film, along with recognition from the London Critics’ Circle and screenings at the BFI London and Raindance Film Festivals.
His film, My Father’s Shadow, which premiered on 18 May, 2025, also received appraisals.The film went on to receive 12 nominations for the British Independent Film Awards 2025, including best British independent film and director. It had its world premiere at the Un Certain Regarde section of the Cannes Film Festival, 2025. It is the first ever Nigerian Film to be selected for the official selection made by the festival.   
Akinola Davies over the years, has been celebrated in a Royal Mint campaign and spotlighted by fashion giants like Gucci, Kenzo, Louis Vuitton, showing his impact beyond cinema. His hard work and creative storytelling is not just entertaining but it brings about reflection. This is not just a small feat conquered by an African creative, it paves way for uprising Filmmakers.

PHOTOGRAPHY
Photography, in Africa, is the future. It’s how we tell our everyday story and express our being. There are many who have taken it upon themselves to tell the stories of Africa through their lens in ways words can’t describe. We would see through the lens of STEPHEN TAYO, a Nigerian Photographer who takes pride in showing us the everyday Lagos street and identity.

His works have been featured on Vogue US, British Vogue, New York Times, Dazed, Teen Vogue, CNN, ArtNews, Vice, OkayAfrica and more.
He is also known for his body of work, IBEJI, which was exhibited at ReleArtGallery.

His exhibition “What If” at KO Gallery in Lagos centered on drag artistry and received international coverage, highlighting resilience and creative expression amid legal and social tensions. We could go on and on, talking about his recognitions in the global space but we can’t help but see through his lens that truly, depth is indeed found in simplicity.
With these creatives mentioned above and many other African creatives doing well in their various fields, they prove that global relevance is not a far fetched dream but a lived reality. This gives hope, strength and confidence to creatives and the emerging ones. It is clear that Africa is on the verge of being crowned the center of creativity.
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