Soto Gallery’s +234 Fair Champions Art Patronage

Post the success of the first +234 Fair, Soto Gallery returns in a second edition with focus on championing art patronage as means of engendering a sustainable art industry in Nigeria.

Held March 26 to 31, 2025 in Victoria Island, Lagos, the fair themed Championing Patronage in Nigeria Art, the fair provides a significant platform for young, unrepresented Nigerian artists, enabling them to showcase their work locally and internationally.

This it did through the convening of art patrons and collectors, who are quietly but assuredly moving the Nigerian art scene forward to view the hundreds of works by 160 emerging artists spanning digital arts, photography, 3D sculpture, 2D fine arts and traditional art pieces.

“We are looking at how we can support artists, and there are many ways to do that. one of the ways to support them is by giving them space to showcase their works, mentorship, while also helping them with finances.

“We are looking at different ideals. Because we have so many artists in Nigeria, we want to encourage them,” said Mrs Tola Akerele, founder of +234 Fair.

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Head of SME, EcoBank, Omoboye Odu, part sponsors of the fair, said the bank resolving Africa’s financial exclusion problem through the support of platforms like +234 Fair where local players can evolve to global players.

“We do by this working with different SMEs and businesses across various sectors, and one of the strongest sectors we have identified is the creative sector. We have seen the success of Afrobeats,

Nollywood and now the art space. The art market is worth an estimate of $70 billion globally, with North America attributed the largest share. We want to reposition the art industry to be a driving force in African arts and beyond, because we have the talent and creative innovations equal to North America.

A key feature of the exhibition this year is the Children’s Gallery, specifically curated for children and younger audience aimed at instilling in students the importance of art in society. “The idea is to have a platform where children can build confidence in the use of their talents to express themselves through arts,” said founder of the Children’s Arts Gallery, Segun Oni.

Established in 2024, +234 Fair 2025 is held in partnership EcoBank Nigeria Limited, African Finance Corporation (AFC), and Craneburg Construction.