Nigeria makes its debut at the London Design Biennale in June 2025 with Hopes and Impediments, an official national pavilion supported by the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy.
This marks a pivotal moment for Nigeria’s creative industries on the world stage as it is Nigeria’s first government-backed project at the global design event.
Curated and designed by Nigerian-American designer, researcher, and social innovator Myles Igwebuike with production and programming led by Itohan Barlow Ndukuba, Founder of Culture Lab Africa, the Nigerian Pavilion explores identity, heritage, and the future of design from a Nigerian perspective. The project reflects Nigeria’s growing investment in its creative industries and international cultural presence.
At the core of this exploration is Lejja, a historic community in Enugu State, known for its ancient iron-smelting technology one of the world’s earliest metallurgical innovations.
Through a multi-sensory experience combining ethnographic research, advanced digital tools, and speculative architectural interventions, the Pavilion repositions Lejja as a conceptual “social capital” of Nigeria, highlighting its overlooked contributions to governance, gender relations, and ecological sustainability.
By foregrounding Lejja’s legacy, the Pavilion makes a compelling case for design as an active agent of historical reclamation.
Speaking on the Biennale’s overarching theme, Myles Igwebuike, curator and designer of the pavilion said, “this Pavilion is an intellectual and spatial provocation.
By dissolving the artificial boundaries between science and the humanities, we articulate a new paradigm, one that reclaims indigenous technologies as legitimate epistemological tools, capable of informing contemporary discourse on design, history, and identity”.
Itohan Barlow, Founder of design and creative consultancy Culture Lab Africa, in her remarks, said, “The vision for Nigeria’s creative economy is rooted in empowering our West African designers and entrepreneurs to lead not only in innovation, but in storytelling that defines our true identity on the global stage.”
At a point in time when Nigeria’s creative economy is experiencing an unprecedented transformation, this milestone reflects the country’s growing national commitment to design as a force for cultural leadership and international dialogue.
Hannatu Musawa, Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, added saying: “The Nigerian Pavilion serves as a pivotal opportunity to showcase Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage, design innovation, and creative excellence on an international stage, aligning with the Ministy’s Nigeria Destination 2030 vision.”
As Nigeria continues to lead a global creative renaissance, spanning music, art, fashion, and design, Hopes and Impediments underscores the country’s growing influence in shaping global creative economies.Beyond London, the Nigerian Pavilion will travel to two additional international venues across Europe and the Middle East before returning to Nigeria.
This initiative is designed to leave a lasting impact with plans for Sustainable Design Workshops and capacity building trainings aimed at equipping the next generation of Nigerian designers and entrepreneurs with the tools to push the boundaries of their practice.
Tribune
