Just before the New Year, fresh from the close of another sold-out ART X Lagos, I connect with Tokini Peterside-Schwebig over Google Meet. She joins from Paris, wrapped in winter layers, glowing with the kind of energy that only follows a job well done. Lagos is calling her back soon, but for now she is reflective, upbeat, and proud.
For nearly a decade, Tokini has been quietly but confidently reshaping how African art shows up in the world. As the founder of ART X Lagos, West Africa’s largest art fair, she has built a cultural platform that champions African excellence, nurtures young talent, and positions creativity as one of the continent’s most powerful global currencies.
“I created ART X Lagos because something was missing,” she tells Glamour. “The brilliance I associated with Nigeria and Africa did not have the platform it deserved within the visual arts. Young people needed access. Artists needed support. And the world needed to experience us on our own terms.”
When ART X Lagos launched in 2016, Nigerian creativity was already dominating music, fashion, and film. Afrobeats ruled global charts, Nollywood travelled across continents, and African designers dressed international runways. Visual art, however, remained largely underrepresented at home.
Tokini’s response was bold and deliberate. Instead of exporting African art to gain approval abroad, she anchored the fair in Lagos and invited the world in.
“I wanted people to come to us,” she tells Glamour. “To experience African art in its own environment, surrounded by our culture, our energy, our people.”
That decision paid off. Today, ART X Lagos attracts thousands of visitors from across Africa and around the world. It has become a fixture on the global art calendar, transforming Lagos into a destination for collectors, creatives, and first-time art lovers alike.
ART X Lagos operates at the intersection of culture and influence. Tokini speaks openly about soft power, not as theory, but as lived experience.
“Nigeria has always been a cultural leader on the continent,” she added. “Music, film, fashion, literature. ART X Lagos continues that legacy by bringing Africa together and presenting us with confidence.”
She often references FESTAC ’77, when Nigeria hosted the Black world in a historic celebration of culture and identity. In many ways, ART X Lagos feels like a contemporary continuation of that spirit. “What we send into the world matters,” she shared. “ART X Lagos sends a message of African brilliance, unity, and leadership. It tells a story about who we are and who we are becoming.”
Currently in the global political climate, culture shapes diplomacy, perception, and power, ART X Lagos functions as an unofficial cultural embassy. Africa is the youngest continent in the world, with a median age of 19. Tokini built ART X Lagos with that reality front and centre.“You cannot talk about the future without young people,” she tells Glamour. “They must be part of the vision from the beginning.”
From its earliest editions, ART X Lagos made youth engagement non-negotiable. ART X Live brought together emerging musicians and visual artists, creating a vibrant cultural crossover that drew younger audiences into the fair. The ART X Prize gave emerging artists funding, mentorship, international residencies, and solo exhibitions, allowing them to experiment and grow without fear.“We wanted artists to think boldly,” she explained. “To create without worrying about whether the work was immediately commercial.”
Beyond the prize, ART X Lagos runs development forums for aspiring artists and curators, school programmes in marginalised communities, and international residencies through partnerships like Resonance with the French Embassy.What emerges is a full ecosystem. One that does not just celebrate talent, but actively builds it.
Tokini understands that creativity thrives when it is supported. ART X Lagos has worked intentionally to bring corporate Africa into the cultural conversation, not as sponsors chasing visibility, but as long-term partners.“We built something for Lagos, for Africa,” she tells Glamour. “And by doing that, we created something globally unique.”
Major African institutions have supported the fair consistently, recognising art as both cultural heritage and economic opportunity. Corporate leaders are increasingly becoming collectors and patrons, investing in African art as a form of legacy. “Patronage sustains artists,” she tells Glamour. “It ensures our stories are preserved and told for generations.”
In the process, ART X Lagos has helped redefine art as a serious economic sector, one capable of shaping narratives and generating value at the same time. Ask Tokini about the future, and her confidence is unmistakable. “The next generation coming out of Africa is powerful,” she said. “They are global, informed, creative, and fearless.”
Her focus now lies in ensuring that this generation has access to history, mentorship, and opportunity. Recent exhibitions at ART X Lagos have intentionally connected young audiences with earlier pioneers of African art, grounding innovation in lineage. ART X Lagos will continue to expand its educational initiatives, deepen continental collaboration, and invest in young creatives. The mission remains clear: build something that lasts.
As our conversation ends, one thing feels certain. Tokini Peterside-Schwebig has not only built an art fair. She has built a movement that reflects Africa’s confidence, creativity, and ambition.
And through ART X Lagos, she has shown the world exactly how powerful African culture can be when it leads, rather than follows.
Article by Usher Takudzwa Nyambi
