By Onyeka Ezike

The Royal Norwegian Embassy, in collaboration with the Nike Art Gallery Abuja has organised a five-day Upcycling Art Workshop as part of its commemoration of World Environment Day 2026. Themed “Because There Is No Planet B,” the intensive programme was held at the Nike Art Gallery in Abuja, with a public exhibition scheduled for June 5, 2026 World Environment Day where works created from discarded materials will be unveiled to the public.

The initiative reflects the Norwegian Embassy’s commitment to promoting environmental sustainability, climate awareness, and community engagement through art. By centering creative practice around reclaimed and discarded materials, the workshop embeds ecological consciousness directly into the artistic process, a philosophy that challenges participants to see waste not as an endpoint, but as raw material.

Central to the project’s realisation is Yusuf Durodola, a multidisciplinary artist and the creative force behind YD Studio in Lagos. Yusuf Durodola have made tremendous contribution to the Upcycling Art Space, he also served as Lead Facilitator.

It was Durodola’s personal recommendation that brought Lagos-based art curator Temitope Oladeji to the Embassy’s attention a testament to the role that professional trust and creative fellowship play in shaping opportunity within Nigeria’s art world.

Temitope Oladeji is a resilient and passionate art curator and Arts Project Coordinator. He is an expert in putting together exhibitions, workshops and Masterclasses for Art tailored events. His responsibilities at the workshop were extensive.

As overall coordinator, he managed the full operational architecture of the event, covering budgeting and procurement in the planning phase, participant selection, physical setup of the workshop venue, and day-to-day coordination across the five-day programme.

Temitope Oladeji also facilitated a dedicated session titled, “The Art of Business and the Business of Art,” which addressed a gap long felt in Nigerian art education the intersection where creative passion meets economic sustainability. For emerging artists who often struggle to translate talent into livelihood, the session offered practical frameworks for thinking about artistic practice as a viable profession.

In an interview, Oladeji reflected on the significance of his role. “This invitation represents more than an assignment for me it is a validation of years spent at the intersection of visual art, creative production, and community building. I have cultivated a reputation not only as a practitioner but as someone who understands how art ecosystems are built and sustained,” he said.

Participants in the workshop were required to possess foundational drawing skills and to be resident in Abuja. In exchange, they received a rare immersive experience: structured mentorship, access to established artists, and the opportunity to exhibit in a setting with diplomatic and international visibility. The long-term effects of that exposure on confidence, professional networks, and career trajectory are difficult to overstate.

The workshop’s broader significance lies in what it signals for Nigeria’s art ecosystem. Vibrant, growing, and increasingly visible on the global stage, the country’s creative sector has often lacked the institutional backing needed to connect artistic ambition with sustained impact. When a foreign diplomatic mission anchors a major cultural programme around Nigerian artists, in a Nigerian city, at a Nigerian gallery, it affirms that local creative excellence is recognised and valued beyond its own borders.

The public exhibition on June 5 will bring the workshop full circle, presenting to the world what participants made from what the world discarded.