By Osa Mbonu-Amadi, Arts Editor

After three editions of Artmiabo International Art Festival (AMIAF), the yearly event takes a leap into multiple venue convergence of artists for its 2025 edition. Founder, Miabo Enyadike, takes a self-assessment of AMIAF’s past editions and shot at the global art economy from next year.

Debuted in 2022, AMIAF’s three editions had held consecutively in Lagos, showcasing artists from Africa and the diaspora. The fourth edition, according to Enyadike, holds in Lagos and Abuja simultaneously from April 29-May 1, 2025, with zonal preparations that will generate more participants across Nigeria.

Enyadike, artist and gallerist, applauded AMIAF for priding “itself as a boutique festival.” She explained that the event has successfully filled a vacuum in helping artists showcase their works. “AMIAF basically represents the unrepresented artists and creates an avenue that presents them to the world in a unique fashion, through intense advertising and media exposure,” she said. “We set the tone for the art topic or subject that exhibitions tend to use or follow after the festival, that’s how I have rate our success.”

Apart from providing windows for artists to sell their art, the most important benefit has been the opportunity that exposed the exhibited artworks to the world. “The artists themselves will tell you the number one benefit is exposure to more collectors and increased participation in exhibitions,” Enyadike said. “We are the benchmark for a curated exhibition that is primarily about commerce and recognition of themed Art and Artists.”

For the 2025 edition themed Artconomy 2025: Redefining the Global Art Marketplace, the festival escalates art appreciation into the mainstream economy. “As you know, AMIAF is founded by an international fine artist who understands that now art is used as a formal tool of communication through AI technology, just as art is part of any developed country’s GDP. The success of the creative industry in Nigeria is one that is a topic in the creative and art community around the world and we as fine artists need to tap into that and get that same recognition.”

Enyadike listed the objectives for AMIAF 2025: redefine the global art market with innovative digital art, interactive AI-driven installations, and workshops on NFTs and blockchain; showcase African artists and tech creators at an international level; Connect commerce and creativity to foster sustainable growth; Drive investment opportunities in the Nigerian and African art sectors; and Celebrate Nigeria’s role as a rising global art hub, aligned with Lagos’s reputation as Africa’s leading economic and cultural capital. She said that the 2025 edition will create an art, tech, commerce and investment summit within the ethos of the festival.

Every edition of AMIAF has come with awards for art and culture professionals of repute. The tradition continues with the 2025 edition, listing  three awardees whose careers epitomise the festival’s theme for the year. “Chief Mrs Nike Okundaye, Mrs Bolanle Austen-Peters and Yusuf Durodola have been well vetted,” Enyadike listed the three awardees, explaining that the decision on the three professionals was made purely on merit with no money attached. She disclosed how the selection went through a lot of time to vet the awardees based on individual’s contribution to the economy theme of art being focused by AMIAF 2025. “Chief Okundaye owns the biggest private Art gallery in Africa, with well over 10,000 works of art in her possession. She helps artists sell their works in her gallery, supporting artists in other ways.” Enyadike described Nike as “an international ‘Artpreneur’ in a way that is inspirational to young artists, art collectors, culture observers and the creative community.” According to Enyadike, Nike understands the culture and has a relentless ability to remind us in very clear terms that Art might be aesthetics but it is an economic power and asset.

While Austen-Peters is currently known for his huge success as a filmmaker, her past activities in art gallery business, and entrepreneurship in culture in general earned her the AMIAF award list. Enyadike said that Austen-Peters has been intentional in applying what she described as “the seven marketing Ps” to energise the creative economy in Nigeria. “She has produced, packaged, priced, positioned, placed physical evidence and processed the Nigerian art and culture into an authentic and attractive product that looks good anywhere. That is the Terrakulture brand, and this is privately owned for over 20 years now. It’s been one success story after another and we applaud that. This is a brief definition of her career as an art custodian though a lawyer by profession.”

For being among the new generation of curators whose career is sandwiched between studio practice and the academia, Yusuf Durodola merits the list of the AMIAF 2025 award. Enyadike described Durodola as “arteconomist.” Durodola who has been the curator of two editions of AMIAF also holds Guinness World Record (Largest Painting by Numbers). Enyadike noted that Durodola has built inspirational career worth watching for others, placing himself through as many disciplines such as art education, mentorship, curating, and art advisory, among others. Specifically, Durodola has been selected as one of the awardees for what Enyadike explained as his “ability to apply his craft in a seamless way, understanding the importance of artist to be on top of his game, as a genius.” She cited Durodola’s handling of the curatorial contents of every AMIAF exhibition, particularly “the entire creative processes and pricing were always determined by Yusuf, with his accurate placement and positioning of the artworks to reflect the theme of each of the festivals.” Such contribution to the Nigerian art space, she argued, “cannot be overlooked as it has led to record sales in all the festivals.”