ABUJA — A multidisciplinary exhibition, Vestige to Valour: The Art of Becoming, has brought together visual art, wearable art, spoken word and creative mentorship in an exploration of personal transformation through artistic expression.

The exhibition, presented by Dr Victoria Olatunde on August 8, 2026, at Acadarrri, 2XL Mall, Gwarinpa, Abuja, was conceived around Vestige to Valour™, a creative methodology developed by Olatunde to explore personal transformation through creativity.

The methodology uses creative expression to examine the movement from experiences and remnants of the past towards strength, possibility and personal development.

Rather than focusing solely on finished artworks, the exhibition incorporated mentorship, concept development and collaborative practice into the creative process.

Olatunde worked with participating artists through mentorship, creative direction and concept development, with some of the exhibited works produced through collaborative development and co-creation.

Other works were independently created by participating artists and selected for their thematic connection to the Vestige to Valour™ concept, allowing individual artistic practices to be presented alongside collaboratively developed pieces.

The exhibition also featured wearable art, extending beyond conventional paintings and other fine art forms.

Working with alumni of Vientriel School, Olatunde developed and directed a collection of concept-driven garments representing different stages of the transformation process.

Through fabric, construction, alteration and symbolism, the wearable works explored various aspects of personal change and development.

Olatunde said the project was driven by an interest in the transformative possibilities of the creative process.

“For me, creativity can go beyond producing something beautiful. I am interested in what happens to people during the process of creating, what they confront, what they release, what they discover and what they become. Vestige to Valour grew from that thinking,” she said.

Spoken word was also incorporated into the exhibition, extending its exploration of transformation into performance and voice.

The project positioned Olatunde in multiple roles as a creative practitioner, mentor, creative director and curator, while giving participating creatives an opportunity to develop and publicly present works emerging from individual and collaborative processes.

A major component of the initiative was its focus on creative empowerment. The Victoria Olatunde Foundation sponsored the exhibition and fully funded the wearable-art projects undertaken by participating Vientriel School alumni.

Olatunde said the initiative was designed to help emerging creatives develop their abilities and gain opportunities to present their work publicly.

“Mentorship, for me, should eventually produce independence. I want people to encounter their own creative capacity, develop it seriously and have opportunities to place what they create before the world,” she said.

Project Adviser to Vestige to Valour™, Imal Silva, described the initiative as more than an art and fashion exhibition, saying it represented a creative development model built around mentorship, practical support and collaboration.

“Vestige to Valour™ is significant because it represents far more than the presentation of art and fashion. It is the expression of a creative development model that Dr Victoria Olatunde has built and refined over many years,” Silva said.

He said Olatunde had, over the years, combined creative mentorship, practical support and entrepreneurial development to help emerging creatives develop their talents and pursue sustainable creative enterprise.

Silva described Olatunde as “a strategic creative ecosystem builder,” adding that the exhibition demonstrated what sustained investment in people and creativity could produce.

The Abuja exhibition marked another stage in the development of Vestige to Valour™ as a creative methodology and platform for artistic development, collaboration and public presentation.