Precious Obogo
Coronation Art Gallery has officially opened The Value of Belief — Collectors, Conviction and the Making of Cultural Futures, welcoming guests to an evening that marked the beginning of its most ambitious exhibition programme to date. The opening at Coronation Plaza, Victoria Island, Lagos, brought together senior executives across the Group, business leaders, collectors, artists, and media, and was also graced by Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede CFR, Chairman of Coronation Group, and members of the Board.
The exhibition presents works from the private collections of three distinguished Nigerian collector-patrons — Kayode Adegbola, Kola Aina, and Seyi Ajibola — whose decades of deliberate, conviction-led collecting have helped shape the contemporary Nigerian art landscape. Each has invested not only in the works they acquire, but in the artists, communities and cultural infrastructure that allow African creativity to flourish. Their collections, spanning painting, sculpture, and mixed media, reflect a long view of value that the exhibition frames as both a cultural and an investment argument.
The Value of Belief draws a direct line between the conviction required of a serious collector and the conviction at the heart of sound, long-term investment — positioning patronage and financial stewardship not as separate instincts, but as expressions of the same deeply held belief in human potential.
Kayode Akindele, Managing Partner, Coronation Capital, said: “Last night reminded us why spaces like this matter. The conversations in that room, between collectors, artists, clients and executives, could not have happened anywhere else. The Value of Belief is ultimately about conviction: the willingness to see worth before the world agrees, to commit before there is consensus, and to hold on long enough for something lasting to take shape. That is what the collectors in this exhibition have done for Nigerian art, and it is not far from what we do for a living. We are proud to have given that conviction a room.”
The opening is the first in a sustained three-month sequence of engagements built around the exhibition. Programming continues through November 2026 with private viewings for clients, a curated university students’ tour, and a closing webinar with the curator and featured collectors. The exhibition remains open to the public throughout its run — the first time Coronation Art Gallery has structured a programme of this depth around a single exhibition.
Ngozi Akinyele, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, Coronation Group, said: “At Coronation, we have always believed that prosperity is measured in more than financial returns. What we preserve, the talent we enable, the stories we carry forward and the legacies we leave — these are equally real expressions of wealth. The Value of Belief is one of the clearest statements we have made about who we are and what we stand for. To have our Chairman and Board members present for the opening, alongside the collectors, artists and clients who made the evening what it was, means a great deal to all of us.”
The opening follows a Press View held on 21 August, which brought together more than 70 journalists and media stakeholders — including members of the Capital Markets Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CAMCAN), as well as entertainment, arts, culture, and business press. The Coronation Art Gallery was established to serve as a repository for African artistic creation, to promote research, education, and appreciation of art, and to use its collection as a storytelling, investing, and elevating tool. The Gallery has previously welcomed prominent figures from business, government, diplomacy, and the creative sector, including Former Minister of Finance, Wale Edun; JoEllen Gorg, Acting Consul General, US Embassy in Nigeria; Nimi Akinkugbe; Former Ambassador of Nigeria to Greece, Nduka Obaigbena, Chairman, This Day Media Group and Arise News; Gbenga Oyebode MFR; and Femi Okunsanya, alongside leading artists, collectors, and cultural practitioners. The Value of Belief extends this tradition while widening engagement beyond traditional gallery audiences, reflecting Coronation’s commitment to making art more accessible and to building meaningful connections between artists, collectors, students, clients and the wider public. The Value of Belief runs through November 2026.