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Since its launch in 2016, the Access ART X Prize has identified and elevated emerging talents in Nigeria and, more recently, expanded its reach to the African diaspora, widening its impact and scope. The Prize has been judged each year by an esteemed panel that has included artists and cultural practitioners such as Ibrahim Mahama, Yinka Shonibare CBE, Professor Bruce Onobrakpeya, Marie-Ann Yemsi, Sokari Douglas Camp CBE, Emeka Ogboh, Wura-Natasha Ogunji and Zina Saro-Wiwa.

Previous Prize Winners include: 

2023: Julius Agbaje (Nigeria Award); Shabu Mwangi (Africa/Diaspora Award)

2022: Dafe Oboro (Nigeria Award); Belinda Kazeem-Kaminski (Africa/Diaspora Award)

2021: Chigozie Obi

2019: Etinosa Yvonne

2018: Bolatito Aderemi-Ibitola 

2017: Habeeb Andu 

2016: Patrick Akpojotor

In 2024, ART X Lagos celebrated the journeys of its past Prize Winners, and acknowledged their collective impact and aims to inspire future generations of African artists to pursue excellence and social engagement. The remarkable achievements of these artists reinforce the strength of African creativity and its power to shape and define a globally relevant future.

The Access ART X Prize was created by ART X Lagos and is sponsored by Access Holdings.

Embodying a vision of hope, freedom, and new possibilities, ART X Lagos 2024 provided an ideal backdrop for honouring the progress of past Prize Winners whose influential contributions resonate both locally and globally. 

In 2024, the Access ART X Prize presented a retrospective of the Prize Winners and the lasting legacy of the experience on their development, their networks, and the arts landscape as a whole. The project presented a window into how far they have travelled since the Prize – celebrating the major milestones and special moments that reflect the exponential growth in the ambition of the Prize itself.

Fairgoers were invited to be a part of a celebration of emergence and excellence, as we looked back on eight monumental years of the Access ART X Prize.

In 2024, ART X Lagos and Access Holdings introduced the inaugural Alumni Impact Award – honouring one past winner whose artistic journey exemplifies the Prize’s mission of continuous growth and cultural resonance. The Alumni Impact Award reinforced the fair’s dedication to creating sustained artistic growth across the African continent.

This year’s Award was presented to Etinosa Yvonne, (2019 Access ART X Prize Winner), an artist whose work reflects boldness, creativity, and dedication to social discourse.

‘What May Come - Heaven or Dystopia?’‍

‍In alignment with the 2024 theme, Promised Lands, 2023 Prize Winners Shabu Mwangi and Julius Agbaje created a space—both physical and metaphorical—centered around the concept of ‘What May Come’. Through a mix of paintings and installations, they offered the audience a glimpse into a possible future, mirroring and confronting the complexities of contemporary African societies while envisioning the world they long for. ‍

Access ART X Prize: What May Come was curated by Jumoke Sanwo – ART X Talent Advancement Programs Curator​​​​.