The Nike Art Gallery is a white building off the Lekki-Epe Expressway where paintings, carvings, beadwork and indigo cloth fill every floor, and almost everything on the walls can be bought. What visitors struggle to find is the practical side. Opening times are repeated differently from site to site, the official website publishes none, and people want to know whether they can photograph the work, whether they can bargain and how a large canvas gets home.
The answers below cover the hours and entry position, the address and the best ways into Ikate, what you will see on each kind of wall, realistic price signals, photography and tipping etiquette, and the other centres run by the founder’s foundation.
Nike Art Gallery Opening Hours and Entry Fee
Listings usually give the Nike Art Gallery opening hours as 10am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday, with Sunday opening later, commonly from 1pm to 6pm. The foundation’s own contact page publishes an address and email but no hours, so treat these times as typical rather than guaranteed. Public holidays and events can change them.
Walking in is free. Visitor accounts and most travel listings agree on this, so there is no Nike Art Gallery entry fee, also called the entrance fee, to budget for. Your real costs are a tip for your guide, food and water, and whatever you decide to buy.
Group visits, workshops and organised tours are separate. The foundation’s tour page describes a Lagos programme that can include an art-district city tour, classes and workshops, a performance by the Nike Cultural Troupe, art talks and bed-and-breakfast accommodation. Bookings go through an online form and no prices are published, so ask for a written quotation before you pay anyone.
To confirm hours or arrange a group, email the Lagos gallery at lagos@nikeartfoundation.com, the address published on the foundation’s contact page. The same page lists general hotlines that are not assigned to any one centre.
Where Is Nike Art Gallery in Lekki?
The Nike Art Gallery location, as the foundation gives it, is 2 Nike Art Gallery Road, Ikate, by Legacy Place, on the Lekki-Epe Expressway. Older listings write it as 2 Elegushi Road and mention “the third roundabout”. Some roundabouts on this stretch of expressway were replaced with traffic lights from 2016, so do not count roundabouts. Search for Nike Art Gallery Lekki on your map or ride-hailing app and follow the pin to the gate.
From Victoria Island and Ikoyi
A taxi or ride-hailing car is the simplest option. If you start in Ikoyi, our Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge guide explains the crossing that puts you on the Lekki side. After that you join the Lekki-Epe Expressway and head east to Ikate. The same trip can take much longer on a weekday evening, so late morning is a safer slot.
From the Mainland
Mainland visitors from Ikeja, Yaba or Surulere often cross by Third Mainland Bridge and then continue through Lekki. Our Third Mainland Bridge traffic guide covers the approaches and what to do when the bridge is slow. Leave early, and book the return pickup before evening traffic builds up.
By Bus
Buses heading to Lekki or Ajah run along the expressway. Ask the conductor for the Ikate or Elegushi stop, then take a short walk or a keke to the gallery gate. Confirm the stop with a local before you board, because stops along this road are informal and drivers sometimes skip them.
What Is Inside the Nike Art Gallery
Most sources describe the Nike Art Gallery Lagos building as five storeys, although some visitors count four. Estimates of the collection run to roughly 8,000 pieces in the building, while the foundation says its centres together hold about 15,000 artworks. Displays are not fixed, so treat the sections below as a guide to types of work rather than a floor plan.
The ground floor holds the visitor desk, seating, and a first dense wall of sculpture and painting. The four upper floors are packed with canvases, carvings, beadwork and textiles.
Paintings and Sculpture
Canvases cover most of the wall space, and sculpture stands on the landings and in the corners. The foundation trains artists in wood sculpture, relief carving, painting, mosaic and beadwork, and the building reflects those disciplines.
Adire, Batik and Textiles
Textiles are Mama Nike’s own speciality. You will find adire (resist-dyed indigo cloth), batik, embroidery and woven pieces, shown as art and sometimes sold by the length. This is the part of the building that connects most directly to the founder’s training.
Beadwork and the Shop
Beadwork sits alongside the paintings. A shop on the property sells handmade goods, so it is the easiest place to buy something small if a canvas is beyond your budget.
Stairs, Heat and Time
Visitor guides report that there is no lift, so the upper floors mean several flights of stairs and are not suitable for wheelchair users. Air conditioning is weaker higher up, and the top floors get stuffy during a power cut. Wear flat shoes and allow at least two hours.
Buying Art: Prices, Payment and Shipping
Every piece on the walls is for sale, and price depends on the artist, size and medium. One international guide puts artwork at anything from a few hundred dollars to more than USD 20,000. The foundation’s online adire shop lists batik and tie-dye caftans at roughly ₦305,000 to ₦690,000, which gives a sense of how textiles are priced. These are guides only, because prices change and labels are not always on the work.
Ask for the price and the artist’s name before you fall in love with a piece. This is a gallery, not a market stall, so do not haggle hard. A polite question about flexibility is fair, especially if you are buying several pieces and paying at once. If you want a bargaining experience, the Lekki Arts and Crafts Market nearby is built for it.
On payment, reports say cash is accepted and that foreign cards have been unreliable in the past. Confirm the payment method, including bank transfer, before you commit to a large purchase, and collect a receipt that names the work and the artist.
For a canvas, ask staff to remove it from the stretcher and roll it paint side out in a tube. Never fold it, and keep it out of a hot car boot. Nigeria has controlled the export of works of art since its antiquities laws, and the National Commission for Museums and Monuments is the body to ask about current rules, so check with the gallery and the commission which paperwork applies before you fly out with a piece. Also check your airline’s rules on long items.
Photography, Guides and Etiquette
Photography rules here have been strict for years, so Nike Art Gallery photos of the artwork need care. A visitor guide on Atlas Obscura says you may photograph artwork only if you are in the frame yourself. Because rules can change, ask at the desk before you take your phone out. For pre-wedding shoots, brand content or video, write to management in advance and agree any condition before the day.
Guides walk most visitors round and explain key pieces. Individual guides usually work for tips, while group tours are priced by group size. Dancers sometimes perform Yoruba dances, and the foundation’s tour page lists the Nike Cultural Troupe among its activities. Do not plan around meeting Mama Nike herself, because no schedule of her appearances is published.
Keep bags close on narrow stairs, do not touch canvases or cloth unless invited, and keep your voice low on the upper floors.
Mama Nike and the Other Nike Centres
The Nike Art Gallery owner is its founder, Chief Nike Davies-Okundaye, known as Mama Nike. She was born on 23 May 1951 in Ogidi, Kogi State, and spent part of her youth in Osogbo. She learnt weaving from her great-grandmother and grew up around indigo dyeing and adire. Her first solo exhibition was at the Goethe Institute in Lagos in 1968, and she received an honorary doctorate from Rhodes University in April 2019. Her work was also in a 2019 Smithsonian exhibition of contemporary women artists of Africa.
The Lagos gallery is one of several centres. According to the foundation, the Osogbo centre opened in 1983, the Ogidi-Ijumu textile workshop in 1996, the Abuja centre in 2002 and the Lagos gallery in 2008.
The Lagos building is the one described here. If you are looking for the Nike Art Gallery Abuja, contact the foundation to confirm whether and when that centre receives visitors. Newer spaces followed at Akoda in Osun State, at Olumo Rock in Abeokuta and at Federal University Lokoja, where a March 2026 newspaper report described the unveiling of the Nike Institute of African Heritage and Museum Studies and its gallery.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Nike Art Gallery the Same as the Lekki Arts and Crafts Market?
No. The gallery is a single building with curated work and calmer selling. The market is a separate cluster of traders’ stalls on the same expressway, where haggling is expected. Many visitors see both on one afternoon, and our guide to fun places in Lekki can help you fill the rest of the day.
How Long Should I Plan for a Visit?
Allow at least two hours. Buyers, students and anyone taking a guide through every floor often stay much longer, so do not book a tight appointment straight afterwards.
Can I Book a Tour or Workshop in Advance?
Yes. The foundation’s tour page links to an online booking form, and the Lagos programme lists classes, workshops and art talks. Prices are not published, so ask what is included and get the amount in writing.
Is the Gallery Suitable for Children and Wheelchair Users?
Children are welcome, but keep small hands away from the work. Wheelchair users will mostly see the ground floor because there is no lift reported for the upper levels.
Before You Set Off for Ikate
Confirm the day’s hours by email, eat before you arrive and carry water for the stairs. Bring cash for tips and small purchases, ask about payment before you commit to a larger piece, and ask before you photograph anything. Plan the return pickup before you go in, because the expressway slows sharply once the evening rush starts.
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