Spatial Analysis of Art Gallery Distribution and Cultural Access in Nigerian Cities

The geographic distribution of art galleries and cultural venues in Nigerian cities shapes who has access to contemporary visual art and determines whether the benefits of cultural infrastructure are equitably distributed across urban populations. This study conducts a spatial analysis of art gallery distribution and cultural access in Lagos, Kano, and Enugu, employing geographic information systems mapping combined with survey-based assessment of visitor demographics and access patterns. Spatial data on gallery locations are combined with demographic and transport infrastructure data from the National Bureau of Statistics to construct accessibility maps that evaluate the gap between gallery location and community access. Survey data from 300 gallery visitors and 200 non-visitors across the three cities assess awareness, barriers to access, and cultural engagement preferences. The theoretical framework draws on cultural geography, the sociology of cultural participation, and the spatial justice literature applied to cultural infrastructure. The study examines whether art galleries in Nigerian cities are clustered in high-income residential and commercial districts in ways that structurally exclude lower-income communities from arts participation, and whether this clustering is intentional or an unintended consequence of real estate economics. The comparison of a South West, North West, and South East city provides a regionally diverse evidence base for the spatial access analysis. Recent scholarship on cultural access in global cities has increasingly employed spatial analysis, but Nigerian applications of this methodology are rare. Findings contribute to cultural policy research and provide evidence for urban planning authorities on cultural infrastructure equity. Keywords: spatial analysis, gallery distribution, cultural access, Nigerian cities, cultural geography