The Sociology of the Nigerian Art World: Field, Capital, and Power Relations Among Artists, Galleries, and Institutions

The Nigerian art world constitutes a social field with its own structures of power, forms of capital, and rules of competition among agents including artists, gallerists, critics, curators, collectors, and state institutions. This study applies Bourdieu's field theory to develop an original sociological analysis of the Nigerian art world, examining how symbolic, social, economic, and cultural capital are accumulated, contested, and converted among art world participants. The theoretical contribution is an adaptation and critique of Bourdieu's field concept for the Nigerian context, identifying ways in which the theory requires modification to account for the postcolonial history of Nigerian art institutions, the role of ethnicity and regional identity in art world networking, and the specific dynamics of a market where international validation from Western institutions continues to shape domestic hierarchies of prestige. The empirical component uses elite interviews conducted with 50 art world participants across Lagos, Abuja, Enugu, and Kano, combined with analysis of gallery representation patterns, exhibition records, auction results, and critical writing from 2015 to 2024. Network analysis is applied to map the structure of professional relationships and identify power centres in the field. The theoretical framework draws on Bourdieu's field theory, the sociology of art, and the postcolonial cultural sociology literature. A key original contribution is the identification of what the study terms the diasporic premium as a form of symbolic capital that differentially benefits Nigerian artists with sustained international exposure. Findings contribute to the sociology of art, cultural policy research, and art world self-understanding. Keywords: art world sociology, field theory, Bourdieu, Nigerian art, cultural capital