Empirical Study of the Representation of Nigerian Identities in International Contemporary Art Exhibitions

How Nigerian cultural identities are represented in international contemporary art exhibitions shapes global understanding of Nigeria's creative culture and influences the reception of Nigerian artists in international markets, and empirical examination of these representation patterns addresses an important gap in postcolonial visual culture scholarship. This study empirically examined the representation of Nigerian cultural identities in international contemporary art exhibitions from 2019 to 2023, focusing on selected major exhibitions at London's Tate Modern, New York's Museum of Modern Art, and Paris's Centre Pompidou that included Nigerian artists. A systematic visual analysis methodology was employed, examining exhibition catalogues, curatorial statements, wall text, and press coverage for 48 exhibitions including at least one Nigerian artist. Analysis coded thematic framing of Nigerian identity (traditional culture, postcolonial critique, global contemporary, diaspora identity, social commentary), artist biographical framing, and contextualisation depth. Results revealed that postcolonial and diaspora identity framings dominated at 58.3 percent of exhibitions, while representation of traditional cultural specificity appeared in only 22.9 percent. Artists were significantly more likely to be contextualised primarily through their Nigerian nationality than through their artistic movement membership in 71.9 percent of cases, suggesting that national identity continued to dominate over artistic category affiliation in curatorial framing. The study fills an empirical gap in Nigerian art representation research and recommends Nigerian cultural diplomacy engagement with major international museums to influence curatorial narratives.

Keywords: Nigerian art representation, international exhibitions, identity, postcolonial, curatorial framing