Nigeria may be sitting on one of its most promising non oil growth sectors without realising it, according to a new report from Financial Derivatives Company Limited, which argues that weak policy, poor institutional support and inadequate infrastructure are keeping the country’s thriving visual arts industry from becoming a major contributor to economic growth, jobs and foreign exchange.
Titled Can Nigeria Turn Art into an Economic Asset? Lessons from the UAE, the report notes that despite the global acclaim enjoyed by Nigerian artists and the growing prominence of events like ART X Lagos, which has drawn more than 700,000 visitors from over 170 countries across its first decade, the country has yet to build the policy framework needed to turn its artistic assets into a globally competitive creative economy. It points out that while Nigeria’s broader creative industries employed about 3.2 million people, roughly six percent of total employment as of 2019, most of that activity concentrates in music and film, leaving the visual arts largely informal and commercially underdeveloped, lacking comprehensive policy on tax incentives, investment promotion, intellectual property protection, cultural statistics or financing mechanisms for the creative economy. As a result, many internationally acclaimed Nigerian artists still rely on overseas galleries and foreign collectors to access premium markets, a dependence that costs the country tourism receipts, investment opportunities and foreign exchange that would otherwise flow through a vibrant domestic art market.
The report draws a direct comparison with the United Arab Emirates, where sustained investment in museums, creative districts, cultural festivals and supportive regulation transformed the country’s art scene into a genuine economic asset, noting that Dubai’s creative economy generated AED21.9 billion, about $5.96 billion, in GDP and supported over 175,000 jobs in 2022, contributing 4.02 percent of the emirate’s GDP, while Louvre Abu Dhabi drew more than 1.4 million visitors in 2024, 84 percent of them international tourists, and Art Dubai attracted over 25,000 visitors at its 2026 edition. The report attributes the UAE’s success not simply to artistic talent but to deliberate government policy linking culture with tourism, real estate, branding, foreign investment and business friendly regulation, arguing Nigeria has comparable artistic potential but lacks the supporting ecosystem needed to convert creativity into measurable economic return.
The report urges the federal government to strengthen intellectual property protection, introduce fiscal incentives for galleries and collectors, develop world class museums and creative districts, expand cultural tourism and encourage more private sector investment in the arts, recommending the ongoing revitalisation of the National Theatre as a template for broader investment nationwide, arguing stronger integration between the arts, hospitality, financial services and tourism could generate multiplier effects across logistics, design, event management and marketing. It projects that Nigeria’s broader creative economy could grow to between $14.8 billion and $100 billion by 2030, suggesting a better organised visual arts ecosystem could become a significant contributor to national output, concluding that as Nigeria pushes to diversify beyond oil, developing the visual arts offers a realistic path to jobs, foreign exchange, a stronger global brand and a claim to being Africa’s leading cultural economy.
