Skip to main content

About

We are the Museum of West African Art. We are dedicated to the preservation of heritage, the expansion of knowledge and celebration of West African arts and culture.

We are a catalyst for deepening connections between contemporary arts and culture and the rich cultural heritage of West Africa, and a centre of excellence creating opportunities for African and Diaspora artists and scholars.

To do this, we provide exceptional infrastructure and programmes for the preservation, display, research, learning and exchange in arts and culture from a world-class campus in the heart of the historic district of Benin City, Nigeria.

Our Leadership Team

  • Phillip Ihenacho

    Director

    Charles LeQuesne

    Interim Head, Archaeology

    Ore Disu

    Director, The Institute

    Prof Adebayo Folorunso

    Senior Archaeological Advisor

    Aindrea Emelife

    Curator, Modern & Contemporary Art

  • Idehen Aruede

    CFO/COO, Whitney Museum of American Art

    Enotie Ogbebor

    Independent Artist

    Dr. Barbara Plankensteiner

    Cofounder, Benin Dialogue Group; Director, MARKK Museum; Principal, Digital Benin Project

    Julie Hudson

    Curator, Africa, Oceania and the Americas, The British Museum

    Tokini Peterside

    Founder and Director, ArtX

    Prof. Chika Okeke-Agulu

    Director of Program in African Studies, Professor of African Art, Princeton University

    Prof. Shadreck Chirikure

    British Academy Global Scholar, Professor of Archaeology, Oxford University

  • Dr. Andreas Görgen

    Senior Advisor to the Federal Government of Germany, Culture and Communication

    Dr. Myma Belo-Osagie

    Lawyer, Managing Partner, Udo-Udoma and Belo-Osagie

    Dr. Eric Idiahi

    Partner and Co-founder, Verod Capital Management Limited

    Phillip Ihenacho

    Director, MOWAA

    Victor Ehikhamenor

    Artist, Photographer and Writer

    Ore Disu

    Director, The Institute

  • Ebele Okobi -Board Chair

    Senior Policy Advisor, OpenAI

    John Adeyemi Adeleke

    Director, World Trade Center of Nigeria Ltd/Gte (Member of the World Trade Centers Association, New York, USA)

    Dr. Myma Belo-Osagie

    Of Counsel, Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie

    Dr. Ike Chioke

    Group Managing Director, Afrinvest West Africa Limited

    Mariane Ibrahim

    Founder, Mariane Ibrahim Gallery

    Amaechi Uzoigwe

    Co-Founder and CEO of Portfolio Africa; Managing Partner, Run the Jewels, Inc.
“Institution building is a collaborative effort.”
― Victor Ehikhamenor, Trustee

Our Partners

Realizing MOWAA’s ambitions requires collaborations both within and outside of Nigeria, the Trust has focused on establishing successful and mutually beneficial partnerships with prestigious institutions.