Beyond Talent: Building the legal infrastructure for Nigeria’s art market

Real, freely available standard-form contracts. The beginnings of an actual title and provenance registry; and A public audit of every collecting organisation currently operating. In the second phase, build the institutions and financing layer on top of that foundation, via a dedicated collecting society for visual artists, piloted art-backed lending tied explicitly to registered title, and the first genuine annual market data report. In the third phase, build for scale: export finance support for artists selling internationally, tax incentives to grow the domestic collector base, real cross-border tracking of resale royalties, and binding governance frameworks as a standard precondition for any future major cultural institution. None of this will be achieved through a single flagship investment or one artist’s breakout auction moment. It will be achieved through thousands of ordinary transactions, each becoming slightly more documented, slightly more enforceable, and slightly more bankable than the one before it, compounded over several years across an entire sector. Nigeria does not need more talent, it already has plenty. What it needs is the legal scaffolding to turn that talent into recorded, protected, and investable value. That is a policy project as much as a creative one, and it is one within Nigeria’s power to execute. If Nigeria wants its art to stand alongside its music and film, it must build the legal foundations now. Adedunmade Onibokun is the Managing Partner of Adedunmade Onibokun & Co (AOC Solicitors), a Lagos-based general practice law firm. Adedunmade specialises in art and cultural heritage law. Related News NDIC shifts from claims payer to risk minimiser to prevent bank failures Berger Paints chairman says innovation must deliver new solutions, not just new products Women’s board representation must translate into economic power, TEWS convener says Share

The beginnings of an actual title and provenance registry; and A public audit of every collecting organisation currently operating. In the second phase, build the institutions and financing layer on top of that foundation, via a dedicated collecting society for visual artists, piloted art-backed lending tied explicitly to registered title, and the first genuine annual market data report. In the third phase, build for scale: export finance support for artists selling internationally, tax incentives to grow the domestic collector base, real cross-border tracking of resale royalties, and binding governance frameworks as a standard precondition for any future major cultural institution. None of this will be achieved through a single flagship investment or one artist’s breakout auction moment. It will be achieved through thousands of ordinary transactions, each becoming slightly more documented, slightly more enforceable, and slightly more bankable than the one before it, compounded over several years across an entire sector. Nigeria does not need more talent, it already has plenty. What it needs is the legal scaffolding to turn that talent into recorded, protected, and investable value. That is a policy project as much as a creative one, and it is one within Nigeria’s power to execute. If Nigeria wants its art to stand alongside its music and film, it must build the legal foundations now. Adedunmade Onibokun is the Managing Partner of Adedunmade Onibokun & Co (AOC Solicitors), a Lagos-based general practice law firm. Adedunmade specialises in art and cultural heritage law. Related News NDIC shifts from claims payer to risk minimiser to prevent bank failures Berger Paints chairman says innovation must deliver new solutions, not just new products Women’s board representation must translate into economic power, TEWS convener says Share

In the second phase, build the institutions and financing layer on top of that foundation, via a dedicated collecting society for visual artists, piloted art-backed lending tied explicitly to registered title, and the first genuine annual market data report. In the third phase, build for scale: export finance support for artists selling internationally, tax incentives to grow the domestic collector base, real cross-border tracking of resale royalties, and binding governance frameworks as a standard precondition for any future major cultural institution. None of this will be achieved through a single flagship investment or one artist’s breakout auction moment. It will be achieved through thousands of ordinary transactions, each becoming slightly more documented, slightly more enforceable, and slightly more bankable than the one before it, compounded over several years across an entire sector. Nigeria does not need more talent, it already has plenty. What it needs is the legal scaffolding to turn that talent into recorded, protected, and investable value. That is a policy project as much as a creative one, and it is one within Nigeria’s power to execute. If Nigeria wants its art to stand alongside its music and film, it must build the legal foundations now. Adedunmade Onibokun is the Managing Partner of Adedunmade Onibokun & Co (AOC Solicitors), a Lagos-based general practice law firm. Adedunmade specialises in art and cultural heritage law. Related News NDIC shifts from claims payer to risk minimiser to prevent bank failures Berger Paints chairman says innovation must deliver new solutions, not just new products Women’s board representation must translate into economic power, TEWS convener says Share

None of this will be achieved through a single flagship investment or one artist’s breakout auction moment. It will be achieved through thousands of ordinary transactions, each becoming slightly more documented, slightly more enforceable, and slightly more bankable than the one before it, compounded over several years across an entire sector. Nigeria does not need more talent, it already has plenty. What it needs is the legal scaffolding to turn that talent into recorded, protected, and investable value. That is a policy project as much as a creative one, and it is one within Nigeria’s power to execute. If Nigeria wants its art to stand alongside its music and film, it must build the legal foundations now. Adedunmade Onibokun is the Managing Partner of Adedunmade Onibokun & Co (AOC Solicitors), a Lagos-based general practice law firm. Adedunmade specialises in art and cultural heritage law. Related News NDIC shifts from claims payer to risk minimiser to prevent bank failures Berger Paints chairman says innovation must deliver new solutions, not just new products Women’s board representation must translate into economic power, TEWS convener says Share

Nigeria does not need more talent, it already has plenty. What it needs is the legal scaffolding to turn that talent into recorded, protected, and investable value. That is a policy project as much as a creative one, and it is one within Nigeria’s power to execute. If Nigeria wants its art to stand alongside its music and film, it must build the legal foundations now. Adedunmade Onibokun is the Managing Partner of Adedunmade Onibokun & Co (AOC Solicitors), a Lagos-based general practice law firm. Adedunmade specialises in art and cultural heritage law. Related News NDIC shifts from claims payer to risk minimiser to prevent bank failures Berger Paints chairman says innovation must deliver new solutions, not just new products Women’s board representation must translate into economic power, TEWS convener says Share

Adedunmade Onibokun is the Managing Partner of Adedunmade Onibokun & Co (AOC Solicitors), a Lagos-based general practice law firm. Adedunmade specialises in art and cultural heritage law. Related News NDIC shifts from claims payer to risk minimiser to prevent bank failures Berger Paints chairman says innovation must deliver new solutions, not just new products Women’s board representation must translate into economic power, TEWS convener says Share