Richard Vedelago appointed curator as the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy positions the pavilion within its ‘Nigeria Everywhere’ cultural diplomacy framework
Honourable Minister Hannatu Musa Musawa and Curator Richard Vedelago at Windsor Gallery, Abuja, as Nigeria announces its return to the 62nd Venice Biennale (2028) under the Nigeria Everywhere platform.
Nigeria has confirmed its participation in the 62nd International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, scheduled for 2028. The announcement follows a period of institutional restructuring and strategic review led by the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy (FMACTCE), which oversees the country’s global cultural platform ‘Nigeria Everywhere’.
The Ministry also confirmed the appointment of Richard Vedelago as curator of the Nigeria Pavilion. The decision signals a shift toward long-term curatorial planning and international institutional collaboration in preparation for the forthcoming biennale cycle.
Cultural strategy and international positioning
Nigeria’s return to the Venice Biennale follows the country’s participation in the 60th International Art Exhibition in 2024. According to the Ministry, the intervening period has been used to review governance structures, funding models and international cultural partnerships in order to develop a more sustainable framework for future participation.
Within this broader strategy, Venice is positioned as part of a longer-term cultural and economic initiative linked to the national programme Destination 2030: Nigeria Everywhere. The programme seeks to align cultural production with wider diplomatic and economic objectives, including tourism development, international partnerships and the expansion of Nigeria’s creative industries.
Officials have framed the 2028 pavilion as an opportunity to strengthen Nigeria’s presence within global cultural infrastructure while consolidating the country’s role within Africa’s largest creative economy.
Curatorial leadership and long-term planning
The appointment of Vedelago introduces a phased development process for the pavilion that will unfold in the lead-up to the 2028 exhibition. This process includes governance reform, diversified funding structures, engagement with international museum partners and collaboration with Nigeria’s cultural diaspora.
The curatorial direction for the pavilion, as well as the participating artists and institutional partnerships, will be announced at a later stage. The Ministry has indicated that the project aims to move beyond episodic representation by developing a more sustained institutional framework for Nigeria’s presence at major international exhibitions.
The Nigeria Pavilion at the 62nd International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia is scheduled to open in Venice in 2028, with further details regarding the exhibition’s thematic framework and participating artists to be announced in due course.
