Street art festival sees Lagos turned into 'open-air gallery'

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Parts of Nigeria's biggest city, Lagos, have been turned into an "open-air gallery", in the words of the organisers of the city's first street art festival.

One of the featured artists, Ashaolu Oluwafemi, told the BBC that the festival brings art "to the people and the community".

"People don't always have the opportunity to go to exhibitions, so they don't have the opportunity to see art," he said.

Sodiq Adelakun / REUTERS Cars and a motorbike drive past a mural of a man and a woman both wearing green headgear and sunglasses looking at each other, while a couple is dancing in between them.

The artwork is on display on Ozumba Mbadiwe Avenue, a busy street in Victoria Island in the heart of the city.

Toyin Adedokun / AFP via Getty Images Several brightly coloured murals are seen on a wall next to a busy road full of cars. A crane and a tower bloc can be seen in the distance. Behind the wall are trees and a block of flats.

Oluwafemi, who was born and brought up in Lagos, said he and the other artists were telling the story of the city and its rise.

"You have to be wise and strong and brilliant to make it out of Lagos."

Sodiq Adelakun / REUTERS A man stands in front of a mural of a pair of binoculars outlined in yellow against a black background, along with the slogan: We Are Alive

Although Lagos is known for its vibrant arts scene, nightlife and creativity, street art is relatively unknown.

"The visibility is not too strong compared to other African nations," painter Ernest Ibe told AFP news agency.

"So, it's a challenge, but the country is evolving. We are beginning to understand the impact of social murals and how it affects us socially and in our environment in general."

Sodiq Adelakun / REUTERS A man in a car looks past other cars at a brightly coloured mural of a woman and a peacock.

This painting was done by Babalola Oluwafemi (no relation), a Nigerian artist who flew in from the British city of Manchester.

"I'm just telling how Lagos people love to party, love to go to parties, love to eat food. And they just love to be colourful," she told AFP.

The peacock is often used to symbolise beauty and pride in Nigerian art, AFP reports.

"Everything in Lagos is different. A whole lot of cars, a whole lot of traffic - a whole lot of comments from people passing by [saying] 'Nice work'," said the 32-year-old.

Sodiq Adelakun / REUTERS A man kneeling under scaffolding applies the finishing touches to a mural of a woman wearing a red headscarf and a large grey necklace. Another man looks on while a block of flats can be seen in the background

"Lagos is a place where you can express yourself," Ashaolu Oluwafemi told the BBC.

He said he painted the mural above to show the joy of the city.

"This woman is expressing herself. She's so excited about her life in Lagos."

He said that people were very happy to see the street art. "It really speaks to them."

Toyin Adedokun / AFP via Getty Images Two men walk past a brightly coloured mural of a young woman painting the earth.

The festival opened on Wednesday and continues until Monday, 15 December but the murals will be left in place afterwards.

Toyin Adedokun / AFP via Getty Images A man in a high-vis jacket paints a mural of a woman. He is surrounded by scaffolding.

Sodiq Adelakun / REUTERS A man in a black and white shirt leans on scaffolding in front of a black, white and red abstract mural, featuring the word Pop in red.

Most of the artists are Nigerian but Ottograph travelled from the Dutch city of Amsterdam to paint his mural.

Sodiq Adelakun / REUTERS People walk past a brightly coloured mural featuring an astronaut and a woman with a purple stripe over her face, along with African artefacts and a message saying: Rewrite your own story

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