The Brass Dispatch

Web stories from 12 Brass Street.

Artist spotlights, market notes, exhibition calendars and dispatches from behind the scenes — a rolling record of the ideas and people shaping African contemporary art.

Artist Spotlight Market Notes Exhibition Calendar Collector Education Behind the Scenes

Story 1 · Artist Spotlight

Turning Trash Into Triumph: How Progress Giwa Jesutomiwa Is Redefining Environmental Art in Nigeria

From Art Star winner to Lagos State Ambassador for the Environment, PJay is proving that climate activism can live in colour, texture, and discarded materials.

By 12 Brass Street

In the evolving landscape of contemporary African art, Progress Giwa Jesutomiwa — widely known as PJay — has distinguished himself as a powerful voice in environmental advocacy. Even before winning the 12 Brass Street Art Star Competition, PJay had been building a reputation for transforming waste materials into meaningful artistic expressions that challenge, educate, and inspire.

His practice sits at the intersection of sustainability, creativity, and community impact. Through recycling-based art, environmental storytelling, and public engagement, PJay represents a generation of artists using their craft as a tool for climate action.

From Art Star Winner to Environmental Ambassador

Since winning Art Star 2025, PJay's momentum hasn't slowed. He staged his debut solo exhibition, Waste to Luxury, in partnership with the Africa Cleanup Initiative's 15th anniversary — a show that turned discarded materials into striking, gallery-worthy pieces. The exhibition drew national attention, earning him features on TVC News's "Green Angle: Turning Waste Into Art" segment and in Punch Newspaper's Before Stardom series.

That recognition has only grown. PJay was named winner of Lagos Has Talent (Climate Edition) and now holds the title of Lagos State Ambassador for the Environment — a role that puts his art directly in service of climate advocacy across the state.

In His Own Words

“Since receiving the funds, I have been able to invest more intentionally in my creative process, expand my recycling art projects, and amplify my environmental advocacy through art.”

For PJay, winning Art Star wasn't a finish line — it was fuel. The support gave him room to think bigger about what recycled-material art could do, both as craft and as message.

Why This Matters

At 12 Brass Street, we celebrate artists who embody purpose-driven creativity, and PJay continues to exemplify that vision. His work is proof that activism doesn't only live in speeches or protests — it can live in colour, texture, discarded materials, and the stories artists choose to tell.

Story 2 · Market Notes

Why Smart Collectors Are Watching the Mid-Market, Not the Headlines

Bonhams' latest African art sale made $2.35M — but the real story is a $37,600 piece that sold for 1,294% above estimate.

By 12 Brass Street

At Bonhams' Modern & Contemporary African Art sale in London on 19 March 2026, the total came to $2.35 million — falling short of the pre-sale low estimate, with a 66% sell-through rate across 87 lots. On paper, that reads like a soft night.

But the headline lot wasn't where the real story was.

William Kentridge's Negotiations Minuet led the sale at $560,300, 107% above its low estimate — a strong result for a major name. The more telling number belonged to a smaller lot: Obiora Udechukwu's Delicate Burden sold for $37,600, an extraordinary 1,294% above its $2,697 low estimate.

The Bigger Shift: Consolidation, Not Decline

The dedicated African art sale format is shrinking — and that's worth understanding correctly. After Sotheby's dissolved its Modern & Contemporary African Art department in April 2025, folding African works into its broader contemporary sales, Bonhams became the last major auction house running a standalone African art sale, with offices spanning London, Johannesburg, and Lagos.

Zoom out further and the market's resilience becomes clearer. African art auction sales grew from $33 million in 2016 to $87 million in 2022, corrected sharply to $43.9 million in 2024, and recovered to approximately $70.5 million in 2025. Volatile, yes — but structurally intact.

The Global Picture

African art is also outpacing its "emerging market" reputation. Nigeria's art economy alone generates an estimated $1.3 billion annually, and individual works have fetched extraordinary sums — Amoako Boafo's among them, reaching $881,000 at Christie's.

Zooming out to the global art market: it hit $67.8 billion in 2023 (UBS Art Basel), and multiple studies — including Deloitte's 2023 wealth report — point to art outperforming the S&P 500 across several historical cycles as an inflation hedge. By most pricing benchmarks, African art remains underpriced relative to that global picture, which is exactly why wealth managers are starting to take notice.

The takeaway for collectors: the deepest value in this market right now sits with underestimated mid-career names, not the marquee lots everyone's already watching.

Story 3 · Exhibition Calendar

Where to See African Art This Season — From Cape Town to Dakar

A curated guide to the biggest African art exhibitions and fairs opening across the continent and abroad this season.

By 12 Brass Street

Africa's art calendar is heating up. Here's where collectors, artists, and enthusiasts should be paying attention over the coming months.

Cape Town — Closing Soon

Spring Is Rebellious: The Art & Life of Albie Sachs is in its final weeks at Zeitz MOCAA. The exhibition traces the life of Albie Sachs — freedom fighter, Constitutional Court judge, and cultural thinker — through works drawn from the Mayibuye Archives, the Constitutional Court Art Collection, and his personal collection. It closes 23 August 2026.

Accra — This Month

The Chale Wote Street Art Festival returns this August, transforming James Town into an open-air gallery of murals, installations, and live performance. Exact dates are typically confirmed closer to the event, usually in June — worth checking the festival's channels before planning travel.

Lagos — The Big One

Lagos anchors the final quarter of the year with two major events back to back. The fifth Lagos Biennial, themed "The Museum of Things Unseen," runs 17 October to 18 December 2026, followed immediately by the 11th edition of ART X Lagos from 5–8 November 2026. Together, these have helped push Lagos into the global conversation as one of 2026's top art destinations.

Nairobi — Coming This Fall

The East Africa Art Biennale's main exhibition opens at the Nairobi National Museum on 15 September and runs through 20 November 2026, with satellite programming across Dar es Salaam, Kampala, Kigali, and Bujumbura.

Dakar — Closing Out the Year

The 16th edition of Dak'Art, Africa's oldest and most influential contemporary art biennale, returns in November–December 2026.

For the Diaspora

1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair returns to Somerset House in London annually — its 2025 edition ran in mid-October, and 2026 dates should be confirmed on the fair's official site closer to the time. Worth flagging now if a London trip is already on the calendar for later this year.

Story 4 · Collector Education

Starting Your African Art Collection: A Practical Guide

You don't need deep pockets to start collecting African art — you need diligence. Here's where to begin.

By 12 Brass Street

Collecting African art doesn't require deep pockets. It requires diligence. Whether you're buying your first piece or your fifteenth, these six principles will protect both your investment and the artists you're supporting.

1. Authenticate Before You Buy

Documented provenance — when a work was created and who has owned it, along with any exhibition history — protects both buyer and artist. Reputable galleries and artists will provide a certificate of authenticity; if one isn't offered, ask for it directly. For higher-value pieces, a second opinion from an independent appraiser is worth the cost.

2. Institutional History Is a Value Signal

Buying from artists with institutional history — even a small one — is one of the strongest predictors of long-term value. A local group show, a fair appearance, or a gallery representation agreement all signal that a piece has been vetted by someone beyond the artist.

3. Framing Protects More Than the Wall

For works on paper or canvas in humid climates — common across much of West and East Africa — UV-protective glass and acid-free matting prevent fading and degradation. Budget framing is a false economy: poor materials can visibly damage a piece within a few years.

4. Insure What You'd Hate to Lose

Standard home insurance often caps fine art coverage far below actual value, or excludes it entirely. A fine art rider or specialist policy — now available from many insurers for pieces as low as $1,000–2,000 — is inexpensive relative to the protection it provides, though a written appraisal is typically required first.

5. Starting Small Is a Strategy, Not a Compromise

Emerging artists at local fairs, art school degree shows, and increasingly legitimate discovery platforms like Instagram all offer genuine entry points. Often the pieces that appreciate fastest are bought before the artist has institutional recognition, not after.

6. Narrative Carries Real Weight

Collectors — especially younger ones — are increasingly drawn to artists with a clear, authentic story: cultural perspective, personal journey, sustainability practice. This isn't just sentiment. A strong narrative is part of what drives resale value and press interest over time.

Story 5 · Behind the Scenes

First Look: 12 Brass Street Is Building Nigeria's Next Talent Ecosystem

A first look at the 12 Brass Street Talent Network — our new initiative to find, fund, and champion Nigeria's next generation of builders.

By 12 Brass Street

Subscribers get this first: 12 Brass Street is opening a new chapter, and it starts with people.

We're launching the 12 Brass Street Talent Network — an initiative to identify and support Nigeria's next generation of builders, creators, founders, and innovators before the rest of the world catches on.

Who We're Looking For

If you're a university student in Nigeria building something that solves a real problem — a product, a platform, a piece of research, a movement — this is for you. We're not waiting for talent to find us. We're going out and finding it, across six sectors where we see the sharpest ideas coming from right now: Technology & AI, Startups & Entrepreneurship, Media & Marketing, FinTech & Business, Fashion & Entertainment, and Design & Creative.

What You Get

Being part of the Talent Network isn't a certificate on a wall. It's real access: mentorship from people who've built and scaled, funding to move ideas forward, strategic partnerships that open doors, visibility and exposure to the right audiences, and a network of African builders solving problems at scale.

How We Find You

We're meeting builders where they already are — LinkedIn, X, university innovation hubs and entrepreneurship clubs, and creative communities like Instagram, Behance, Dribbble, and GitHub. From there, it's simple: we discover what you're building, connect with you directly, offer real support — strategic guidance, design, branding, technical help — and look for ways to collaborate on something bigger.

Why This Matters

This isn't just a talent search — it's the foundation of something bigger. Our ambition is to make 12 Brass Street the first place exceptional young builders in Nigeria turn to for support, collaboration, and growth. Every relationship we build now becomes part of a pipeline of future founders, partners, and industry leaders — and it strengthens 12 Brass Street's role as a genuine catalyst for innovation across the continent.

The outcome we're building toward: a thriving ecosystem where great ideas meet the resources, expertise, and network needed to actually scale.

Apply to the Talent Network

Are you a founder, developer, designer, researcher, engineer, artist, scientist — or just someone building something meaningful? We want to hear from you. Applying takes a few minutes and asks about your project, the problem it solves, what stage you're at, and the kind of support that would move you forward.