POLLY ALAKIJA

POLLY ALAKIJA
(Chairman of the Lagos State Council for Arts and Culture)

Polly Alakija is the Chairman of the Lagos State Council for Arts and Culture. She is an artist, designer, illustrator, educator and social activist.

Alakija has held several solo and group exhibitions in the UK, France, Nigeria and South Africa, where her work can be found in significant private and corporate collections.

She continues to be involved in educational programmes, teaching creative courses to children and adults alike. Her contributions also include authoring and illustrating several children’s books for publishers in the UK, EU and the US. Additionally, she recently founded the Five Cowries Arts Education Initiative, which aims to improve school attendance by making learning fun while impacting positively on educational outcomes such as increased numeracy and literacy.

A core part of her work is strengthening the identity and cohesion of marginalised communities in South Africa, Ghana, as well as in northern Nigeria, Ibadan and Lagos.

In partnership with MOE+ Architects and A White Space Creative Agency, Polly Alakija develops creative urban spaces.