Lekki Port, UNILAG Partner To Promote Maritime Heritage Through Art Exhibition

Lekki Port has partnered with the University of Lagos (UNILAG) to promote maritime heritage and highlight the development of the maritime sector through arts and creative expression.

The initiative featured an art exhibition and contest organised at the Lekki Deep Seaport facility in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, where students from UNILAG’s Department of Fine and Applied Arts showcased paintings and sculptures inspired by the port’s history, development and relationship with its host communities.

A total of 27 entries were submitted for the exhibition, comprising 16 paintings and 11 sculptures.

Speaking at the event, the Managing Director of Lekki Port, Wang Qiang, commended the students for their creativity and ability to capture the port’s history and identity through their artworks.

He described the development of Lekki Port as a product of collective efforts involving government agencies, host communities and other stakeholders, stressing the importance of sustained collaboration in advancing the port’s growth and the future of maritime trade.

Qiang also acknowledged the contributions of UNILAG’s faculty and students, noting that their works demonstrated a clear understanding of the port’s development journey and its connection with surrounding communities.

In his remarks, the Head of the Department of Fine and Applied Arts, UNILAG, Prof. John Adenle, praised Lekki Port for providing students with an opportunity to translate their academic knowledge into practical creative works and showcase their talents beyond the classroom.

Adenle noted that the artworks went beyond artistic expressions, as they documented the history of the host community, reflected its ongoing transformation and offered perspectives on its future.

He also appreciated the port’s continued partnership with the university and commended the institution’s Vice-Chancellor for creating an enabling environment for students to develop their creative abilities.

In the painting category, Eunice Kolawole emerged winner with an artwork depicting a ship emerging from an eggshell, symbolising Lekki Port’s humble beginnings and its transformation into a major maritime hub.

Similarly, Joseph Udoh won the sculpture category with his work titled Hands of Nations, which portrays hands from different races and parts of the world coming together to form the Lekki Port logo, representing unity, collaboration and the collective contributions behind the port’s development.

Both category winners received cash prizes of N500,000 each, while the first and second runners-up in each category were awarded N300,000 and N150,000 respectively.

The winners described the recognition as an encouragement to further develop their artistic skills, while expressing appreciation for the opportunity to exhibit their works at the port facility.

The partnership underscores the potential of creative arts as a platform for preserving maritime heritage, documenting community history and strengthening the relationship between educational institutions and operators in Nigeria’s maritime industry.