Flowing Back to the Source: Celebrating Nigeria’s Artistic Heritage through Nike Art.
“Síbẹ̀síbẹ̀ o jìnnà, odò náà ń sàn, ó kò gbàgbé orísun rẹ̀ – However far the stream flows, it never forgets its source.”
Yoruba Proverb.
Have You Ever Cried So Hard You Forgot to Breathe?
The kind of cry that shakes your belly. A cry so honest, your lungs pause, your throat closes, and your chest feels like it’s carrying fire. The kind that leaves your pillow wet and your voice heavy and silent for days. That’s how I felt when I lost my friend, Mr Rupesh Sarvankar.
We had planned to travel the world and return to Osogbo again. The place where we discovered sacred art, community, and friendship. Now, every step I take inside a Nike Art Gallery is a walk with memory. A breath for the ones who can’t breathe anymore.
Meeting Mama Nike: Artful Life of Suffering & Survival
I met Chief (Mrs.) Nike Monica Okundaye, or Mama Nike, three times now. The third time I observed her exhibiting skills in Abeokuta, through the voice of her three generations, wealth and wisdom flowing in harmony. The first time in Lagos, where she told me about the newest gallery opening in Abeokuta. But before you read about that, journey with me through Osun State, Nigeria where it waters magicaly tranformed me.
Mama Nike’s story is not just one of beauty and breakthrough; her life, canvas of pain, perseverance, and purpose. “I suffered… I don’t even know where my suffering started from,” she said softly, recalling the morning her mother died. She was six. Her brother was two. The first week of her mother’s death, they were served more food than before.
One week later, life shifted. She began the journey of fetching water 8 km away daily, training her petite child mind and body in endurance before she even understood the word. Much was lost. Including an entire collection of her work caught in a fire, at her first exhibition in United State of America. But like the Adire fabric she so passionately teaches, Mama Nike knows how to fold, dye, rinse, and emerge, more beautiful, more powerful each time.
The Galleries: A Pilgrimage of the Spirit
1. Lagos – The Towering Lighthouse
Location: Lekki, Lagos
Vibe Check: Contemporary meets traditional over five soul-stirring levels
Purpose: Innovation. Identity. Immersion.
Five floors of history. Of heart. Every stroke, every fabric, every sculpture whispers, “You are more than this moment.” This beaded art piece(r) took Mama Nike to create nearly two years, three hours daily.
2. Abuja – Portraits of Power and Presence
Location: Asokoro, Abuja
Vibe Check: Cultural-political timeline
Purpose: Memory. Diaspora. Legacy.
Enter to see presidential portraits. Stay for the ancestral spirit. Walk through Nigeria’s independence and cultural legacy, one brushstroke at a time.
“This gallery isn’t just about art. It’s about who we’ve been, and who we can still become.”
3. Osogbo – The Root and the Reach
Location: Osogbo, Osun State
Vibe Check: Sacred, serene, and sunlit
Purpose: Restoration. Connection. Ancestry.
Mama Nike founded this centre in 1983. Over 3,000 women trained. All free of charge. This is where Rupesh and I laughed, stretched, shared long meals, overlooking a beautiful sunset from a rooftop wrapped in tall trees. Trees that have seen gods walk. Trees that hold silence like a prayer.
Imagine traveling to Osun State, being so close to the sacred Osun River, and not go in it, yet somehow being washed clean of the heaviness you arrived with. Experiencing this trip with Rupesh came at the perfect time, when cheering up was most needed, grief, regret, and seeking the will to live was the state of life.
However, what I didn’t know then was that four years later, while healing and writing about this experience at the Sheraton in Lagos; the pain is now mixed with Rupesh’s death. How foolish of me to think forever was promised.
Or maybe… it is.
In our thoughts. In the echoes.
Three things Rupesh taught me, but first here are some wonderful memories of our trip in Osun State.
How foolish of me to think forever was promised.
Or maybe… it is.
In our thoughts. In the echoes.
Adire (Tye & Dye) Student learning at the Nike Art Workshop in Osogbo, Nigeria.
Beyond the Galleries: A Journey Through Osun
Osogbo was more than art. It was a spiritual rediscovery. A return to rhythm, pulse, and purpose. Each site deepened the international and local groups of gallivantars, appreciating Nigeria’s vast ancestral and historical archives. Each moment becoming personal collections of art story.
Ooni of Ife Palace
National Museum Ife
Obafemi Awolowo University Natural History Museum
Statue of Moremi
Sacred Osun-Osogbo Grove
Erin Ijesha Waterfalls
Nike Ambassador Guest House In Osogbo
Reviews
Mimi A
“It was my first time sleeping in a house surrounded by so many trees. I became aware of my breath, body & who I am.”
Local Gallivant Nike Guest House, Osogbo.
Fred F
“Even after three hours and multiple visits, I find myself discovering layers of stories I hadn’t noticed before.”
International Gallivant at Nike Guest House, Lekki.
Each gallery site, guest house and workshop deepened the gallivanting group’s appreciation of Nigeria’s vast ancestral and historical archives. Each moment becoming personal collections of art story.
A Gallery, A Movement, A Living Legacy
Mama Nike’s work is not confined to walls. Her art lives in fabric, communities, and memories. Through her galleries and training centres, she has built a foundational template which has sparked movement, bridging the gap between generations and cultures, to redefine possibility. Dedicating herself, her vision, and her cultural unity. Mama Nike frequently visit, Africa, Eruope, Americas and Arab nations such as Abu Dhabi to share her knowledge in adire making, embroidery and beading.
From her first solo exhibition in 1968 at the Goethe Institute, Lagos, to founding one of West Africa’s largest art galleries in 2009, Mama Nike’s journey is legendary. The Nike Art Gallery in Lagos houses over 8,000 artworks, a sanctuary serving creators, thinkers, and seekers. In the heart of Nigeria’s thriving creative culture stands a woman whose influence continues to ripple globally.
Mama Nike, is more than an artist. A mother of adire, a bridge between generations, and a fierce preserver of heritage, channeling, teaching, and gifting it to the next generation. Raised without formal education and orphaned from age six, Mama Nike taught herself English, and found that art became a means of survival.
“My life trained me to be hardworking.”
In Loving Memory of Rupesh
Rupesh taught me to Smile no matter what, in the 8/9 months of knowing each other, we shared very little about our lives yet we could sense the unspoken and choose to always smile. Correct, guide and help with a smile, even in death he smiled.
The second is to give with Joy, meeting Rupesh at the lowest point of my life, feeling alone, unseen and unloved, he was always full of joy to give. This Nigerian India guy who just loved to be around Ninja people helped me crawl out of the dark hole. Rupesh did not only pay for our gallivanting, but did this generously to everyone who came near him, knowing that eventually he would have to give in to death, he lived his life with intentional joyfullyness.
Fun was a word with little understanding, until Rupesh, mentioned one day that, I always have fun no matter what. Yes, being confident enough to go out alone is one thing, but actually enjoying that momen, is where the fun lies. Rupesh was the fun guy, no matter what, he cared less how he looked, felt or was seen. Always quick to throw his hands in the air, just like that, fun begins. Fun formed our friendship.
My dear friend. My cultural co-traveller. You were light. You were laughter. Thank you for going to Osogbo with us. We carry our stories in every gallery we walk into. May our memories be full of joy and love, showcasing the art our soul finds everywhere.
Come and See for Yourself
This is your invitation.
Come with your heartbreak. Come with your questions. Come with your japa plan. Come with your children. Come home.
- 🇳🇬 Nike Art Gallery, Lagos
- 🇳🇬 Nike Art Gallery, Abuja
- 🇳🇬 Nike Centre for Art and Culture, Osogbo
Let the stream lead you back to the source.
[Watch our Journey → YouTube
