SOUTH SOUTH (SS): Rele is a remarkable example of a gallery that has expanded globally in a short amount of time. Could you tell us a bit about the gallery’s roots and how it was established?

Kehinde Masako Afolabi (KMA): Established in February 2015, Rele Gallery grew off the need to provide an enabling environment for fresh talents, towards disrupting a system of recycled exhibitors and collectors in the Nigerian art scene. Introducing new talents, we provided a platform for young cutting edge artists to thrive while prioritising and encouraging young collectors to invest in them. We are continuously evolving from a Nigerian to a Pan African mission, and gearing towards the global stage.

SS: Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi, curator at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, refers to founder Adenrele Sonariwo as “arguably the most important advocate of contemporary Nigerian art” citing her promotion of emerging and women artists in particular. Do you feel that there was a big gap to fill in this regard in the commercial art sector in Nigeria prior to the establishment of Rele?

KMA: While there had been significant progress in the commercial art scene in Nigeria, there remained a significant gap in the critical engagement of work by younger, emerging artists and this became an area that the gallery sought to address. This situation has certainly improved in recent years with the advent of new galleries and institutions, but there still remains a lot of work to be done in creating an enabling and sustainable platform for emerging artists.

SOUTH SOUTH (SS): While your roster includes mainly artists from Nigeria at the moment, Marla C. Berns, the director of the Fowler Museum at U.C.L.A was quoted as saying that Rele is “a gallery from Lagos that wants to show more artists who are working on the continent.” How are you going about this?

KMA: The gallery is definitely interested in working with more artists on the continent and we are focused on expanding our scope to accommodate artists from Africa and the diaspora. It has been a very thorough process so far and we are focused on showing exciting work by African artists whose practice resonate with the gallery’s vision. We are currently working on several
projects which we hope will lead to a diversified roster of African artists.

SS: It was a bold and extraordinary moment when Rele opened up a gallery in Los Angeles in early 2021, especially during a time when some galleries were downgrading, closing down or merging. How have you found this global extension of your programme?

KMA: Though challenging, the expansion has availed fresh experiences for represented artists, curatorial and administrative fragments of our team. We’ve had a lot of successful projects and learnt extensively from mistakes. A major goal of the gallery is to situate art and artists from Africa on global stages and that remains a driving force for our expansion.

SS: Rele is a wonderful example of institutional hybridity on the African continent with the Rele Foundation and its Young Contemporaries programme. Could you speak a bit about these hybrid aspects of Rele and the importance of mentorship in particular?

KMA: At some point in our journey, it became paramount to explore mentorship and educational programmes for emerging artists which the Nigerian art ecosystem lacked at the time. The Young Contemporaries programme via the Rele Arts Foundation became a platform where young and emerging artists could enjoy opportunities traditionally reserved for established names. Now in its seventh edition, the programme continues to mentor and provide essential resources for the development of artists in Africa.