Will MOWAA Reaffirm Benin City as Africa’s Cultural Capital?

Yinka Olatunbosun

In recent weeks, questions on whether the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) will truly benefit the people of Edo State had been raised in the court of opinions. The concern is understandable, too often, large cultural projects have promised much but delivered little for the communities that host them.

But the story of MOWAA is not a museum built apart from Benin City; it is a museum built within it: designed to create opportunities, inspire pride, and place Benin on the global map as a centre of creativity, tourism, and innovation.

When The New York Times named Benin City one of the top global destinations to visit in 2025, anchored in the anticipation of MOWAA, the mention wasn’t just a celebration of the city’s rich historic past; it was acknowledging its future, one powered by local talent, contemporary creativity and cultural investment, of which MOWAA stands at the heart –already generating employment, training, and business opportunities across Edo State.

This is not a new idea. When Spain’s Basque Country opened the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao in 1997, few could have predicted how it would transform a declining industrial port into one of Europe’s most visited cultural destinations.

Today, the “Bilbao Effect” is studied around the world as proof that a single cultural institution, strategically built, can regenerate an entire city. Before the Guggenheim opened in 1997, Bilbao was a declining industrial city grappling with high unemployment and environmental degradation. Within a few years, the museum had transformed it into a global tourism hub. It attracted over 1.3 million visitors in its first year alone—three times more than expected—and has since continued to draw around 1 million visitors annually. In its first decade, the Guggenheim generated over €4 billion in economic activity for the Basque region, fuelling a boom in the hospitality and service sectors. New hotels, restaurants, and transport links emerged, creating tens of thousands of jobs and rejuvenating Bilbao’s economy while redefining its image as one of Europe’s most dynamic
cultural cities.

Benin City, with its centuries-old legacy of artistry and craftsmanship, is poised for its own renaissance, catalysed by the MOWAA. The museum’s arrival has already begun to change how Benin is seen — both by outsiders and by Edo people themselves. Hotels, restaurants, transport operators, and small businesses stand to benefit from the influx of visitors. The logic is simple: when people come to see art, they also eat, sleep, move, and spend.

The benefits of MOWAA are set to ripple far beyond the museum walls. As visitor numbers are expected to grow, with the museum soon being accessible to the public (after five years in the making), so will opportunities for the general tourism industry in Benin City and Edo State: restaurants, transport operators, hotels, vendors, and artisans. In its first phase alone, MOWAA is projected to create many direct and indirect jobs, catalysing a new tourism economy in Benin City.

Nigeria is one of the youngest countries in the world: around 70% of its population is under 35, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. This youth bulge represents both a challenge and an opportunity. For Edo’s young people, access to meaningful training and employment is essential. Through initiatives like Unearth, MOWAA’s hands-on archaeology and heritage management programme, and artist residencies, that foster collaboration between young creatives and internationally renowned artists, the museum is investing directly in that next generation.

The claim that MOWAA “will not benefit the Edo people” misses the wider picture. The museum’s purpose is precisely to ensure that Edo’s people — and especially its youth — are at the centre of its growth. What is happening in Benin today is bigger than a building. It is a movement to reclaim and reimagine the city’s future — one that honours its history while equipping its people to shape what comes next. From 11 November, visitors will have the chance to walk through MOWAA’s galleries, explore its exhibitions, and see firsthand how art, heritage, and community are converging to redefine what a modern African city can be.

The question, then, is not whether MOWAA will benefit the Edo people. It already is. The real question is how far those benefits will reach — and whether Benin City, like Bilbao before it, will become the next great example of how culture can transform not just skylines, but lives. I believe it can be.