When Art Becomes Access: “The Rooms We Carry” Opens at The Art Hotel Lagos

Uwevwi Studios announces The Rooms We Carry, a dual exhibition by Victor Obot and Chinedu Chidebe, opening November 30 – December 13, 2025, at The Art Hotel Lagos.

The exhibition marks the public prelude to the Art for Hope Biennial 2026, a creative learning initiative developed by Uwevwi Studios in partnership with Slum2School Africa, designed to expand access to art education for underserved children.

Earlier this month, Obot and Chidebe led a mentorship workshop with 30 learners (ages 8 – 16) from Adekunle Anglican Grammar School, Makoko, exploring imaginative drawing, geometric abstraction, and storytelling through color and form. That outreach became the emotional foundation of The Rooms We Carry, a show that examines how memory, structure, and imagination shape the human experience.

Obot’s works, created through fire, paper, and coffee stains, evoke the fragility of remembrance, while Chidebe’s geometric abstractions translate thought into rhythm and order. Together, their practices form a dialogue between intuition and discipline, personal memory and collective growth.

At the heart of the exhibition is a collaborative artwork titled The Room We Built, created in support of Slum2School Africa. Proceeds from this piece will fund the creative and educational development of children in underserved communities, reinforcing the Biennial’s mission: art as access, and education as legacy.

Through this partnership, Uwevwi Studios seeks to demonstrate how art can serve as infrastructure for development, bridging education, mentorship, and cultural inclusion. The upcoming Art for Hope Biennial (January – May 2026) will feature ten artists mentoring children across ten workshops, four cultural excursions, practice sessions, and a final Children’s Day exhibition curated by Uwevwi Studios.

Beyond its visual depth, The Rooms We Carry demonstrates how Nigeria’s evolving art ecosystem can integrate education, social impact, and collectible value. It presents art as infrastructure, where mentorship produces both cultural capital and enduring human potential. Through initiatives like the Art for Hope Biennial, Uwevwi Studios bridges collectors, communities, and creators in a sustainable model of growth, meaning, and legacy.