Members of Auchi Art Royale came together once again to celebrate the 27th anniversary of their graduation from the School of Art and Design, Federal Polytechnic, Auchi with another exhibition 1499 Art Force 2. This year’s reunion found a fitting home at Tim & Carol Gallery of Art in GRA, Ikeja. On a day when the heavens opened over Lagos, the rain became more than weather. It felt like a quiet benediction, welcoming the royalties of Auchi Art Royale into another memorable chapter of their shared artistic journey.

Words Ireho Aito | Don’t Keep Your Art in the Finger! All photographs credit: Youngbishoppictures

“Children, they can’t stop dreaming.”
Those words, spoken decades ago by legendary Nigerian actor Olu Jacobs in a television commercial for a fruit drink for children, returned to me unexpectedly on Sunday, July 12, 2026. Outside Tim & Carol Gallery of Art, photographers were gathering everyone for the customary group photograph as exhibition was going on. Then came an interruption that no one had planned for. A little boy stood firmly at the entrance of the gallery.

“What is the password?” he asked.

Without thinking, I replied, “1499.”

He smiled and allowed me to pass. The people behind me were not as fortunate. They guessed, laughed, hesitated and failed. The young gatekeeper refused them passage until they found the right answer. It was a playful moment, but it carried an unexpected symbolism. That little boy unknowingly captured everything Auchi Art Royale has become. Their story is no longer only about fourteen classmates. It is already entering another generation, becoming memory, conversation and folklore.
The password is no longer merely 1499. Instead it has become a belonging of loyalty and friendship well preserved over 27 years.

For many people, graduation signals the end of companionship. Classmates drift apart, careers pull people across continents and the dreams once shared inside studio classrooms slowly become individual pursuits. Auchi Art Royale, Auchi Class of 99, chose another path.

For twenty-seven years, the Class of 1999 from the School of Art and Design, Federal Polytechnic Auchi, has refused to allow distance to erase brotherhood. Instead, they transformed friendship into an artistic movement, gathering almost every year to exhibit together, exchange ideas, mentor one another and strengthen their creative and business relationships. For the sceptics, the group always have their weekly meetings every Wednesday and iBAND Magazine has been a participant in one of such meetings.

There is something beautifully familiar about their commitment. It recalls the enduring spirit of the famous Zaria Art Society, the Zaria Rebels whose philosophy of collective thinking reshaped modern Nigerian art. Auchi Art Royale is not attempting to recreate that history. Rather, it reminds us that artistic communities remain powerful when friendship survives long after the classroom lights have gone out.

The strength of Auchi Art Royale lies not only in its shared history but also in the remarkable individuality of its members. The collective is made up of Ashikodi Okwudili, Dudu Emmanuel, Enebeli Franklyn, Henry Igba, Imhonigie Imoesi, Joe Nsek, John Anabui, Klaranze Okhide, Musa Asuku Momoh, Nosakhare Osadolor, Ola Balogun, Oisereme Pius, and Titus Agbara, artists whose careers have flourished across Nigeria and the diaspora. Though their artistic languages differ in style, medium and subject matter, they remain united by the values they cultivated at the School of Art and Design, Federal Polytechnic Auchi. Together, they have transformed a graduating class into one of the most enduring artistic collectives in Nigeria’s contemporary art landscape.

The rain that poured endlessly across Lagos that Sunday failed to discourage art lovers, enthusiasts collectors, journalists, patrons and enthusiasts. Umbrellas filled the gallery entrance while conversations flowed as freely as the rainfall outside. Inside Tim & Carol Gallery, there was warmth, laughter and the unmistakable comfort of artists who had grown older without growing apart.
Some members travelled abroad to pursue more endeavours, while others journeyed from different parts of Nigeria. Those unable to attend were still present in spirit through their works.

Ever cheerful Dudu Emmanuel arrived with his daughter, now a graduate herself, a quiet reminder that one generation is already handing inspiration to the next. Henry Igba, dressed in the commemorative anniversary T-shirt, brought his youthful street style into the gallery, proving that age has little authority over artistic energy. Joe Nsek was accompanied by his adorable sister and other members of his family, while Nosakhare Osadolor, the painter whose celebrated “Greater Light” motif has become instantly recognisable, reunited with old friends. Advertising professional and painter Musa Asuku Momoh added his familiar warmth to the gathering. Together, they reminded visitors that this exhibition was never simply about paintings but remained for the people.

More than forty works in painting, sculpture, and mixed media filled the gallery walls. What was particularly encouraging was the freshness of the exhibition. Many of the works had been completed in 2026, demonstrating that the artists continue to evolve creatively rather than relying on earlier successes.

Joe Nsek presented Economy of Survival, Dreams and Reality and Strategies of Chance, all acrylic on canvas completed this year. For readers of iBAND Magazine, Joe’s practice has always reflected the delicate negotiations of contemporary Nigerian life, where resilience often becomes a daily currency.

His classmate Dudu Emmanuel could not hide his admiration at the exhibition by bringing some memorable moments into the picture while they just met in school,

“I actually got to know about acrylic when I met Joe at Auchi Polytechnic and I was blown apart.”

Dudu didn’t stop to recount his first experience with Joe Nsek’s  no – nonsense father whose style of bringing up children, eventually turned out to be a super model and made Joe’s father a super – dad at the end.

It was more than a compliment. It was one artist openly acknowledging another’s influence nearly three decades after they first met in school.

From the United States, Ola Balogun returned with Broken Peace and The King, the Guards and the Nation, all executed in acrylic and marker on canvas in 2026. Long celebrated as one of the founders of Defactori Studio. Ola Balogun is an artist whose Lagos roots continue to shape his visual language even while living abroad, Balogun’s paintings carried the tension between power, leadership and society.

Abuja-based Enebeli Franklyn exhibited  3 Women’s Beauty, Together and The Smile and the Beauty. His paintings retained the elegant figurative language that has distinguished his career and reflected his continuing fascination with human relationships and emotional harmony.

Nosakhare Osadolor once again illuminated the gallery with his unmistakable visual vocabulary. His oil paintings Conversation and Lone Bather, both completed in 2026, continued his enduring exploration of light not merely as illumination but as hope, possibility and spiritual direction. For sometime, iBAND Magazine has followed how his “Greater Light” motif has become one of the most recognisable signatures in contemporary Nigerian painting.

Henry Igba contributed Reflective Projection, Aspiration and Mentorship, all completed in 2026. His works reflected his continuing interest in personal growth and the importance of guiding younger generations through art

From the United Kingdom, Titus Agbara brought the quiet poetry of watercolour through Hand in Hand and Synergy. Though painted in 2012, the works blended naturally with newer pieces, demonstrating that sincere artistic expression never grows old.

Dudu Emmanuel displayed Exhausted Parties, Feeling Blue, He and She, all painted in 2026. Dudu Emmanuel is well known for his expressive figurative language and emotional storytelling. Here again, colour and gesture became conversations about human relationships and contemporary life.

Landscape master Imhonigie Imoesi, now based in the United Kingdom, transported visitors into peaceful natural environments with Sunday Morning, Dance of Nature and Late Afternoon. His landscapes continue to remind us that nature remains one of Nigeria’s greatest visual inheritances.

Throughout the afternoon, visitors moved slowly between the paintings, pausing not only to admire technique but also to reconnect with artists they have followed for decades.

For Joe Nsek, the purpose remains simple, “Auchi Art Royale is a way of keeping ourselves together and sharing ideas, networking and business outlook among ourselves.”

Perhaps that simple statement explains why the group continues to flourish twenty-seven years after graduation. What began as friendship gradually became a strong structure of mutual support. Over time, that structure grew into a cherished tradition of coming together, creating together and celebrating one another. Today, that tradition has matured into a legacy that continues to inspire a new generation of artists and demonstrates that true artistic comradeship can endure the test of time.

Curator and Tim & Carol Gallery founder Olawale Fasuyi, a renowned collector himself, recognised exactly that in his curatorial statement,

“Tim & Carol Gallery of Art proudly presents 1499 Art Force II. The exhibition brings together a diverse body of work across painting, sculpture and mixed media. It reflects the enduring creativity, energy, shared history and evolving practices of a generation of artists whose influence continues to resonate within Nigeria’s cultural landscape.”

As visitors stepped out of Tim & Carol Gallery of Art, the rain had begun to soften, almost as if Lagos itself was applauding the day’s celebration. The little boy was still at the entrance, cheerfully asking departing guests for the password. By then, many more people knew the answer, not because they had memorised four simple numbers, but because they had experienced what those numbers truly stand for.

1499 is more than a password. It is the identity of a class, the bond of enduring friendship, the promise of shared dreams, and one of the most remarkable stories of artistic comradeship in Nigerian contemporary art.

The exhibition runs till July 28 2026.

iBAND Magazine, Celebrating Visual Arts from the Original.
Africa | Visual Art | Lifestyle | Culture