If you ask Biodun Omolayo, the revered painter, author and founder of Omolayo Gallery, about his biggest achievement, the dapper artist would not hesitate to tell you that the success stories of the Young at Art Children’s Workshop come first. The project, designed for children, is so dear to him.

This year, 2026, Biodun will tell you he is just warming up. Just as Larry King’ s promotional clip for the ace broadcaster’s Larry King Live, “With over 40,000 interviews, I am just warming up.” Yet, there was a period when the workshop caught the attention of a media behemoth and Young at Art Children’s Workshop got a front page editorial from the media giant newspaper. Who led this personality to discover the Young at Art Children’s Workshop? Again, little children, of course!

 

Words Ireho Aito | Don’t Keep Your Art in the Finger! Photographs courtesy Omolayo Gallery

 

It almost felt like a scene already written in the Bible: “Let the children come unto me.” Years ago, inside the National Museum, Onikan, Lagos, two children wandered into the small gallery where Nigerian painter and founder of Omolayo Gallery, Biodun Omolayo, was holding one of his Young at Art Children’s Workshops. What happened that day would leave a lasting mark on the workshop.

It was a Saturday and the museum premises was busy with different activities. Inside Omolayo’s gallery, however, the two strange children had found something that caught their attention. They saw other children  drawing, painting and learning, and the excitement was easy to see. They stood watching their peers, fascinated by what was happening.

Typical of Omolayo, who has spent years  working with children, he noticed their curiosity and invited them in. The children wanted to know what was going on and, before long, as they were excited to see beautiful colours, papers, drawings from their mates. Trust Omolayo, he gave the children a bit of what the workshop was all about. They got excited. Biodun Omolayo has a skill in child’s development and he knows what to say to lift children’s spirit up.

Later, the cute, little children walked away. One would think they had gone for good.

Then came the surprise.

A few hours later, the two children returned, this time dragging along a familiar figure. Their father was Prince Nduka Obaigbena, founder of ThisDay newspapers and Arise TV.

Obaigbena walked into the gallery and saw what was happening for himself. Children were being introduced to art in a simple and practical environment, while Omolayo was patiently guiding them through the process. Obaigbena, who also had a background in visual arts and studied graphics, was impressed by what he saw.

His response went beyond words.

He donated ₦100,000 to support the workshop and directed one of his journalists to cover the story. The following Sunday, the effort of Omolayo, Young at Art Children’s Workshop and the children appeared on the front page of ThisDay newspaper with the headline: “Let the Children Come Unto Me.” A front page headline very rare for visual arts to get in Nigerian newspapers.

For Omolayo, the gesture became more than a newspaper story. He used part of the money to buy a camcorder and creative materials, beginning a more deliberate process of documenting the activities of the workshop. The camcorder, according to his account, was still working years later. Yours truly actually saw the camcorder. What a quality investment. The camera is still working and getting the recordings of the workshop.

That moment also became one of the many chapters in the long journey of Young at Art.

What started modestly has grown into a sustained creative education programme for children and teenagers with international presence. Omolayo has worked with parents, schools, organisations and institutions, including the British Council and Rotary Clubs. In 2013, he also developed a British Council-supported programme that trained art teachers from secondary schools across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.

The results have been visible beyond the gallery walls. By 2024, iBAND Magazine reported that Young at Art had produced 18 First Class graduates from different universities and disciplines, with former participants going into different fields and some seeking to replicate the workshop in other places.

This is, for sure, where the real story of Biodun Omolayo lies. He has not only been teaching children how to draw or paint. He has been giving them an early encounter with creativity, confidence and the possibility that what begins as a simple childhood interest can become part of their life’s journey.

This year’s Young at Art Summer Workshop 2026, continued that tradition. Once again, children gathered around art, learning from one another and from facilitators in the familiar atmosphere Omolayo has carefully built over the years, now qorking and running the workshop inside the prestigious Lagos City Mall, Onikan, Lagos.

The faces may change every summer, sometimes. The drawings and paintings may be different with each passing year. But the idea remains the same which is to give the children a space, let them explore, teach them, encourage them and allow their imagination to breathe.

And somewhere among those children, another future artist, architect, designer, teacher, filmmaker or creative entrepreneur is already beginning to find a voice. The last we checked, the testimonies are amazing!

For Biodun Omolayo, the work continues.

iBAND Magazine, Celebrating Visual Art from the Original.
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